TAP Worldwide, LLC, Grant of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance, 60346-60348 [2021-23649]

Agencies

• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 208 (Monday, November 1, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60346-60348]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-23649]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2019-0069; Notice 2]


TAP Worldwide, LLC, Grant of Petition for Decision of 
Inconsequential Noncompliance

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

ACTION: Grant of petition.

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SUMMARY: TAP Worldwide, LLC, (TAP) has determined that certain model 
year (MY) 2017-2019 Smittybilt SCOUT Trailer Kits do not fully comply 
with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 110, Tire 
Selection and Rims and Motor Home/Recreation Vehicle Trailer Load 
Carrying Capacity Information for Motor Vehicles with a GVWR of 4,536 
kilograms (10,000 pounds) or Less. TAP filed a noncompliance report 
dated June 26, 2019. Tap also petitioned NHTSA on July 8, 2019, for a 
decision that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential as it 
relates to motor vehicle safety. This document announces the grant of 
TAP's petition.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kerrin Bressant, Office of Vehicle 
Safety Compliance, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 
(NHTSA), telephone (202) 366-1110.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Overview

    TAP has determined that certain MY 2017-2019 Smittybilt SCOUT 
Trailer Kits do not fully comply with paragraph S4.3.5 and Figure 1 of 
FMVSS No. 110, Tire Selection and Rims and Motor Home/Recreation 
Vehicle Trailer Load Carrying Capacity Information for Motor Vehicles 
with a GVWR of 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds) or Less (49 CFR 
571.110). TAP filed a noncompliance report dated June 26, 2019, 
pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility 
and Reports. TAP also petitioned NHTSA on July 8, 2019, 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, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 
30120(h) and 49 CFR part 556, Exemption for Inconsequential Defect or 
Noncompliance.
    Notice of receipt of TAP's petition was published with a 30-day 
public comment period, on September 20, 2019, in the Federal Register 
(84 FR 49622). No comments were received. To view the petition and all 
supporting documents log onto the Federal Docket Management System 
(FDMS) website at https://www.regulations.gov/. Then follow the online 
search instructions to locate docket number ``NHTSA-2019-0069.''

II. Trailers Involved

    Approximately 176 MY 2017-2019 Smittybilt SCOUT Trailer Kits, 
manufactured between March 31, 2017, and April 28, 2019, are 
potentially involved.

III. Noncompliance

    TAP explains that the noncompliance is that the vehicle placards on 
the subject trailer kits, do not fully comply with the formatting and 
color requirements (which require either ``yellow text on black 
background'' or ``black text on yellow background'') as required by 
paragraph S4.3.5 and Figure 1 of FMVSS No. 110. The TAP placards were 
mounted with black text on a white background.

IV. Rule Requirements

    S4.3.5 and Figure 1 of FMVSS No. 110 include the requirements 
relevant to this petition. Each trailer, except for an incomplete 
vehicle, must show the information specified in S4.3(c) through (g). 
This information, per Figures 1 and 2 of FMVSS No. 110, should be 
illustrated with EITHER ``Yellow Text on Black Background'' or ``Black 
Text on Yellow Background.'' Additionally, at the manufacturer's 
option, they may show the information specified in S4.3(h) proximate to 
the placard or the Tire Information Pressure Label and the listed 
elements of S4.3(i) in accordance with S4.3(d). The information 
specified in S4.3(e) shall be shown on both the vehicle placard and on 
the tire inflation pressure label (if such a label is affixed to 
provide the information specified in S4.3(c), (d), (h), and (i)) in the 
format and color scheme set forth in Figures 1 and 2.

V. Summary of TAP's Petition

    TAP 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, TAP submitted the following reasoning:
    1. The subject tire pressure information labels provide all 
required and correct technical information, and because such 
information is found in three other locations, there is no safety risk 
or risk of tire overloading.
    a. TAP states that the SCOUT Trailers are equipped with tires that 
can handle their load carrying capacity, and there is, accordingly, no 
risk of overloading. The SCOUT Trailer's tires are safe and comply with 
all applicable standards. The sole noncompliance at issue in this 
petition relates to formatting, namely the tire information label, not 
conforming to the formatting and color requirements provided in Figure 
1 of FMVSS No. 110. TAP says that because the tire pressure information 
labels contain all the information required by FMVSS No. 110 and 
because such information is accurate, the subject noncompliance will 
not create a safety

[[Page 60347]]

