BMW of North America, LLC, Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance, 33332-33333 [2015-14254]

Download as PDF 33332 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 112 / Thursday, June 11, 2015 / Notices mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES (A) CTA believes that the mislabeling of the number of plies on the subject tires has no impact on the operational performance of the subject tires or on the safety of vehicles on which these tires are to be mounted. CTA states that the subject tires also meet or exceed all of the performance requirements specified by FMVSS No. 139. (B) CTA states that they are unaware of any accidents or injuries that have occurred as a result of this noncompliance. (C) CTA states that NHTSA has previously granted similar petitions for Inconsequential Noncompliances in the past. CTA has additionally informed NHTSA that it has corrected the subject noncompliance. In summation, CTA believes that the described noncompliance of the subject tires is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety, and that its petition, to exempt CTA from providing recall notification of noncompliance as required by 49 U.S.C. 30118 and remedying the recall noncompliance as required by 49 U.S.C. 30120 should be granted. NHTSA’s Decision NHTSA’s Analysis of CTA’s Arguments: The agency agrees with CTA that the noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. The agency believes that the true measure of inconsequentiality to motor vehicle safety in this case is that there is no effect of the noncompliance on the operational safety of the vehicles on which these tires are mounted. The safety of people working in the tire retread, repair and recycling industries must also be considered. Although tire construction affects the strength and durability, neither the agency nor the tire industry provides information relating tire strength and durability to the number of plies and types of ply cord material to the tread and sidewall. Therefore, tire dealers and customers should consider the tire construction information along with other information such as load capacity, maximum inflation pressure, and tread wear, temperature, and traction ratings, to assess performance capabilities of various tires. In the agency’s judgement, the incorrect labeling of the tire construction information will have an inconsequential effect on motor vehicle safety because most consumers do not base tire purchases or vehicle operation parameters on the number of plies in a tire. The agency believes the noncompliance will have no measureable effect on the safety of tire retread, repair and recycling industries. VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:06 Jun 10, 2015 Jkt 235001 The use of steel cord construction in the sidewall and tread is the primary safety concern of these industries. In this case, since the tire sidewall is marked correctly for the number of steel plies, this potential safety concern does not exist. NHTSA’s Decision: In consideration of the foregoing, NHTSA has decided that CTA has met its burden of persuasion that the noncompliance described is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. Accordingly, CTA’s petition is hereby granted and CTA is exempted from the obligation of providing notification of, and remedy for the subject noncompliance. NHTSA notes that the statutory provisions (49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h)) that permit manufacturers to file petitions for a determination of inconsequentiality allow NHTSA to exempt manufacturers only from the duties found in sections 30118 and 30120, respectively, to notify owners, purchasers, and dealers of a defect or noncompliance and to remedy the defect or noncompliance. Therefore, this decision only applies to the subject tires that CTA no longer controlled at the time it determined that the noncompliance existed. However, the granting of this petition does not relieve tire distributors and dealers of the prohibitions on the sale, offer for sale, or introduction or delivery for introduction into interstate commerce of the noncompliant tires under their control after CTA notified them that the subject noncompliance existed. Authority: (49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120: Delegations of authority at 49 CFR 1.95 and 501.8). Jeffrey Giuseppe, Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance. [FR Doc. 2015–14252 Filed 6–10–15; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910–59–P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [Docket No. NHTSA–2015–0040; Notice 1] BMW of North America, LLC, Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Department of Transportation (DOT). ACTION: Receipt of petition. AGENCY: BMW of North America, LLC, (BMW) a subsidiary of BMW AG in Munich, Germany, has determined that certain model year (MY) 2013 BMW 5 SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00105 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Series sedan passenger vehicles do not fully comply with paragraph S8.1.11 of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 108, Lamps, Reflective Devices and Associated Equipment. BMW has filed an appropriate report dated March 26, 2015, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports. The closing date for comments on the petition is July 13, 2015. ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and arguments on this petition. Comments must refer to the docket and notice number cited at the beginning of this notice and submitted by any of the following methods: • Mail: Send comments by mail addressed to: U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Operations, M– 30, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. • Hand Deliver: Deliver comments by hand to: U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Operations, M– 30, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. The Docket Section is open on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. except Federal Holidays. • Electronically: Submit comments electronically by: logging onto the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) Web site at https:// www.regulations.gov/. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Comments may also be faxed to (202) 493–2251. Comments must be written in the English language, and be no greater than 15 pages in length, although there is no limit to the length of necessary attachments to the comments. If comments are submitted in hard copy form, please ensure that two copies are provided. If you wish to receive confirmation that your comments were received, please enclose a stamped, selfaddressed postcard with the comments. Note that all comments received will be posted without change to https:// www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided. Documents submitted to a docket may be viewed by anyone at the address and times given above. The documents may also be viewed on the Internet at https://www.regulations.gov by following the online instructions for accessing the dockets. DOT’s complete Privacy Act Statement is available for review in the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000, (65 FR 19477–78). The petition, supporting materials, and all comments received before the DATES: E:\FR\FM\11JNN1.SGM 11JNN1 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 112 / Thursday, June 11, 2015 / Notices 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. