National Highway Traffic Safety Administration February 25, 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This final rule repeals NHTSA's regulation requiring motor vehicle insurers to submit information on the number of thefts and recoveries of insured vehicles and actions taken by the insurer to deter or reduce motor vehicle theft. NHTSA is repealing this regulation because the agency's only available statutory authority to require insurers to submit this information was removed by the Motor Vehicle and Highway Safety Improvement Act of 2012 (Mariah's Act) (incorporated into the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21)). Given that NHTSA no longer has the authority to require insurers to submit this information and thus has no discretion to take any action other than rescinding the regulation, the agency did not issue a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) prior to this final rule. Under those circumstances, public comment to the rulemaking is unnecessary. The repeal of the authority to maintain and enforce the insurer reporting requirements reduced the paperwork burden on the public by 13,375 hours and reduced the cost to the government in collecting the information by $64,000.

GTC North America, Inc., on behalf of Guizhou Tyre I/E Co. LTD (collectively referred to as ``GTC'') has determined that certain Samson and Advance brand ST trailer Tires, do not fully comply with paragraph S6.5(j) of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 119, New pneumatic tires for motor vehicles with a GVWR of more than 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds) and motorcycles. GTC has filed an appropriate report dated March 22, 2012, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports. Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) and the rule implementing those provisions at 49 CFR part 556, GTC has petitioned for an exemption from the notification and remedy requirements of 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301 on the basis that this noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. Notice of receipt of the petition was published, with a 30-day public comment period, on June 25, 2012 in the Federal Register (77 FR 37957). No comments were received. To view the petition, and all supporting documents log onto the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) Web site at: https://www.regulations.gov/. Then follow the online search instructions to locate docket number ``NHTSA-2012-0073.'' For further information on this decision contact Mr. Jack Chern, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), telephone (202) 366-0661, facsimile (202) 366-7002. Tires involved: Affected are approximately 4,291 size ST235/ 85R16/ 14 ply Samson and Advance brand ST Trailer Tires manufactured from December 4, 2011 through March 31, 2012. Noncompliance: GTC explains that the noncompliance is that, due to a mold labeling error, the sidewall marking on the tires incorrectly identifies the load range as ``F'' when in fact it should be ``G''.