risk to any person towing or using a SCOUT Trailer.
    b. Additionally, the correct tire pressure information can be found 
in three other locations: (1) On the SCOUT Trailer's certification 
label, as required under 49 CFR part 565; (2) in the SCOUT Trailer 
owner's manual; and (3) on the SCOUT Trailer's tire sidewall markings. 
Accordingly, including the tire pressure information label, there are 
four separate places where a SCOUT Trailer owner can view the tire 
size, pressure, and load-carrying capacity information of his/her SCOUT 
Trailer.
    c. TAP also stated that because the label provides correct 
information regarding tire size and inflation pressure, TAP's failure 
to utilize the formatting, provided in Figure 1 of FMVSS No. 110, will 
not present a motor vehicle safety risk or cause consumers to 
misunderstand the label.
    2. NHTSA has previously granted petitions with inconsequential 
noncompliances where the noncompliance relates solely to the labeling 
that does not conform with formatting requirements and where the 
manufacturer can show that the noncompliance is unlikely to cause 
consumer misunderstanding.
    a. TAP believes that granting this petition would be consistent 
with NHTSA's prior decisions on petitions involving label formatting 
requirements. For example, in connection with a prior petition for 
inconsequential noncompliance, NHTSA found that deviations in the 
wording on the label required by FMVSS No. 303 were inconsequential 
because the rationale and intent of the labeling requirement was 
nonetheless met, even though the exact, prescribed wording was not 
used, See IMPCO Technologies; Grant of Petition, 65 FR 14009 (March 15, 
2000). Similarly, in another matter, NHTSA concluded that the 
noncompliance with the seat belt assembly label requirements was 
inconsequential because although the subject assemblies had the wrong 
label, the likelihood that a seatbelt would be incorrectly installed as 
a result was low, See TRW, Inc., Grant of Petition, 55 FR 7171, 7172 
(February 4, 1993).
    Finally, in connection with a petition similar to this one, NHTSA 
recently found that a tire pressure information label that was not 
completely legible but provided all of the correct information was an 
inconsequential noncompliance, See Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC, Grant of 
Petition, 84 FR 25118 (May 30, 2019). With respect to that petition, 
NHTSA reasoned that the noncompliance was inconsequential because the 
owners could still find the relevant information in other locations, 
such as in the owner's manual and on the tire sidewall.
    Here, TAP's petition for inconsequential noncompliance meets the 
criteria that NHTSA has previously held such petitions must meet in 
order to be granted.
    3. NHTSA has also granted petitions for inconsequential 
noncompliances where tire pressure information labels contained 
incorrect or missing information.
    a. TAP says that NHTSA has also granted petitions for 
inconsequential noncompliance relating to the tire pressure information 
labels when the label contained incorrect information or was missing 
tire pressure information altogether, See General Motors, LLC, Grant of 
Petition, 84 FR 25117 (May 30, 2019). In so holding, NHTSA reasoned 
that owners can determine the correct tire pressure information through 
the owner's manual or other locations. Also, NHTSA recently granted a 
petition for inconsequential noncompliance where the tire pressure 
information label provided tire inflation information for 18-inch 
tires, even though the vehicle was equipped with 17-inch tires, See BMW 
of North America, LLC, Grant of Petition, 84 FR 26505 (June 6, 2019). 
NHTSA concluded that there was no risk of underinflating or overloading 
the tires, and consumers could find the correct tire pressure 
information in the owner's manual or on the tire sidewall.
    Here, not only can the correct tire pressure information for the 
SCOUT Trailer be found in various other places, but unlike the 
petitions referenced above, it can also be found on the tire pressure 
information label itself, as TAP has confirmed that the information 
listed on the label is accurate.
    4. TAP will correct the formatting and color noncompliance on all 
SCOUT Trailers subsequently sold.
    a. To address the noncompliance referenced in the part 573 Report, 
TAP has reformatted the SCOUT Trailer tire pressure information label 
and will utilize the properly formatted label on all SCOUT Trailers 
sold subsequent to the filing of its June 26, 2019, part 573 Report.
    TAP 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.

NHTSA's Analysis

    TAP Worldwide explained that the noncompliance is that while 
containing all technical information required by FMVSS No. 110, the 
installed labels on the subject vehicles do not conform to the 
formatting and color requirements referenced in Figure 1 of FMVSS No. 
110.
    The intent of FMVSS No. 110 is to ensure that vehicles are equipped 
with tires appropriate to handle maximum vehicle loads and prevent 
overloading. As notated by TAP in their petition submission, the actual 
technical information (in this case, the appropriate tire pressure and 
cargo carrying capacity value) is correct. However, the format of the 
label (i.e., its coloring--either yellow text and black background or 
black text with a yellow background surrounded by a red border--and 
missing tire figure) was not that which is prescribed by Figure 1 in 
FMVSS No. 110, S4.3. The combination of contrasting colors and the 
figure representing a tire were placed on the tire and loading 
information label in order to attract the attention of the consumer to 
this important tire related information. In lieu of the fact that the 
noncompliance is an incorrectly colored (formatted) tire pressure label 
and a missing representation of an actual tire, NHTSA agrees with the 
manufacturer that the subject noncompliance will not create a safety 
risk to any person towing or using the subject trailer.

NHTSA's Decision

    In consideration of the foregoing analysis, NHTSA finds that TAP 
Worldwide has met its burden of persuasion that the subject FMVSS No. 
110 noncompliance at issue is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. 
Accordingly, TAP's petition is hereby granted and TAP Worldwide is 
consequently exempted from the obligation of providing notification of, 
and a free remedy for, that noncompliance under 49 U.S.C. 30118 and 
30120.
    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 
applies to the subject trailers that TAP no longer controlled at the 
time it determined that the noncompliance existed. However, the

[[Page 60348]]

granting of 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 trailers under their control after TAP 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)

Otto G. Matheke, III,
Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2021-23649 Filed 10-29-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P