Continental Tire the Americas, LLC, Denial of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance, 8988-8989 [2023-02813]
Download as PDF
8988
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 28 / Friday, February 10, 2023 / Notices
Agenda for the March 8–9, 2023
NPOAG Meeting
The agenda for the meeting will
include, but is not limited to, an update
on ongoing park specific air tour
management plans or voluntary
agreements, status of agency
implementation of court approved plan/
schedule, update on environmental
review process and special purpose law
consultations, and public comment
review process.
Attendance at the Meeting and
Submission of Written Comments
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Although this is not a public meeting,
interested persons may attend. Because
seating is limited, if you plan to attend
please contact the person listed under
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT no
later than February 22, 2023 so that
meeting space may be made to
accommodate all attendees. Written
comments regarding the meeting will be
accepted directly from attendees or may
be sent to the person listed under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Record of the Meeting
If you cannot attend the NPOAG
meeting, a summary record of the
meeting will be made available under
the NPOAG section of the FAA ATMP
website at: https://www.faa.gov/about/
office_org/headquarters_offices/arc/
programs/air_tour_management_plan/
parks_overflights_group/minutes.cfm or
through the Office of Environment and
Energy, 800 Independence Ave. SW,
Suite 900W, Washington, DC 20591,
telephone: (202) 267–0928.
Issued in Washington, DC, on February 7,
2023.
Sandra Fox,
Environmental Protection Specialist, Office
of Environment and Energy.
[FR Doc. 2023–02913 Filed 2–9–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–13–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Denial of petition.
AGENCY:
Continental Tire the
Americas, LLC (CTA), has determined
that certain Altimax RT 43 replacement
17:41 Feb 09, 2023
Jkt 259001
I. Overview
CTA has determined that certain
Altimax RT43 replacement passenger
car tires do not fully comply with the
requirements of paragraph S5.5.1(b) of
FMVSS No. 139, New Pneumatic Radial
Tires for Light Vehicles (49 CFR
571.139). CTA filed a noncompliance
report dated April 20, 2021, pursuant to
49 CFR part 573, Defect and
Noncompliance Responsibility and
Reports. CTA subsequently petitioned
NHTSA on May 13, 2021, 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 CTA’s petition
was published with a 30-day public
comment period, on June 9, 2022, in the
Federal Register (87 FR 35283). 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–2021–
0042.’’
required by paragraph S5.5.1(b) of
FMVSS No. 139 and 49 CFR 574.5(b).
Specifically, CTA should have labeled
the subject tires ‘‘DOT 036 0F934V
1020’’ on the outboard sidewall and
‘‘DOT 036 0F934V’’ on the inboard
sidewall, but CTA instead labeled ‘‘DOT
1020’’ 1 on the outboard sidewall and
‘‘DOT’’ on the inboard sidewall.
IV. Rule Requirements
Paragraph S5.5.1(b) of FMVSS No.
139 includes the following
requirements, which are relevant to this
petition:
• For tires manufactured on or after
September 1, 2009, each tire must be
labeled with the TIN required by 49 CFR
part 574 on the intended outboard
sidewall of the tire.
• If a tire does not have an intended
outboard sidewall, the tire must be
labeled with the TIN required by 49 CFR
part 574 on one sidewall and with either
the TIN or a partial TIN, containing all
characters in the TIN except for the date
code and, at the discretion of the
manufacturer, any optional code, on the
other sidewall.2
V. Summary of CTA’s Petition
III. Noncompliance
The following views and arguments
presented in this section, ‘‘V. Summary
of CTA’s Petition,’’ are the views and
arguments provided by CTA in support
of its petition. They do not reflect the
views of the Agency. CTA describes the
subject noncompliance and contends
that the noncompliance is
inconsequential as it relates to motor
vehicle safety.
CTA says that in most instances, it
‘‘tests its tires to standards which
exceed the FMVSS minimums.’’ CTA
asserts that ‘‘the subject tires contain all
the necessary sidewall markings to
show compliance with FMVSS testing’’
and that other than the incorrect TIN
marking, the tires ‘‘meet or exceed’’
FMVSS No. 139’s performance and
labeling requirements.
According to CTA, the serial sidewall
of the subject tires displays the correct
DOT production week and year, and
when combined with other markings
available on the subject tires, the tires
can be uniquely identified.
CTA cites the following previous
inconsequentiality petitions to support
its argument:
a. Michelin North America, Inc., 85
FR 37495 (June 22, 2020).
