Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems said it has received a two-year regulatory exemption extension from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) for its AutoVue Lane Departure Warning (LDW) system.
The ruling gives Bendix an exemption from certain windshield clearance rules, allowing Bendix to continue selling the product and fleets to install it.
The exemption became effective in November 2013.
AutoVue is a vision-based system linking a camera with a 60-deg. field of view to an onboard computer that uses image recognition software to track visible lane markings. The system continually monitors a vehicle’s position and detects when the vehicle begins to drift toward an unintended lane change. Upon detection, AutoVue emits a distinctive “rumble strip” or other audible warning to alert the driver to make a correction.
Under the FMCSA prohibitions on obstructions to a driver’s field of view, devices such as antennas or transponders that are mounted at the top of a windshield must be located outside the area swept by the windshield wipers. The exemption covering AutoVue states that the LDW system sensors can be mounted within that area, though not more than 2 in. below its upper edge and outside the driver’s sight lines to the road, highway signs, and signals.
“Bendix sought this extension on behalf of its customers to ensure there are no compliance issues with the required LDW placement on the windshield. A properly mounted AutoVue camera will not constitute a violation during roadside inspections, which may be reflected in a fleet’s CSA BASIC scores,” said Fred Andersky, Bendix director of government and industry affairs.
