Michelin North America, Inc., Grant of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance, 70914-70915 [05-23137]

Download as PDF 70914 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 225 / Wednesday, November 23, 2005 / Notices appropriate Federal, State, and local agencies, and to private organizations and citizens who have expressed interest in this project. A series of public meetings will be held in the City of Miami, Miami-Dade County between July 2005 and January 2007. In addition, a public hearing will be held. Public notice will be given of the time and place of the meetings and hearing. The Draft EIS will be made available for public and agency review and comment. A formal scoping meeting is planned for the project, and the date and location will be established later. To ensure that the full range of issues related to the proposed action is addressed and all significant issues identified, comments and suggestions are invited from all interested parties. Comments or questions concerning this proposed action and the EIS should be directed to the FHWA at the address provided above. (Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Number 20.205, Highway Research, Planning and Construction. The regulations implementing Executive Order 12372 regarding inter-governmental consultation on Federal programs and activities apply to this program) Issued on: November 16, 2005. George B. Hadley, Environmental Programs Coordinator, Tallahassee, Florida. [FR Doc. 05–23150 Filed 11–22–05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910–22–M DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [Docket No. NHTSA–2005–22970; Notice 1] Les Entreprises Michel Corbeil Inc., Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance Les Entreprises Michel Corbeil Inc. (Corbeil) has determined that certain school buses that it produced in 2004 do not comply with S5.1 of 49 CFR 571.221, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 221, ‘‘School bus body joint strength.’’ Corbeil 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), Corbeil 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 Corbeil’s petition is published under 49 U.S.C. 30118 and 30120 and does not represent VerDate Aug<31>2005 17:33 Nov 22, 2005 Jkt 208001 any agency decision or other exercise of judgment concerning the merits of the petition. Affected are a total of approximately 295 school buses produced between May 3, 2004 and June 4, 2004. S5.1 of FMVSS No. 221 requires that, * * * each body panel joint * * * when tested in accordance with the procedure of S6, shall hold the body panel to the member to which it is joined when subjected to a force of 60 percent of the tensile strength of the weakest joined body panel determined pursuant to S6.2. The longitudinal roof joint on some of the subject school buses fails when tested according to the requirements of S5.1. Corbeil believes that the noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety and that no corrective action is warranted. Corbeil states that during the period of production of the subject school buses, ‘‘the production used expired glue.’’ Corbeil estimates that 61 of the 295 buses could be affected, based on the number of expired glue cartridges that were used. Corbeil further states, * * * repairs could affect the structural integrity of these buses’ roofs. If we proceed with repairs, we must remove the actual MS polymer strips on the roof to reach the joints. This operation requires us to preheat (300– 600 °F) the MS polymer strip (will soften the MS polymer) but at the same time will cause a significant urethane chemical modification and will affect the actual joint strength. The roof joint is composed of urethane glue and this glue will be affected if the temperature is higher than 194 °F * * * If our educated estimate is that only 61 buses on (sic) the 295 buses involved in this recall are affected, however they cannot be individually identified. Also, during the test, the transverse joint succeeded at 116% of the requirement and the longitudinal joint failed only by 9% with 91% of the requirement. The objective of this recall is to increase the strength of the joint. We presently suspect that a retrofit could affect/damage the roof rather to (sic) reinforce the joint. Corbeil states that no accidents or injuries have occurred as a result of this noncompliance. 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 PO 00000 Frm 00133 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 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: December 23, 2005. Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120: delegations of authority at CFR 1.50 and 501.8. Issued on: November 17, 2005. Daniel C. Smith, Associate Administrator for Enforcement. [FR Doc. 05–23138 Filed 11–22–05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910–59–P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [Docket No. NHTSA 2005–22554; Notice 2] Michelin North America, Inc., Grant of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance Michelin North America, Inc. (Michelin) has determined that certain tires it produced in 2005 do not comply with S4.3(d) and S4.3(e) of 49 CFR 571.109, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 109, ‘‘New pneumatic tires.’’ Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h), Michelin has petitioned for a determination that this noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety and has filed an appropriate report pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, ‘‘Defect and Noncompliance Reports.’’ Notice of receipt of a petition was published, with a 30-day comment period, on October 3, 2005 in the Federal Register (70 FR 57645). NHTSA received no comments. E:\FR\FM\23NON1.SGM 23NON1 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 225 / Wednesday, November 23, 2005 / Notices Michelin produced approximately 9,816 BFGoodrich Radial T/A tires during the period from February 20, 2005 through April 7, 2005 that do not comply with FMVSS No. 109, S4.3(d) and S4.3(e). S4.3 of FMVSS No. 109 requires that ‘‘each tire shall have permanently molded into or onto both sidewalls * * * (d) The generic name of each cord material used in the plies * * * of the tire’’ and ‘‘(e) Actual number of plies in the sidewall, and the actual number of plies in the tread area if different.’’ The noncompliant tires were marked ‘‘tread plies 2 polyester + 2 steel; sidewall plies 2 polyester + 1 nylon.’’ The correct marking should read ‘‘tread plies 2 polyester + 2 steel + 1 nylon; sidewall plies 2 polyester.’’ Michelin believes that the noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety and that no corrective action is warranted. Michelin stated that NHTSA has consistently found that ply labeling noncompliances are inconsequential to motor vehicle safety and has consistently granted inconsequential noncompliance petitions on that basis. Michelin also stated that all load and inflation pressure markings are present and the noncompliant tires meet or exceed all of the FMVSS No. 109 minimum performance requirements. The Transportation Recall, Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation (TREAD) Act (Public Law 106–414) required, among other things, that the agency initiate rulemaking to improve tire label information. In response, the agency published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) in the Federal Register on December 1, 2000 (65 FR 75222). The agency received more than 20 comments on the tire labeling information required by 49 CFR 571.109 and 119, part 567, part 574, and part 575. In addition, the agency conducted a series of focus groups, as required by the TREAD Act, to examine consumer perceptions and understanding of tire labeling. Few of the focus group participants had knowledge of tire labeling beyond the tire brand name, tire size, and tire pressure. Based on the information obtained from comments to the ANPRM and the consumer focus groups, we have concluded that it is likely that few consumers have been influenced by the tire construction information (number of plies and cord material in the sidewall and tread plies) provided on the tire label when deciding to buy a motor vehicle or tire. Therefore, the agency agrees with Michelin’s statement that the incorrect VerDate Aug<31>2005 17:33 Nov 22, 2005 Jkt 208001 markings in this case do not present a serious safety concern.1 There is no effect of the noncompliance on the operational safety of vehicles on which these tires are mounted. In the agency’s judgment, the incorrect labeling of the tire construction information will have an inconsequential effect on motor vehicle safety. In addition, the tires are certified to meet all the performance requirements of FMVSS No. 109 and all other informational markings as required by FMVSS No. 109 are present. Michelin has corrected the problem. In consideration of the foregoing, NHTSA has decided that the petitioner has met its burden of persuasion that the noncompliance described is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. Accordingly, Michelin’s petition is granted and the petitioner is exempted from the obligation of providing notification of, and a remedy for, the noncompliance. Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120; delegations of authority at CFR 1.50 and 501.8. Issued on: November 17, 2005. Daniel C. Smith, Associate Administrator for Enforcement. [FR Doc. 05–23137 Filed 11–22–05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910–59–P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [Docket No. NHTSA–2005–22971; Notice 1] Weekend Warrior Trailers, Inc., Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance Weekend Warrior Trailers, Inc. (Weekend Warrior) has determined that certain ramp-equipped travel trailers that it produced in 2001 through 2005 do not comply with 49 CFR 571.108, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 108, ‘‘Lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment.’’ Weekend Warrior 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), Weekend Warrior 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. 1 This decision is limited to its specific facts. As some commenters on the ANPRM noted, the existence of steel in a tire’s sidewall can be relevant to the manner in which it should be repaired or retreaded. PO 00000 Frm 00134 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 70915 This notice of receipt of Weekend Warrior’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 13,447 ramp-equipped travel trailers produced between January 2001 and September 2005. FMVSS No. 108 requires that these vehicles be equipped with amber intermediate side marker lamps and reflex reflectors, and red identification lamps. However, the subject vehicles are not equipped with these devices. Weekend Warrior believes that the noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety and that no corrective action is warranted. Weekend Warrior states that the noncompliance has caused no safety related accidents or injuries, and that it has received no customer complaints or notification of injuries or deaths related to the absence of the required items. 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 0590–0001. 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. E:\FR\FM\23NON1.SGM 23NON1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 225 (Wednesday, November 23, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70914-70915]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-23137]


