National Highway Traffic Safety Administration January 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NHTSA is publishing this notice to inform the public of the scheduled upcoming meetings under the World Forum for the Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29) and its Working Parties of Experts for calendar year 2012. This notice will provide the public with the most recent status of activities under the Program of Work of the 1998 Global Agreement and requests comments on various aspects of these activities. Publication of this information is in accordance with NHTSA's Statement of Policy regarding Agency Policy Goals and Public Participation in the Implementation of the 1998 Global Agreement on Global Technical Regulations.

On March 30, 2010, NHTSA published a final rule specifying the test methods to be used for a new tire fuel efficiency consumer information program (TFECIP) to measure three aspects of tire performance: Rolling resistance, wet traction, and treadwear. The final rule did not include any of the requirements for the consumer information and education portions of the TFECIP. Instead, NHTSA announced that, based on the comments the agency had received on the proposal that preceded its final rule, it had decided to conduct additional research before issuing a new proposal for these requirements. NHTSA hopes to issue this new proposal in 2012; however, it has decided that it would be helpful to have a public workshop to obtain feedback on some issues that either have proved difficult to explore effectively in the research NHTSA has conducted or have arisen since the publication of the March 2010 final rule. NHTSA invites interested parties to submit written comments and to participate in a public workshop using the instructions set forth in this notice. As described in the Procedural Matters section of this notice, each speaker should anticipate speaking for approximately ten minutes, although we may need to adjust the time for each speaker if there is a large turnout. To facilitate discussion, NHTSA has placed documents concerning research NHTSA has finalized since the March 2010 final rule in the docket. NHTSA will consider the public comments received in developing the new proposal regarding the remaining aspects of the TFECIP.

Dorel Juvenile Group, Inc.\1\ (DJG) has determined that certain child restraint systems manufactured between July 20, 2010 and May 18, 2011 do not fully comply with paragraph S5.5 Labeling of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 213,Child Restraint Systems. DJG has filed an appropriate report pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports (dated June 23, 2011).

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), on March 30, 2011 (76 FR 17746) the agency published a 60-day notice in the Federal Register soliciting public comment on the proposed information collection abstracted below. In further compliance with the PRA, the agency now publishes this second notice announcing the submission of its proposed collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and notifying the public about how to submit comments on the proposed collection to OMB during the 30-day comment period.

This document grants in full the Fuji Heavy Industries U.S.A., Inc.'s (FUSA's) petition for exemption of the Subaru [confidential] vehicle line in accordance with 49 CFR part 543, Exemption from the Theft Prevention Standard. This petition is granted because the agency has determined that the antitheft device to be placed on the line as standard equipment is likely to be as effective in reducing and deterring motor vehicle theft as compliance with the parts-marking requirements of the Theft Prevention Standard 49 CFR part 541, Federal Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard. FUSA requested confidential treatment for specific information in its petition. The agency will address FUSA's request for confidential treatment by separate letter.