[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 49, Volume 4]

[Revised as of October 1, 2006]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 49CFR224.103]



[Page 328-329]

 

                        TITLE 49--TRANSPORTATION

 

       CHAPTER II--FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF 

                             TRANSPORTATION

 

PART 224_REFLECTORIZATION OF RAIL FREIGHT ROLLING STOCK--Table of Contents

 

 Subpart B_Application, Inspection, and Maintenance of Retroreflective 

                                Material

 

Sec.  224.103  Characteristics of retroreflective sheeting.



    (a) Construction. Retroreflective sheeting applied pursuant to this 

part shall consist of a smooth, flat, transparent exterior film with 

microprismatic retroreflective elements embedded in or suspended beneath 

the film so as to form a non-exposed retroreflective optical system.

    (b) Color. Retroreflective sheeting applied pursuant to this part 

shall be yellow, fluorescent yellow, or white as specified by the 

chromaticity coordinates of ASTM International's Standard D 4956-04, 

``Standard Specification for Retroreflective Sheeting for Traffic 

Control.'' The Director of the Federal Register approves the 

incorporation by reference of this standard in this section in 

accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51. You may obtain a copy 

of the incorporated standard from ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor 

Drive, P.O. Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959 or at http://

www.astm.org. You may inspect a copy of the incorporated standard at the 

Federal Railroad Administration, Docket Clerk, 1120 Vermont Ave., NW., 

Suite 7000, or at the National Archives and Records Administration 

(NARA). For information on the availability of this material at NARA, 

call 202-741-6030, or go to http://www.archives.gov/federal--register/

code--of--federal-- regulations/ibr--locations.html.

    (c) Performance. Retroreflective sheeting applied pursuant to this 

part shall meet the requirements of ASTM D 4956-04, for Type V Sheeting 

if metalized or Type VII Sheeting if non-metalized, except for the 

initial minimum values of the coefficient of retroreflection, and shall, 

as initially applied, meet the minimum values for the coefficient of 

retroreflection specified in Table 1 of this subpart.



[[Page 329]]







   Table 1 of Subpart B--Minimum Coefficient of Retroreflection (RA) (in Candela/Lux/Meter\2\) Requirement for

                     Retroreflective Sheeting (Minimum Photometric Performance Requirements)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                                                         Observation angle

                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------

                                                            0.2 Degree                      0.5 Degree

                 Entrance angle                  ---------------------------------------------------------------

                                                     Yellow or                       Yellow or

                                                    fluorescent        White        fluorescent        White

                                                      yellow                          yellow

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-4[deg].........................................             400             600             100             160

30[deg].........................................             220             350              45              75

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



    (d) Certification. The characters ``FRA-224'', constituting the 

manufacturer's certification that the retroreflective sheeting conforms 

to the requirements of paragraphs (a) through (c) of this section, shall 

appear at least once on the exposed surface of each piece of sheeting in 

the final application. The characters shall be a minimum of three 

millimeters high, and shall be permanently stamped, etched, molded, or 

printed within the product and each certification shall be spaced no 

more than four inches apart.

    (e) Alternative standards. Upon petition by a freight rolling stock 

owner or railroad under Sec.  224.15, the Associate Administrator may 

approve an alternative technology as providing equivalent safety. Any 

such petition shall provide data and analysis sufficient to establish 

that the technology will result in conspicuity and durability at least 

equal to sheeting described in paragraphs (a) through (c) applied in 

accordance with this part and will present a recognizable visual target 

that is suitably consistent with freight rolling stock equipped with 

retroreflective sheeting meeting the technical requirements of this part 

to provide the intended warning to motorists.