The NHTSA is upgrading its FMVSS 205 in order to "harmonize" it with an international standard — the United Nations/Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE) Agreement Concerning the Establishing of Global Technical Regulations (GTR) for Wheeled Vehicles, Equipment and Parts Which Can Be Fitted And/or Be Used on Wheeled Vehicles. This umbrella agreement was initialed by many countries in 1998, and then a subcommittee led by Germany started in to develop an auto glazing standard, which came up for a vote in 2008 in the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations.
The conforming of the FMVSS No. 205 to the glazing GTR will result in many minor changes to current glass manufacturing practices. Again, two testing changes will make the biggest difference between what manufacturers do now and what they will do in the future: an upgraded fragmentation test designed to better test the tempering of curved tempered glass, and a new procedure for testing an optical property of the windshield at the angle of installation, to better reflect real world driving conditions.
There are two things to note from an aftermarket perspective. First, a number of U.S. interested parties wanted the glazing GTR to include an installation standard. It does not. There is always a possibility the NHTSA could add one depending on the comments it gets on the proposed rule it issued on June 21. The other issue is whether the cost of aftermarket glazed glass will increase because of the new testing requirements. Glass manufacturers who currently test against multiple national glazing standards would probably see testing costs decline, according to NHTSA. Domestic manufacturers who sell only in the U.S. might see an added cost no greater than $0.009 to $0.01 per vehicle. But as is often the case when an agency estimates costs to industry, once the glass manufacturers look at the proposed changes, they may have a totally different estimate on costs than NHTSA.
The automotive industry will definitely have something to say about the proposed changes to FMVSS 205. That is a certainty because in late 2007, the NHTSA asked for industry comment on the glazing GTR. They got a mixed bag response, with the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers supporting its adoption as the U.S. standard and the Glazing Standards Committee at the Society of Automotive Engineers arguing the GTR was "deficient in numerous key respects." The NHTSA decided that the SAE committee and other doubters did not raise "insurmountable opposition," and therefore the agency voted to approve the GTR at the 2008 World Forum. However, it promised at that time that the objections to the draft GTR could be aired out and resolved in the notice-and-comment process of NHTSA rulemaking. The notice of proposed rulemaking the NHTSA issued on June 21 highlights the concerns raised by detractors in 2007 and requests comments on those issues. The result may be that the NHTSA decides not to include some GTR tests in 205, or adds in some other standards.
Here is the Federal Register notice with the details: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-06-21/html/2012-14996.htm
