Eaton Aeroquip, Inc., Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance, 49972 [05-16860]

Agencies

• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 164 (Thursday, August 25, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Page 49972]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-16860]



[[Page 49972]]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2005-22118; Notice 1]


Eaton Aeroquip, Inc., Receipt of Petition for Decision of 
Inconsequential Noncompliance

    Eaton Aeroquip, Inc. (Eaton) has determined that the end fittings 
that it produced for nylon air brake hoses do not comply with S7.2.2(d) 
of 49 CFR 571.106, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 
106, ``Brake hoses.'' Eaton has filed an appropriate report pursuant to 
49 CFR Part 573, ``Defect and Noncompliance Reports.''
    Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h), Eaton has petitioned 
for an exemption from the notification and remedy requirements of 49 
U.S.C. Chapter 301 on the basis that this noncompliance is 
inconsequential to motor vehicle safety.
    This notice of receipt of Eaton's petition is published under 49 
U.S.C. 30118 and 30120 and does not represent any agency decision or 
other exercise of judgment concerning the merits of the petition.
    Affected are a total of approximately 7,784,614 end fittings 
produced from 2001 to June 30, 2005, plus an indeterminate number of 
end fittings produced prior to 2001 for which records are not available 
(Eaton acquired the end fitting manufacturing business on November 1, 
2002). S7.2.2(d) of FMVSS No. 106 requires that each fitting shall be 
etched, embossed, or stamped with

    (d) The * * * outside diameter of the plastic tubing to which 
the fitting is properly attached expressed in inches or fractions of 
inches or in millimeters followed by the letters OD * * *

    The subject end fittings are missing the letters OD from their 
labels.
    Eaton believes that the noncompliance is inconsequential to motor 
vehicle safety and that no corrective action is warranted. Eaton states 
that the purpose of the letters OD on the label is to indicate that the 
measurement refers to the outside diameter of a plastic tube as opposed 
to the inside diameter. Eaton points out that if the end user was to 
assume that the measurement referred to the inside diameter because of 
the absence of the letters OD, it ``would be physically impossible, for 
example, to insert a \1/2\ inch inside diameter hose into an end 
fitting made for \1/2\ inch outside diameter plastic tubing.'' 
According to Eaton, ``if an end-user were to mistakenly attempt to use 
the mislabeled end fittings with a hose, instead of plastic tubing, the 
incompatibility would be obvious because the diameters would not 
match.'' Eaton states that therefore, ``there is no potential that the 
mislabeled end fittings could be used improperly, and there could be no 
resulting issue of motor vehicle safety.''
    Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and 
arguments on the petition described above. Comments must refer to the 
docket and notice number cited at the beginning of this notice and be 
submitted by any of the following methods. Mail: Docket Management 
Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, Nassif Building, Room PL-
401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, 20590-0001. Hand 
Delivery: Room PL-401 on the plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 
Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC. It is requested, but not required, 
that two copies of the comments be provided. The Docket Section is open 
on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. except Federal Holidays. Comments 
may be submitted electronically by logging onto the Docket Management 
System Web site at https://dms.dot.gov. Click on ``Help'' to obtain 
instructions for filing the document electronically. Comments may be 
faxed to 1-202-493-2251, or may be submitted to the Federal eRulemaking 
Portal: go to https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments.
    The petition, supporting materials, and all comments received 
before the close of business on the closing date indicated below will 
be filed and will be considered. All comments and supporting materials 
received after the closing date will also be filed and will be 
considered to the extent possible. When the petition is granted or 
denied, notice of the decision will be published in the Federal 
Register pursuant to the authority indicated below.
    Comment closing date: September 26, 2005.

    Authority:  49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120: Delegations of authority at 
CFR 1.50 and 501.8.

    Issued on: August 19, 2005.
Ronald L. Medford,
Senior Associate Administrator for Vehicle Safety.
[FR Doc. 05-16860 Filed 8-24-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P