National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The FHWA and NHTSA are extending the comment period for a notice and request for comment which was published on November 28, 2014, at 79 FR 70914. The original comment period is set to close on December 29, 2014. The extension is based on concern expressed by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) that the December 29 closing date does not provide sufficient time to review and provide comprehensive comments on the notice. The FHWA and NHTSA recognize that others interested in commenting may have similar concerns and agrees that the comment period should be extended. Therefore, the closing date for comments is changed to February 15, 2015, which will provide stakeholders interested in commenting additional time to discuss, evaluate, and submit responses to the docket.

China Manufacturers Alliance, LLC (CMA) and Double Coin Holdings, Ltd (DCHL) have determined that certain Double Coin and Dynatrac brand truck & bus radial replacement tires that were imported by CMA and manufactured by DCHL do not fully comply with paragraph S6.5 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. CMA and DCHL filed an appropriate report dated June 17, 2014, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports.

Michelin North America, Inc. (MNA) has determined that certain Michelin Pilot Street Radial replacement motorcycle tires, do not fully comply with paragraph S6.5(f) 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. MNA has filed an appropriate report dated July 3, 2014, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports.

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 soliciting public comment on the ICR, with a 60-day comment period was published on September 26, 2014, at 79 FR 58029.

This notice solicits public comments 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 OMB 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 on nine Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSSs) and two regulations, for which NHTSA intends to seek OMB approval. The information collection pertains to requirements that specify certain description, instructions and safety precautions regarding items of motor vehicle equipment must appear in the vehicle owner's manual.

This notice provides NHTSA's finding that a waiver of the Buy America requirements is appropriate for the purchase of Nania Baby Ride infant car seats by the Maryland Highway Safety Office (MHSO), using Federal grant funds. NHTSA finds that a non-availability waiver of the Buy America requirements is appropriate for the purchase of these infant car seats using Federal highway safety grant funds because there are no suitable products produced in the United States.

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 collection and the expected burden. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period was published on June 30, 2014 (79 FR 36865-36867).

The Department of Transportation (DOT) invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval to renew an information collection. 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 OMB approval, Federal agencies must solicit public comment on proposed collections of information, including extensions and reinstatement of previously approved collections.

This document proposes to amend Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSSs) Nos. 122 and 123, to allow the use of an internationally recognized symbol as the antilock brake system (ABS) malfunction telltale. Although the use of the symbol complies with the FMVSS No. 122 requirement that the letters ``ABS'' indicate a malfunction, the height of the letters ``ABS'' within the standardized malfunction symbol on many motorcycles do not comply with the letter height requirement in FMVSS No. 122. We also are proposing a technical change to correct a mistake in the 2012 final rule adopting FMVSS No. 122.

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 OMB approval, Federal agencies must solicit public comment on proposed collections of information, including extensions and reinstatement of previously approved collections. This document describes an existing collection of information for 49 CFR part 574, Tire Identification and Recordkeeping, for which NHTSA intends to seek renewed OMB approval.

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 OMB approval, Federal agencies must solicit public comment on proposed collections of information, including extensions and reinstatement of previously approved collections. This document describes one collection of information for which NHTSA intends to seek OMB approval.

This document grants in full the Mazda Motor Corporation's (Mazda) petition for an exemption of the (confidential) vehicle line in accordance with 49 CFR part 543, Exemption from Vehicle 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 49 CFR part 541, Federal Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard (Theft Prevention Standard). Mazda also requested confidential treatment for specific information in its petition. The agency will address Mazda's request for confidential treatment by separate letter.

This document publishes the final data on thefts of model year (MY) 2012 passenger motor vehicles that occurred in calendar year (CY) 2012. The final 2012 theft data indicated an increase in the vehicle theft rate experienced in CY/MY 2012. The final theft rate for MY 2012 passenger vehicles stolen in calendar year 2012 is 1.1294 thefts per thousand vehicles, an increase of 14.21 percent from the rate of 0.9889 thefts per thousand in 2011. Publication of these data fulfills NHTSA's statutory obligation to periodically obtain accurate and timely theft data and publish the information for review and comment.

JLG Industries, Inc. (JLG) has determined that certain JLG Triple-L utility trailers do not fully comply with paragraph S4.3.5 of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 110, Tire Selection and Rims and Motor Home/Recreation Vehicle Trailer Load Carrying Capacity Information for Motor Vehicles with a GVWR of 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds) or Less. JLG has filed an appropriate report dated July 16, 2014, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports.

RECARO Child Safety, LLC (RECARO) has determined that certain RECARO child restraints do not fully comply with paragraph S5.1.1(a) of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 213, Child Restraints. RECARO has filed an appropriate report and was received by NHTSA on July 30, 2014, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports.