CTA explains that the noncompliance
is due to a mold error in which the
subject tires contain a tire identification
number (TIN) that omits the 3-digit
plant code and the 6-symbol
manufacturer’s identification mark as
1 Blank spaces in this quoted label are
representative of how the labeling error appears on
CTA’s subject tires.
2 This specific requirement does not apply to
retreaded tires, but notably, the subject tires are not
retreaded tires.
Approximately three (3) Altimax
RT43 replacement passenger car tires,
size 175/65R14 82T, manufactured
between March 8, 2020, and March 14,
2020, are potentially involved.
Continental Tire the Americas, LLC,
Denial of Petition for Decision of
Inconsequential Noncompliance
VerDate Sep<11>2014
Jayton Lindley, Office of Vehicle Safety
Compliance, NHTSA, (325) 655–0547.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
II. Tires Involved
[Docket No. NHTSA–2021–0042; Notice 2]
SUMMARY:
passenger car tires do not fully comply
with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (FMVSS) No. 139, New
Pneumatic Radial Tires for Light
Vehicles. CTA filed a noncompliance
report dated April 20, 2021, and
subsequently petitioned National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA or the ‘‘Agency’’) on May 13,
2021, for a decision that the subject
noncompliance is inconsequential as it
relates to motor vehicle safety. This
notice announces the denial of CTA’s
petition.
PO 00000
Frm 00197
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
E:\FR\FM\10FEN1.SGM
10FEN1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 28 / Friday, February 10, 2023 / Notices
b. Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, 82
FR 52966 (November 15, 2017).
c. Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, 82
FR 17510 (April 11, 2017).
CTA states that it is not aware of any
tire failures related to performance that
resulted in an accident, injury, property
damage, customer complaint, or any
field reports associated with the
mislabeling.
CTA says that it has quarantined its
current inventory of the noncompliant
tires—leaving three tires remaining in
the market.
CTA concludes 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.
VI. NHTSA’s Analysis
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
In determining inconsequentiality of a
noncompliance, NHTSA focuses on the
safety risk to individuals who
experience the type of event against
which a recall would otherwise
protect.3 In general, NHTSA does not
consider the absence of complaints or
injuries when determining if a
noncompliance is inconsequential to
safety. The absence of complaints does
not mean vehicle occupants have not
experienced a safety issue, nor does it
mean that there will not be safety issues
in the future.4
Arguments that only a small number
of vehicles or items of motor vehicle
equipment are affected also do not
justify granting an inconsequentiality
petition.5 Similarly, mere assertions that
3 See Gen. Motors, LLC; Grant of Petition for
Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance, 78 FR
35355 (June 12, 2013) (finding noncompliance had
no effect on occupant safety because it had no effect
on the proper operation of the occupant
classification system and the correct deployment of
an air bag); Osram Sylvania Prods. Inc.; Grant of
Petition for Decision of Inconsequential
Noncompliance, 78 FR 46000 (July 30, 2013)
(finding occupant using noncompliant light source
would not be exposed to significantly greater risk
than occupant using similar compliant light
source).
4 See Morgan 3 Wheeler Limited; Denial of
Petition for Decision of Inconsequential
Noncompliance, 81 FR 21663, 21666 (Apr. 12,
2016); see also United States v. Gen. Motors Corp.,
565 F.2d 754, 759 (D.C. Cir. 1977) (finding defect
poses an unreasonable risk when it ‘‘results in
hazards as potentially dangerous as sudden engine
fire, and where there is no dispute that at least some
such hazards, in this case fires, can definitely be
expected to occur in the future’’).
5 See Mercedes-Benz, U.S.A., L.L.C.; Denial of
Application for Decision of Inconsequential
Noncompliance, 66 FR 38342 (July 23, 2001)
(rejecting argument that noncompliance was
inconsequential because of the small number of
vehicles affected); Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd.;
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:41 Feb 09, 2023
Jkt 259001
only a small percentage of vehicles or
items of equipment are likely to actually
exhibit a noncompliance are
unpersuasive. The percentage of
potential occupants that could be
adversely affected by a noncompliance
is not relevant to whether the
noncompliance poses an
inconsequential risk to safety. Rather,
NHTSA focuses on the consequence to
an occupant who is exposed to the
consequence of that noncompliance.6
The Safety Act is preventive, and
manufacturers cannot and should not
wait for deaths or injuries to occur in
their vehicles before they carry out a
recall.7 Indeed, the very purpose of a
recall is to protect individuals from
risk.8
NHTSA has evaluated the merits of
the petition submitted by CTA and is
denying CTA’s request for relief from
notification and remedy.