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. BMW’s Petition Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) (see implementing rule at 49 CFR part 556), BMW submitted a petition 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 BMW’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. II. Vehicles Involved Affected are approximately 13,899 MY 2013 BMW 5 Series sedan passenger cars manufactured between January 30, 2013 and June 28, 2013. III. Noncompliance BMW explains that the noncompliance is that some of the rear reflex reflectors on the affected vehicles do not fully conform to the minimum photometry performance required by paragraph S8.1.11 of FMVSS No. 108. IV. Rule Text Paragraph S8.1.11 of FMVSS No. 108 requires in pertinent part: mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES S8.1.11 Photometry. Each reflex reflector must be designed to conform to the photometry requirements of Table XVI–a when tested according to the procedure of S14.2.3 for the reflex reflector color as specified by this section. V. Summary of BMW’s Analyses BMW used Ricco’s Law to determine a minimum required reflection coefficient in its analysis. BMW chose Ricco’s Law because they believe it best corresponds to the human physiological condition in which a light source of a given size and intensity is minimally capable (i.e. illumination threshold) of producing visual perception. As such, BMW created a graph whereby the y-axis represented the reflection coefficient in units consistent with FMVSS No. 108. While the x-axis represented the distance between two vehicles in order to simulate the condition of an approaching vehicle and a parked or stopped vehicle. VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:06 Jun 10, 2015 Jkt 235001 BMW provided the graph to illustrate that even with parameters representing a ‘‘worst-case scenario,’’ sufficient visibility of the rear reflex reflectors of the affected vehicles exists. BMW stated that it has not received any contacts from vehicle owners or other road users regarding issues related to the subject noncompliance and is also not aware of any accidents or injuries that have occurred as a result of this issue. BMW has additionally informed NHTSA that it has corrected the noncompliance so that subsequent vehicle production will conform to paragraph 8.1.11 of FMVSS No. 108. In summation, BMW believes that the described noncompliance of the subject vehicles is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety, and that its petition, to exempt BMW from providing recall notification of noncompliance as required by 49 U.S.C. 30118 and remedying the recall noncompliance as required by 49 U.S.C. 30120 should be granted. NHTSA notes that the statutory provisions (49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h)) that permit manufacturers to file petitions for a determination of inconsequentiality allow NHTSA to exempt manufacturers only from the duties found in sections 30118 and 30120, respectively, to notify owners, purchasers, and dealers of a defect or noncompliance and to remedy the defect or noncompliance. Therefore, any decision on this petition only applies to the subject vehicles that BMW no longer controlled at the time it determined that the noncompliance existed. However, any decision on this petition does not relieve vehicle distributors and dealers of the prohibitions on the sale, offer for sale, or introduction or delivery for introduction into interstate commerce of the noncompliant vehicles under their control after BMW notified them that the subject noncompliance existed. Authority: (49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120: Delegations of authority at 49 CFR 1.95 and 501.8). Jeffrey Giuseppe, Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance. [FR Doc. 2015–14254 Filed 6–10–15; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910–59–P PO 00000 Frm 00106 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 33333 DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [Docket No. NHTSA–2015–0041; Notice 1] Tireco, Inc., Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Department of Transportation (DOT). ACTION: Receipt of petition. AGENCY: Tireco, Inc., (Tireco) has determined that certain Tireco replacement tires do not fully comply with paragraph S6.5(b) of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 119, New Pneumatic Tires for Motor Vehicles with a GVWR of More than 4,536 Kilograms (10,000 pounds) and Motorcycles. Tireco has filed an appropriate report dated March 30, 2015, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports. DATES: The closing date for comments on the petition is July 13, 2015. ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and arguments on this petition. Comments must refer to the docket and notice number cited at the beginning of this notice and submitted by any of the following methods: • Mail: Send comments by mail addressed to: U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Operations, M– 30, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. • Hand Deliver: Deliver comments by hand to: U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Operations, M– 30, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. The Docket Section is open on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. except Federal Holidays. • Electronically: Submit comments electronically by: logging onto the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) Web site at https:// www.regulations.gov/. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Comments may also be faxed to (202) 493–2251. Comments must be written in the English language, and be no greater than 15 pages in length, although there is no limit to the length of necessary attachments to the comments. If comments are submitted in hard copy form, please ensure that two copies are provided. If you wish to receive confirmation that your comments were SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\11JNN1.SGM 11JNN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 112 (Thursday, June 11, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33332-33333]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-14254]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2015-0040; Notice 1]


