On July 29, 2011 NHTSA will publish a final rule responding to petitions for reconsideration of a 2010 final rule that amended the electrical shock protection requirements to facilitate the development and introduction of fuel cell vehicles and the next generation of hybrid and battery electric powered vehicles. This new final rule addresses issues raised in the petitions for reconsideration relating to the scope and applicability of the standard, the definitions in the standard, the retention requirements for electric energy storage/conversion systems, the electrical isolation requirements, the test specifications and requirements for electrical isolation monitoring, the state-of-charge of electric energy storage devices prior to the crash tests, a proposed protective barrier compliance option for electrical safety, the use of alternative gas to crash test hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, and a proposed low-energy compliance option for electrical safety.
The effective date of this final rule is September 1, 2011 with optional early compliance.
NHTSA contact: Ms. Shashi Kuppa, Office of Crashworthiness Standards (telephone: 202-366-3827).
Docket reference: NHTSA-2011-0107
Comments