All heavy trailers manufactured on or after December 1, 1993 must be equipped with red-and-white retroreflective tape, sheeting and/or reflex reflectors around the sides and rear to make them more conspicuous. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) established this requirement, with its various options, in December 1992 by amending Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment." However, retroreflective tape has been used almost exclusively for meeting the standard, and it is the subject of this evaluation. Heavy trailers are at least 80 inches wide and have a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating over 10,000 pounds.
In March 1999, the Federal Highway Administration extended the application of this important protection to the entire on-road trailer fleet by directing motor carriers engaged in interstate commerce to retrofit heavy trailers manufactured before December 1993 with tape or reflectors. These older trailers must have some form of conspicuity treatment, by June 1, 2001, in the locations specified by the NHTSA standard for new trailers, except on the rear impact guard. In other words, as of June 2001, almost all heavy trailers on the road will have some form of conspicuity treatment. This Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulation furthermore gives motor carriers until June 1, 2009 to retire their pre-1993 trailers or retrofit them with treatments that conform exactly to the NHTSA standard (again, with the exception of the rear impact guard).