BMW of North America, LLC, Receipt of Petition for Decision of 
Inconsequential Noncompliance

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 
Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Receipt of petition.

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

SUMMARY: BMW of North America, LLC, (BMW) a subsidiary of BMW AG in 
Munich, Germany, has determined that certain model year (MY) 2013 BMW 5 
Series sedan passenger vehicles do not fully comply with paragraph 
S8.1.11 of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 108, 
Lamps, Reflective Devices and Associated Equipment. BMW has filed an 
appropriate report dated March 26, 2015, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, 
Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports.

DATES: The closing date for comments on the petition is July 13, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written data, 
views, and arguments on this petition. Comments must refer to the 
docket and notice number cited at the beginning of this notice and 
submitted by any of the following methods:
     Mail: Send comments by mail addressed to: U.S. Department 
of Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, 
Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590.
     Hand Deliver: Deliver comments by hand to: U.S. Department 
of Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, 
Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. The 
Docket Section is open on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. except 
Federal Holidays.
     Electronically: Submit comments electronically by: logging 
onto the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) Web site at https://www.regulations.gov/. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments. Comments may also be faxed to (202) 493-2251.
    Comments must be written in the English language, and be no greater 
than 15 pages in length, although there is no limit to the length of 
necessary attachments to the comments. If comments are submitted in 
hard copy form, please ensure that two copies are provided. If you wish 
to receive confirmation that your comments were received, please 
enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard with the comments. Note that 
all comments received will be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided.
    Documents submitted to a docket may be viewed by anyone at the 
address and times given above. The documents may also be viewed on the 
Internet at https://www.regulations.gov by following the online 
instructions for accessing the dockets. DOT's complete Privacy Act 
Statement is available for review in the Federal Register published on 
April 11, 2000, (65 FR 19477-78).
    The petition, supporting materials, and all comments received 
before the

[[Page 33333]]

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.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. BMW's Petition

    Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) (see implementing rule 
at 49 CFR part 556), BMW submitted a petition 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 BMW'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.

II. Vehicles Involved

    Affected are approximately 13,899 MY 2013 BMW 5 Series sedan 
passenger cars manufactured between January 30, 2013 and June 28, 2013.

III. Noncompliance

    BMW explains that the noncompliance is that some of the rear reflex 
reflectors on the affected vehicles do not fully conform to the minimum 
photometry performance required by paragraph S8.1.11 of FMVSS No. 108.

IV. Rule Text

    Paragraph S8.1.11 of FMVSS No. 108 requires in pertinent part:

    S8.1.11 Photometry. Each reflex reflector must be designed to 
conform to the photometry requirements of Table XVI-a when tested 
according to the procedure of S14.2.3 for the reflex reflector color 
as specified by this section.

V. Summary of BMW's Analyses

    BMW used Ricco's Law to determine a minimum required reflection 
coefficient in its analysis. BMW chose Ricco's Law because they believe 
it best corresponds to the human physiological condition in which a 
light source of a given size and intensity is minimally capable (i.e. 
illumination threshold) of producing visual perception.
    As such, BMW created a graph whereby the y-axis represented the 
reflection coefficient in units consistent with FMVSS No. 108. While 
the x-axis represented the distance between two vehicles in order to 
simulate the condition of an approaching vehicle and a parked or 
stopped vehicle.
    BMW provided the graph to illustrate that even with parameters 
representing a ``worst-case scenario,'' sufficient visibility of the 
rear reflex reflectors of the affected vehicles exists.
    BMW stated that it has not received any contacts from vehicle 
owners or other road users regarding issues related to the subject 
noncompliance and is also not aware of any accidents or injuries that 
have occurred as a result of this issue.
    BMW has additionally informed NHTSA that it has corrected the 
noncompliance so that subsequent vehicle production will conform to 
paragraph 8.1.11 of FMVSS No. 108.
    In summation, BMW believes that the described noncompliance of the 
subject vehicles is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety, and that 
its petition, to exempt BMW from providing recall notification of 
noncompliance as required by 49 U.S.C. 30118 and remedying the recall 
noncompliance as required by 49 U.S.C. 30120 should be granted.
    NHTSA notes that the statutory provisions (49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 
30120(h)) that permit manufacturers to file petitions for a 
determination of inconsequentiality allow NHTSA to exempt manufacturers 
only from the duties found in sections 30118 and 30120, respectively, 
to notify owners, purchasers, and dealers of a defect or noncompliance 
and to remedy the defect or noncompliance. Therefore, any decision on 
this petition only applies to the subject vehicles that BMW no longer 
controlled at the time it determined that the noncompliance existed. 
However, any decision on this petition does not relieve vehicle 
distributors and dealers of the prohibitions on the sale, offer for 
sale, or introduction or delivery for introduction into interstate 
commerce of the noncompliant vehicles under their control after BMW 
notified them that the subject noncompliance existed.

    Authority: (49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120: Delegations of authority at 
49 CFR 1.95 and 501.8).

Jeffrey Giuseppe,
Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2015-14254 Filed 6-10-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-59-P
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