Hino Motors Manufacturing has been granted an exemption to allow it to install certain safety technology systems on the windshield outside the area currently allowed by federal regulations.
Hino, a Toyota Group Company that manufactures Class 4-7 trucks, petitioned the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in January to allow it to mount an automated emergency braking and a lane departure warning system camera near the center of the windshield of its trucks. FMCSA, in a Federal Register notice to be published Thursday, Aug. 3, granted the exemption, stating that placing the camera lower on the windshield would not affect safety.
In its exemption request, Hino stated the bottom edge of the cameras would be approximately seven inches below the upper edge of the windshield, which is outside the four inches allowed by regulations.
In the notice, FMCSA says based on the technical specs of the cameras, there is no indication the cameras would obstruct the view of drivers. Additionally, the agency says the use of the cameras “is likely to improve the overall level of safety to the motoring public.”
Hino says the braking and lane departure systems will be an option on some of its trucks. The exemption will be good for five years, beginning Aug. 3.
