The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has denied a petition for rulemaking requesting that it vacate Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 121, Air Brake Systems, by removing some requirements for antilock brake systems (ABS).
William B. Trescott of Bay City, Texas, had petitioned that NHTSA remove requirements for newly manufactured vehicles equipped with air-brake systems, or that the agency require a driver-controllable switch that would allow the driver to deactivate the ABS on air-braked vehicles; or that the agency require the automatic deactivation of ABS on air-braked vehicles when the vehicles are traveling at speeds greater than 55 mph.
The petitioner claims that an agency report shows that ABS on tractor-trailers increases fatal crash involvements, and also that ABS allows incompetent truck drivers to drive trucks.
The agency reviewed these claims and found them to be without merit, and concludes that the agency report cited by the petitioner does not support the conclusion that safety would be improved by allowing ABS to be deactivated. Rather, the data supports the conclusion that removing ABS from trucks would result in an increase in crashes.