Department of Transportation February 24, 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below is being forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comments. A Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following information collection was published on November 8, 2011 (76 FR 69320). No comments were received.

Yokohama Tire Company (YTC),\1\ has determined that certain P215/60R15 93H AVID H4S passenger car replacement tires failed to comply with paragraph S5.5.1 of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 139, New Pneumatic Radial Tires for Light Vehicles. YTC has filed an appropriate report pursuant to 49 CFR Part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports (dated January 21, 2010).

We propose to supersede an existing airworthiness directive (AD) that applies to all PW PW4074 and PW4077 turbofan engines. The existing AD currently requires removing the 15th stage high pressure compressor (HPC) disk within 12,000 cycles since new (CSN) or using a drawdown removal plan for disks that exceed 12,000 CSN. Since we issued that AD, we received a request from an operator that we clarify our inspection schedule for 15th stage HPC disks. This proposed AD would clarify that 15th stage HPC disks that have accumulated more than 9,685 CSN require a borescope inspection (BSI) or eddy current inspection (ECI) of the disk outer rim front rail for cracks prior to accumulating 12,000 CSN. We are proposing this AD to prevent cracks from propagating into the disk bolt holes, which could result in a failure of the 15th stage HPC disk, uncontained engine failure, and damage to the airplane.

We are superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for all GE CF6-80C2B series turbofan engines. That AD currently requires installing software version 8.2.Q1 to the engine electronic control unit (ECU), which increases the engine's margin to flameout. This new AD requires the removal of the affected ECUs from service. This AD was prompted by two reports of engine flameout events during flight in inclement weather conditions, eight reports of engine in- flight shutdown (IFSD) events caused by dual-channel central processing unit (CPU) faults in the ECU, and four reports of engine flameout ground events. We are issuing this AD to prevent engine flameout or un- commanded engine IFSD of one or more engines, leading to an emergency or forced landing of the airplane.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is concerned about the effects of distraction due to drivers' use of electronic devices on motor vehicle safety. Consequently, NHTSA is issuing nonbinding, voluntary NHTSA Driver Distraction Guidelines (NHTSA Guidelines) to promote safety by discouraging the introduction of excessively distracting devices in vehicles. This notice details the contents of the first phase of the NHTSA Driver Distraction Guidelines. These NHTSA Guidelines cover original equipment in-vehicle device secondary tasks (communications, entertainment, information gathering, and navigation tasks not required to drive are considered secondary tasks) performed by the driver through visual-manual means (meaning the driver looking at a device, manipulating a device-related control with the driver's hand, and watching for visual feedback). The proposed NHTSA Guidelines list certain secondary, non-driving related tasks that, based on NHTSA's research, are believed by the agency to interfere inherently with a driver's ability to safely control the vehicle. The Guidelines recommend that those in-vehicle devices be designed so that they cannot be used by the driver to perform such tasks while the driver is driving. For all other secondary, non-driving-related visual-manual tasks, the NHTSA Guidelines specify a test method for measuring the impact of task performance on driving safety while driving and time-based acceptance criteria for assessing whether a task interferes too much with driver attention to be suitable to perform while driving. If a task does not meet the acceptance criteria, the NHTSA Guidelines recommend that in- vehicle devices be designed so that the task cannot be performed by the driver while driving. In addition to identifying inherently distracting tasks and providing a means for measuring and evaluating the level of distraction associated with other non-driving-related tasks, the NHTSA Guidelines contain several design recommendations for in-vehicle devices in order to minimize their potential for distraction. NHTSA seeks comments on these NHTSA Guidelines and any suggestions for how to improve them so as to better enhance motor vehicle safety.