The purpose of the TIN is to provide
a means by which tire manufacturers
may notify purchasers of defective or
nonconforming tires.
CTA cited three prior petitions in
support of their own petition. In the
Michelin North America, Inc., 85 FR
37495 (June 22, 2020) petition the
subject tires contained a TIN, however,
the symbol ‘‘DOT’’ was incorrectly
placed after the 1st grouping of TIN
characters. For the Cooper Tire &
Rubber Company, 82 FR 52966
(November 15, 2017) and Cooper Tire &
Rubber Company, 82 FR 17510 (April
11, 2017) petitions the manufacturer
incorrectly used the wrong characters
for the plant code portion of the TIN on
one sidewall. The Agency does not find
the petitions CTA cited as relevant to
this petition. In each of the petitions
cited by CTA, the tires contain a full
TIN on at least 1 sidewall of the tire that
can be utilized for the purposes of
identification in the event of a recall.
The tires that are the subject of this
petition do not have a full or partial TIN
on either sidewall.
Denial of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential
Noncompliance, 81 FR 41370 (June 24, 2016)
(noting that situations involving individuals
trapped in motor vehicles—while infrequent—are
consequential to safety); Morgan 3 Wheeler Ltd.;
Denial of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential
Noncompliance, 81 FR 21663, 21664 (Apr. 12,
2016) (rejecting argument that petition should be
granted because the vehicle was produced in very
low numbers and likely to be operated on a limited
basis).
6 See Gen. Motors Corp.; Ruling on Petition for
Determination of Inconsequential Noncompliance,
69 FR 19897, 19900 (Apr. 14, 2004); Cosco Inc.;
Denial of Application for Decision of
Inconsequential Noncompliance, 64 FR 29408,
29409 (June 1, 1999).
7 See, e.g., United States v. Gen. Motors Corp., 565
F.2d 754, 759 (D.C. Cir. 1977).
8 Id.
PO 00000
Frm 00198
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
8989
Furthermore, NHTSA disagrees with
CTA’s assertion that the date code is
sufficient to register and uniquely
identify a tire. Without a TIN, there is
no means by which purchasers can
register the subject tires. In the event of
a recall, CTA may be unable to timely
notify purchasers of a potential safety
issue, and consumers and other drivers
will be at risk. If an original purchaser
of a subject tire previously sold or will
sell their vehicle to a different
consumer, it is unlikely that CTA will
be able to timely notify the subsequent
consumer of potential safety issues.
Additionally, it may not even be
possible for CTA to determine how to
contact a subsequent consumer. For
these reasons, the Agency is denying
this petition for relief from notification
and remedy.
VII. NHTSA’s Decision
In consideration of the foregoing,
NHTSA has decided that CTA has not
met its burden of persuasion that the
subject FMVSS No. 139 noncompliance
is inconsequential to motor vehicle
safety. Accordingly, CTA’s petition is
hereby denied and CTA is consequently
obligated to provide notification of and
free remedy for that noncompliance
under 49 U.S.C. 30118 and 30120.
(Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120:
delegations of authority at 49 CFR 1.95 and
501.8)
Anne L. Collins,
Associate Administrator for Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 2023–02813 Filed 2–9–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–59–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Office of the Comptroller of the
Currency
Agency Information Collection
Activities: Information Collection
Revision; Submission for OMB
Review; Company-Run Annual Stress
Test Reporting Template and
Documentation for Covered
Institutions With Total Consolidated
Assets of $250 Billion or More Under
the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and
Consumer Protection Act
Office of the Comptroller of the
Currency, Treasury (OCC).
ACTION: Notice and request for comment.
AGENCY:
The OCC, as part of its
continuing effort to reduce paperwork
and respondent burden, invites
comment on a continuing information
collection as required by the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). In
accordance with the requirements of the
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\10FEN1.SGM
10FEN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 28 (Friday, February 10, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8988-8989]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-02813]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2021-0042; Notice 2]
Continental Tire the Americas, LLC, Denial of Petition for
Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Denial of petition.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Continental Tire the Americas, LLC (CTA), has determined that
certain Altimax RT 43 replacement passenger car tires do not fully
comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 139, New
Pneumatic Radial Tires for Light Vehicles. CTA filed a noncompliance
report dated April 20, 2021, and subsequently petitioned National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA or the ``Agency'') on May
13, 2021, for a decision that the subject noncompliance is
inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety. This notice
announces the denial of CTA's petition.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jayton Lindley, Office of Vehicle
Safety Compliance, NHTSA, (325) 655-0547.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Overview
CTA has determined that certain Altimax RT43 replacement passenger
car tires do not fully comply with the requirements of paragraph
S5.5.1(b) of FMVSS No. 139, New Pneumatic Radial Tires for Light
Vehicles (49 CFR 571.139). CTA filed a noncompliance report dated April
20, 2021, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance
Responsibility and Reports. CTA subsequently petitioned NHTSA on May
13, 2021, 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 CTA's petition was published with a 30-day
public comment period, on June 9, 2022, in the Federal Register (87 FR
35283). 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-2021-0042.''
