National Highway Traffic Safety Administration December 2008 – 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 has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICR describes the nature of the information collections and their expected burden. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period was published on October 22, 2008 [73 FR 63049]. This is a request for a new collection.

This notice provides guidance concerning best practices to be followed by importers of motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment to reduce the likelihood of importing products that contain defects related to motor vehicle safety or do not comply with applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards.

This notice announces a cancelation of NHTSA's December 17, 2008, public meeting regarding its Initial Decision that model year (MY) 2007 and certain MY 2008 BMW Mini Cooper S vehicles (subject vehicles) contain a defect related to motor vehicle safety in the vehicle's exhaust pipe tips.

This notice solicits public comment on continuation of the requirements for the collection of information on safety standards. Before a Federal agency can collect certain information from the public, it must receive approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Under procedures established by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, before seeking approval, Federal agencies must solicit public comment on proposed collections of information, including extensions and reinstatement of previously approved collections. This document describes a collection of information associated with 49 CFR Part 574, Tire Identification and Recordkeeping.

This document proposes amendments to certain provisions of the early warning reporting (EWR) rule published pursuant to the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation (TREAD) Act, responds to a petition for rulemaking, and proposes amendments to information identifying products involved in a recall under 49 CFR part 573 Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports. This document proposes to modify the threshold for submitting quarterly EWR reports for light vehicle, bus, and trailer manufacturers. It further proposes to require manufacturers to submit product names that are consistent from reporting quarter to quarter or advise NHTSA of changes; to add a requirement that light vehicle manufacturers specify the vehicle type and the fuel or propulsion system type of each model in their quarterly EWR submissions; to add a new component category for light vehicle manufacturers; and to correct the definition of ``other safety campaign.'' It also proposes to amend part 573 Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports to add a requirement that tire manufacturers provide tire identification numbers of recalled tires and manufacturers provide the country of origin of a component involved in a recall.

NHTSA seeks comments on the economic impact of its regulations on small entities. As required by Section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, we are attempting to identify rules that may have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. We also request comments on ways to make these regulations easier to read and understand. The focus of this notice is rules that specifically relate to passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, buses, trailers, incomplete vehicles, motorcycles, and motor vehicle equipment.