General Motors, LLC (GM), has determined that certain model year (MY) 2007 through 2013 GM trucks and multipurpose passenger vehicles (MPVs) manufactured from June 19, 2006, through December 6, 2012 do not fully comply with paragraph S4.3 of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 110, Tire Selection and Rims for Motor Vehicles with a GVWR of 4,536 Kilograms or less. GM filed an appropriate report dated December 19, 2012 pursuant to 49 CFR part 573 Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports.

Oreion Motors, LLC (Oreion) has determined that certain 2011- 2013 Oreion Reeper low speed vehicles, do not fully comply with paragraph S5.(b)(10) of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 500 which requires installation of seat belts that conform to FMVSS No. 209, Seat Belt Assemblies. Oreion has filed an appropriate report dated August 13, 2014, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35), this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its expected burden. A Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting public comments on the following information collection was published on February 14, 2014 (Federal Register/Vol. 79, No. 31/pp. 9038-9040).

In accordance with the procedures in 49 CFR Part 555, NHTSA is partially granting a petition from Aston Martin Lagonda Limited (Aston Martin), a small volume manufacturer, for a temporary exemption from new side impact protection requirements of FMVSS No. 214. The agency is granting the petitioner's request for a temporary exemption from the standard's new pole test requirements, limited to 670 vehicles. The basis for the grant is that compliance would cause substantial economic hardship to a low volume manufacturer that has tried in good faith to comply with the standard. In accordance with NHTSA's regulations, prominent labels must be affixed to each exempted vehicle to warn prospective purchasers that the vehicle has been exempted from the pole test requirements. However, NHTSA is denying the petitioner's separate request for a temporary exemption from FMVSS No. 214's moving deformable barrier (MDB) test requirement. The agency does not believe that the petitioner has shown a need for such an exemption.

This notice presents the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's research program on vehicle electronics and our progress on examining the need for safety standards with regard to electronic systems in passenger motor vehicles. The agency undertook this examination pursuant to the requirements of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) Division C, Title I, Subtitle D, Section 31402, Subsection (a). In addition, and in accordance with MAP-21, we are seeking comment (through this document) on various components of our examination of the need for safety standards in this area. As MAP-21 also requires this agency to report to Congress on our findings pursuant to this examination, we intend to submit a report to Congress based in part on our findings from this examination and public comments received in response to this document.

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 OMB approval, Federal agencies must solicit public comment on proposed collections of information, including extensions and reinstatement of previously approved collections. This document describes collection of information for which NHTSA intends to seek OMB approval.

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 OMB approval, Federal agencies must solicit public comment on proposed collections of information, including extensions and reinstatement of previously approved collections. This document describes one collection of information for which NHTSA intends to seek OMB approval.

This document adopts fees for Fiscal Year 2015 relating to the registration of importers and the importation of motor vehicles not certified as conforming to the Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS). These fees will also apply beyond Fiscal Year 2015 until further notice. These fees are needed to maintain the registered importer (RI) program. We are increasing the fees for the registration of a new RI from $805 to $844 and the annual fee for renewing an existing registration from $676 to $726. The fee to reimburse Customs for conformance bond processing costs will increase from $9.09 to $9.34 per bond. The fee for the review, processing, handling, and disbursement of cash deposits that are submitted in lieu of a conformance bond will increase from $495 to $499. We are increasing the fees for the importation of a vehicle covered by an import eligibility decision made on an individual model and model year basis. For vehicles determined eligible based on their substantial similarity to a U.S. certified vehicle, the fee will increase from $101 to $138. For vehicles determined eligible based on their capability of being modified to comply with all applicable FMVSS, the fee will also increase from $101 to $138. The fee for the inspection of a vehicle will remain $827. The fee for processing a conformity package will decrease from $12 to $10. If the vehicle has been entered electronically with Customs through the Automated Broker Interface (ABI) and the RI has an email address, the fee for processing the conformity package will continue to be $6, provided the fee is paid by credit card. If NHTSA finds that the information in the entry or the conformity package is incorrect, the processing fee will increase from $57 to $59, representing a $2 increase in the fee that is currently charged when there are one or more errors in the ABI entry or omissions in the statement of conformity.

This Notice provides NHTSA's finding with respect to a request from the Idaho Department of Transportation (IDOT) to waive the requirements of Buy America for the purchase of Child Passenger Safety (CPS) training dolls. NHTSA finds that a non-availability waiver of the Buy America requirements is appropriate for the purchase of the CPS training dolls using Federal highway safety grant funds because there are no suitable products produced in the United States.

This document announces receipt by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of a petition for a decision that nonconforming 2002 BMW Z3 passenger cars that were not originally manufactured to comply with all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS), are eligible for importation into the United States because they are substantially similar to vehicles that were originally manufactured for sale in the United States and that were certified by their manufacturer as complying with the safety standards (the U.S.- certified version of the same 2002 BMW Z3 passenger cars) and they are capable of being readily altered to conform to the standards.