II. Tires Involved
Approximately three (3) Altimax RT43 replacement passenger car
tires, size 175/65R14 82T, manufactured between March 8, 2020, and
March 14, 2020, are potentially involved.
III. Noncompliance
CTA explains that the noncompliance is due to a mold error in which
the subject tires contain a tire identification number (TIN) that omits
the 3-digit plant code and the 6-symbol manufacturer's identification
mark as required by paragraph S5.5.1(b) of FMVSS No. 139 and 49 CFR
574.5(b). Specifically, CTA should have labeled the subject tires ``DOT
036 0F934V 1020'' on the outboard sidewall and ``DOT 036 0F934V'' on
the inboard sidewall, but CTA instead labeled ``DOT 1020'' \1\ on the
outboard sidewall and ``DOT'' on the inboard sidewall.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Blank spaces in this quoted label are representative of how
the labeling error appears on CTA's subject tires.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
IV. Rule Requirements
Paragraph S5.5.1(b) of FMVSS No. 139 includes the following
requirements, which are relevant to this petition:
For tires manufactured on or after September 1, 2009, each
tire must be labeled with the TIN required by 49 CFR part 574 on the
intended outboard sidewall of the tire.
If a tire does not have an intended outboard sidewall, the
tire must be labeled with the TIN required by 49 CFR part 574 on one
sidewall and with either the TIN or a partial TIN, containing all
characters in the TIN except for the date code and, at the discretion
of the manufacturer, any optional code, on the other sidewall.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ This specific requirement does not apply to retreaded tires,
but notably, the subject tires are not retreaded tires.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
V. Summary of CTA's Petition
The following views and arguments presented in this section, ``V.
Summary of CTA's Petition,'' are the views and arguments provided by
CTA in support of its petition. They do not reflect the views of the
Agency. CTA describes the subject noncompliance and contends that the
noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety.
CTA says that in most instances, it ``tests its tires to standards
which exceed the FMVSS minimums.'' CTA asserts that ``the subject tires
contain all the necessary sidewall markings to show compliance with
FMVSS testing'' and that other than the incorrect TIN marking, the
tires ``meet or exceed'' FMVSS No. 139's performance and labeling
requirements.
According to CTA, the serial sidewall of the subject tires displays
the correct DOT production week and year, and when combined with other
markings available on the subject tires, the tires can be uniquely
identified.
CTA cites the following previous inconsequentiality petitions to
support its argument:
a. Michelin North America, Inc., 85 FR 37495 (June 22, 2020).
[[Page 8989]]
b. Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, 82 FR 52966 (November 15, 2017).
c. Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, 82 FR 17510 (April 11, 2017).
CTA states that it is not aware of any tire failures related to
performance that resulted in an accident, injury, property damage,
customer complaint, or any field reports associated with the
mislabeling.
CTA says that it has quarantined its current inventory of the
noncompliant tires--leaving three tires remaining in the market.
CTA concludes 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.
VI. NHTSA's Analysis
In determining inconsequentiality of a noncompliance, NHTSA focuses
on the safety risk to individuals who experience the type of event
against which a recall would otherwise protect.\3\ In general, NHTSA
does not consider the absence of complaints or injuries when
determining if a noncompliance is inconsequential to safety. The
absence of complaints does not mean vehicle occupants have not
experienced a safety issue, nor does it mean that there will not be
safety issues in the future.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ See Gen. Motors, LLC; Grant of Petition for Decision of
Inconsequential Noncompliance, 78 FR 35355 (June 12, 2013) (finding
noncompliance had no effect on occupant safety because it had no
effect on the proper operation of the occupant classification system
and the correct deployment of an air bag); Osram Sylvania Prods.
Inc.; Grant of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential
Noncompliance, 78 FR 46000 (July 30, 2013) (finding occupant using
noncompliant light source would not be exposed to significantly
greater risk than occupant using similar compliant light source).
