Autocar Industries, LLC, Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance, 38997-38999 [2017-17330]

Agencies

• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 157 (Wednesday, August 16, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38997-38999]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-17330]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2017-0064]


Autocar Industries, LLC, Receipt of Petition for Decision of 
Inconsequential Noncompliance

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

ACTION: Receipt of petition.

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SUMMARY: Autocar Industries, LLC (Autocar Industries), has determined 
that certain model year (MY) 2014-2018 Autocar Xpert trucks do not 
fully comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 
101, Controls and Displays. Autocar Industries filed a noncompliance 
report dated June 12, 2017, and subsequently petitioned NHTSA on June 
19, 2017, for a decision that the subject noncompliance is 
inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety.

DATES: The closing date for comments on the petition is September 15, 
2017.

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 in the title 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 Delivery: 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 comments you have submitted by mail 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.
    All comments and supporting materials received before the close of 
business on the closing date indicated above will be filed in the 
docket and will be considered. All comments and supporting materials 
received after the closing date will also be filed and will be 
considered to the fullest extent possible.
    When the petition is granted or denied, notice of the decision will 
also be published in the Federal Register pursuant to the authority 
indicated at the end of this notice.
    All comments, background documentation, and supporting materials 
submitted to the 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. The docket ID number for this petition is shown 
in the heading of this notice.
    DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement is available for review in a 
Federal Register notice published on April 11, 2000, (65 FR 19477-78).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    I. Overview: Autocar Industries has determined that certain MY 
2014-2018 Autocar Xpert trucks do not fully comply with Table 2 of 
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 101, Controls and 
Displays. Autocar Industries filed a noncompliance report dated June 
12, 2017, pursuant to CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance 
Responsibility and Reports, and petitioned NHTSA on June 19, 2017, 
pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) and 49 CFR part 556, for an 
exemption from the notification and remedy requirements of 49 U.S.C. 
Chapter 301 on the basis that this noncompliance is inconsequential as 
it relates to motor vehicle safety.
    This notice of receipt of their petition is published under 49 
U.S.C. 30118 and 30120 and does not represent any agency decision or 
other exercise of

[[Page 38998]]

judgment concerning the merits of the petition.
    II. Vehicles Involved: Approximately 522 MY 2014-2018 Autocar Xpert 
trucks, manufactured between September 5, 2013 and September 5, 2017, 
are potentially involved.
    III. Noncompliance: Autocar Industries explains that the 
noncompliance is that the Low Brake Air Pressure telltale for air brake 
systems displays the International Standards Organization (ISO) symbol 
for brake malfunction rather than the words ``Brake Air,'' as specified 
in Table 2 of FMVSS No. 101. Autocar Industries states that the 
telltale is accompanied by an audible alert and pressure gauges.
    IV. Rule Text: Paragraph S5 of FMVSS No. 101 provides: ``Each 
passenger car, multipurpose passenger vehicle, truck and bus that is 
fitted with a control, a telltale, or an indicator listed in Table 1 or 
Table 2 must meet the requirements of this standard for the location, 
identification, color, and illumination of that control, telltale or 
indicator.''
    Paragraph S5.2.1 of FMVSS No. 101 provides, in pertinent part: ``. 
. . each control, telltale and indicator that is listed in column 1 of 
Table 1 or Table 2 must be identified by the symbol specified for it in 
column 2 or the word or abbreviation specified for it in column 3 of 
Table 1 or Table 2.''
    Table 2 appears as follows:
    [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN16AU17.001
    
    V. Summary of Petition: Autocar Industries described the subject 
noncompliance and stated its belief that the noncompliance is 
inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety.
    In support of its petition, Autocar Industries submitted the 
following reasoning:
    (a) Autocar Industries notes that the purpose of the low brake air 
pressure telltale is to alert the driver to a low air condition, 
consistent with the requirements of FMVSS No. 121, S5.1.5 (warning 
signal). The ISO symbol for brake malfunction instead of ``Brake Air,'' 
an audible alert that occurs in the subject vehicles would alert the 
driver to an air issue with the brake system. Once alerted, the driver 
can check the actual air pressure by reading the primary and secondary 
air gauges and seeing the contrasting color on the gauges indicating 
low pressure.

[[Page 38999]]

    (b) NHTSA stated in a 2005 FMVSS No. 101 rulemaking that the reason 
for including vehicles over 10,000 pounds GVWR in the application of 
the standard is that drivers of heavier vehicles need to see and 
identify their displays just like drivers of lighter vehicles. See 70 
FR 48295, 48298 (Aug. 17, 2005). Drivers of commercial vehicles conduct 
pre-trip daily inspections. For vehicles with pneumatic brake systems, 
the in-cab air brake checks for warning light and buzzer, at 60 PSI, 
would familiarize the driver with the specific telltale displayed and 
audible warning in the event a low-air condition occurred during 
operation.
    (c) There are two scenarios when a low brake air pressure condition 
could exist: a parked vehicle and a moving vehicle. In both conditions, 
the driver would be alerted to a low-air condition by the following 
means:
     Red contrasting color of the ISO brake malfunction 
telltale.
     Audible alert to the driver as long as the vehicle has low 
air.
     Dual indicator air pressure gauge for the primary and 
secondary air reservoirs clearly indicating the level of air pressure 
in the system.
     Red contrasting color on the air gauges indicating 
pressure below 60 PSI.
    The functionality of both the parking brake system and the service 
brake system remains unaffected by using the ISO symbol for brake 
malfunction instead of ``Brake Air'' for the telltale in the subject 
vehicles.
    (d) NHTSA Precedents--Autocar Industries notes that NHTSA has 
previously granted petitions for decisions of inconsequential 
noncompliance for similar brake telltale issues. See Docket No. NHTSA-
2012-0004, 78 FR 69931 (November 21, 2013) (grant of petition for Ford 
Motor Company); Docket No. NHTSA-2014-0046, 79 FR 78559 (December 30, 
2014) (grant of petition for Chrysler Group, LLC); and Docket No. 
NHTSA-2016-0103, 82 Federal Register 17084 (April 7, 2017) (grant of 
petition for Daimler Trucks North America). In all of these instances, 
the vehicles at issue did not have the exact requirements listed in 
FMVSS No. 101 table 2. The available warnings were deemed sufficient to 
provide the necessary driver warning. Autocar Industries respectfully 
suggests that the same is true for the subject vehicles: the red 
``BRAKE PRESSURE'' telltale, the audible alert, and the contrasting 
colors on the air pressure gauges are fully sufficient to warn the 
driver of a low brake air pressure situation.
    Autocar Industries concluded by expressing the belief that the 
subject noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle 
safety, and that its petition to be exempted from providing 
notification of the noncompliance, as required by 49 U.S.C. 30118, and 
a remedy for the noncompliance, as required by 49 U.S.C. 30120, should 
be granted.
    To view Autocar Industries' petition analyses in its entirety you 
can visit https://www.regulations.gov by following the online 
instructions for accessing the dockets and by using the docket ID 
number for this petition shown in the heading of this notice.
    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 Autocar 
Industries 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 Autocar Industries 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 M. Giuseppe,
Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2017-17330 Filed 8-15-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-59-P