[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 49, Volume 4]
[Revised as of October 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 49CFR224.103]

[Page 341-342]
 
                        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,

[[Page 342]]

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.

   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.