\4\ See Morgan 3 Wheeler Limited; Denial of Petition for
Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance, 81 FR 21663, 21666 (Apr.
12, 2016); see also United States v. Gen. Motors Corp., 565 F.2d
754, 759 (D.C. Cir. 1977) (finding defect poses an unreasonable risk
when it ``results in hazards as potentially dangerous as sudden
engine fire, and where there is no dispute that at least some such
hazards, in this case fires, can definitely be expected to occur in
the future'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arguments that only a small number of vehicles or items of motor
vehicle equipment are affected also do not justify granting an
inconsequentiality petition.\5\ Similarly, mere assertions that only a
small percentage of vehicles or items of equipment are likely to
actually exhibit a noncompliance are unpersuasive. The percentage of
potential occupants that could be adversely affected by a noncompliance
is not relevant to whether the noncompliance poses an inconsequential
risk to safety. Rather, NHTSA focuses on the consequence to an occupant
who is exposed to the consequence of that noncompliance.\6\ The Safety
Act is preventive, and manufacturers cannot and should not wait for
deaths or injuries to occur in their vehicles before they carry out a
recall.\7\ Indeed, the very purpose of a recall is to protect
individuals from risk.\8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ See Mercedes-Benz, U.S.A., L.L.C.; Denial of Application for
Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance, 66 FR 38342 (July 23,
2001) (rejecting argument that noncompliance was inconsequential
because of the small number of vehicles affected); Aston Martin
Lagonda Ltd.; Denial of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential
Noncompliance, 81 FR 41370 (June 24, 2016) (noting that situations
involving individuals trapped in motor vehicles--while infrequent--
are consequential to safety); Morgan 3 Wheeler Ltd.; Denial of
Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance, 81 FR 21663,
21664 (Apr. 12, 2016) (rejecting argument that petition should be
granted because the vehicle was produced in very low numbers and
likely to be operated on a limited basis).
\6\ See Gen. Motors Corp.; Ruling on Petition for Determination
of Inconsequential Noncompliance, 69 FR 19897, 19900 (Apr. 14,
2004); Cosco Inc.; Denial of Application for Decision of
Inconsequential Noncompliance, 64 FR 29408, 29409 (June 1, 1999).
\7\ See, e.g., United States v. Gen. Motors Corp., 565 F.2d 754,
759 (D.C. Cir. 1977).
\8\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
NHTSA has evaluated the merits of the petition submitted by CTA and
is denying CTA's request for relief from notification and remedy.
The purpose of the TIN is to provide a means by which tire
manufacturers may notify purchasers of defective or nonconforming
tires.
CTA cited three prior petitions in support of their own petition.
In the Michelin North America, Inc., 85 FR 37495 (June 22, 2020)
petition the subject tires contained a TIN, however, the symbol ``DOT''
was incorrectly placed after the 1st grouping of TIN characters. For
the Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, 82 FR 52966 (November 15, 2017) and
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, 82 FR 17510 (April 11, 2017) petitions
the manufacturer incorrectly used the wrong characters for the plant
code portion of the TIN on one sidewall. The Agency does not find the
petitions CTA cited as relevant to this petition. In each of the
petitions cited by CTA, the tires contain a full TIN on at least 1
sidewall of the tire that can be utilized for the purposes of
identification in the event of a recall. The tires that are the subject
of this petition do not have a full or partial TIN on either sidewall.
Furthermore, NHTSA disagrees with CTA's assertion that the date
code is sufficient to register and uniquely identify a tire. Without a
TIN, there is no means by which purchasers can register the subject
tires. In the event of a recall, CTA may be unable to timely notify
purchasers of a potential safety issue, and consumers and other drivers
will be at risk. If an original purchaser of a subject tire previously
sold or will sell their vehicle to a different consumer, it is unlikely
that CTA will be able to timely notify the subsequent consumer of
potential safety issues. Additionally, it may not even be possible for
CTA to determine how to contact a subsequent consumer. For these
reasons, the Agency is denying this petition for relief from
notification and remedy.
VII. NHTSA's Decision
In consideration of the foregoing, NHTSA has decided that CTA has
not met its burden of persuasion that the subject FMVSS No. 139
noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. Accordingly,
CTA's petition is hereby denied and CTA is consequently obligated to
provide notification of and free remedy for that noncompliance under 49
U.S.C. 30118 and 30120.
(Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120: delegations of authority at 49
CFR 1.95 and 501.8)
Anne L. Collins,
Associate Administrator for Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 2023-02813 Filed 2-9-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P