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

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA 2005-22554; Notice 2]


Michelin North America, Inc., Grant of Petition for Decision of 
Inconsequential Noncompliance

    Michelin North America, Inc. (Michelin) has determined that certain 
tires it produced in 2005 do not comply with S4.3(d) and S4.3(e) of 49 
CFR 571.109, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 109, 
``New pneumatic tires.'' Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h), 
Michelin has petitioned for a determination that this noncompliance is 
inconsequential to motor vehicle safety and has filed an appropriate 
report pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, ``Defect and Noncompliance 
Reports.'' Notice of receipt of a petition was published, with a 30-day 
comment period, on October 3, 2005 in the Federal Register (70 FR 
57645). NHTSA received no comments.

[[Page 70915]]

    Michelin produced approximately 9,816 BFGoodrich Radial T/A tires 
during the period from February 20, 2005 through April 7, 2005 that do 
not comply with FMVSS No. 109, S4.3(d) and S4.3(e). S4.3 of FMVSS No. 
109 requires that ``each tire shall have permanently molded into or 
onto both sidewalls * * * (d) The generic name of each cord material 
used in the plies * * * of the tire'' and ``(e) Actual number of plies 
in the sidewall, and the actual number of plies in the tread area if 
different.'' The noncompliant tires were marked ``tread plies 2 
polyester + 2 steel; sidewall plies 2 polyester + 1 nylon.'' The 
correct marking should read ``tread plies 2 polyester + 2 steel + 1 
nylon; sidewall plies 2 polyester.''
    Michelin believes that the noncompliance is inconsequential to 
motor vehicle safety and that no corrective action is warranted. 
Michelin stated that NHTSA has consistently found that ply labeling 
noncompliances are inconsequential to motor vehicle safety and has 
consistently granted inconsequential noncompliance petitions on that 
basis. Michelin also stated that all load and inflation pressure 
markings are present and the noncompliant tires meet or exceed all of 
the FMVSS No. 109 minimum performance requirements.
    The Transportation Recall, Enhancement, Accountability, and 
Documentation (TREAD) Act (Public Law 106-414) required, among other 
things, that the agency initiate rulemaking to improve tire label 
information. In response, the agency published an Advance Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) in the Federal Register on December 1, 2000 
(65 FR 75222).
    The agency received more than 20 comments on the tire labeling 
information required by 49 CFR 571.109 and 119, part 567, part 574, and 
part 575. In addition, the agency conducted a series of focus groups, 
as required by the TREAD Act, to examine consumer perceptions and 
understanding of tire labeling. Few of the focus group participants had 
knowledge of tire labeling beyond the tire brand name, tire size, and 
tire pressure.
    Based on the information obtained from comments to the ANPRM and 
the consumer focus groups, we have concluded that it is likely that few 
consumers have been influenced by the tire construction information 
(number of plies and cord material in the sidewall and tread plies) 
provided on the tire label when deciding to buy a motor vehicle or 
tire.
    Therefore, the agency agrees with Michelin's statement that the 
incorrect markings in this case do not present a serious safety 
concern.\1\ There is no effect of the noncompliance on the operational 
safety of vehicles on which these tires are mounted. In the agency's 
judgment, the incorrect labeling of the tire construction information 
will have an inconsequential effect on motor vehicle safety. In 
addition, the tires are certified to meet all the performance 
requirements of FMVSS No. 109 and all other informational markings as 
required by FMVSS No. 109 are present. Michelin has corrected the 
problem.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ This decision is limited to its specific facts. As some 
commenters on the ANPRM noted, the existence of steel in a tire's 
sidewall can be relevant to the manner in which it should be 
repaired or retreaded.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In consideration of the foregoing, NHTSA has decided that the 
petitioner has met its burden of persuasion that the noncompliance 
described is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. Accordingly, 
Michelin's petition is granted and the petitioner is exempted from the 
obligation of providing notification of, and a remedy for, the 
noncompliance.

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

    Issued on: November 17, 2005.
Daniel C. Smith,
Associate Administrator for Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 05-23137 Filed 11-22-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.