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

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., (Volkswagen),\1\ has determined that certain model year 2011 Volkswagen Jetta passenger cars equipped with a TDI engine and Goodyear Eagle Vector 205/55 R16 94V XL tires, do not fully comply with paragraph S4.2.1.2 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. Volkswagen has filed an appropriate report pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports (dated June 7, 2011).

In accordance with the procedures in 49 CFR part 555, Wheego Electric Cars, Inc., has petitioned the agency for a temporary exemption from the electronic stability control requirements of FMVSS No. 126. The basis for the application is that the petitioner avers that the exemption would make the development or field evaluation of a low-emission vehicle easier and would not unreasonably lower the safety level of that vehicle.\1\ This notice of receipt of an application for a temporary exemption is published in accordance with statutory and administrative provisions. NHTSA has made no judgment on the merits of the application.

This document grants in full the petition of Toyota Motor North America, Inc's., (Toyota) petition for an exemption of the Prius 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).

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (Goodyear) \1\ has determined that certain Goodyear commercial truck tires manufactured between April 2007 and July 2010 did 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. Goodyear has filed an appropriate report pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports (dated August 12, 2010).

Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company,(Goodyear),\1\ has determined that approximately 26,224 Goodyear Assurance ComforTred Touring passenger replacement car tires manufactured between January 4, 2010 and September 11, 2010, did not fully comply with paragraph S5.5(e) of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 139, New Pneumatic Radial Tires for Light Vehicles. Goodyear has filed an appropriate report pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports (dated December 16, 2010).

EPA and NHTSA are announcing a 14-day extension of the comment period for the joint proposed rules ``2017 and Later Model Year Light- Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards,'' published in the Federal Register on December 1, 2011 (76 FR 74854). The comment period was to end on January 30, 2012 (60 days after publication of the proposals in the Federal Register). This document extends the comment period to February 13, 2012. This extension of the comment period is provided to allow the public additional time to comment on the proposed rule. The extension of the comment period does not apply to NHTSA's Draft Environmental Impact Statement (Draft EIS), available on NHTSA's Web site at www.nhtsa.gov/fuel-economy. The comment period for NHTSA's Draft EIS closes on January 31, 2012.

This final rule updates and consolidates all of the references to the many standards and practices that are incorporated by reference into the Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSSs). Although this part already contains a section regarding publications incorporated by reference, the list in that section is incomplete and has not been updated regularly. Instead, in many cases, materials have been incorporated piecemeal into individual FMVSSs. This final rule moves those scattered references into the centralized list so that it contains all of the references. Additionally, this final rule removes one obsolete FMVSS, No. 208a, as well as various obsolete provisions in other FMVSSs. Those provisions are applicable to vehicles and equipment manufactured before dates that have already passed and are no longer needed in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).

This document announces receipt by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of a petition for a decision that nonconforming 2000-2003 Kawasaki ZR750 motorcycles 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 (1) 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, and (2) they are capable of being readily altered to conform to the standards.

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 January 13, 2011 (Federal Register/Vol. 76, No. 9/pp. 2442-2444).

EPA and NHTSA are announcing public hearings to be held for the joint proposed rules ``2017 and Later Model Year Light-Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards,'' published in the Federal Register on December 1, 2011. The agencies will also accept comment on NHTSA's Draft Environmental Impact Statement (Draft EIS), available on NHTSA's Web site at https:// www.nhtsa.gov/fuel-economy. Three hearings will be held, on January 17, January 19, and January 24, 2012. The agencies will assume that all oral comments presented at the hearing are addressed to the joint proposed rules only, unless speakers specifically reference NHTSA's Draft EIS in oral or written testimony.

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 September 8, 2011 [FR Doc. 2010-0130-0001].

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 motor vehicle tire and rim labeling requirements for which NHTSA intends to seek renewed OMB approval.

This document contains corrections to a final rule (49 CFR 575.302), which was published in the Federal Register of Friday, July 29, 2011 (76 FR 45453). The final rule amended NHTSA's regulation on vehicle labeling of safety rating information to reflect the enhanced NCAP ratings program.

This notice describes the reasons for denying a petition (DP10-002) submitted to NHTSA under 49 U.S.C. Subtitle B, Chapter V, Part 552, Subpart A, requesting that the agency conduct ``an investigation of defective products manufactured by Dayton Wheel Concepts, Inc. (`Dayton Wheel' and American Wire Wheel, LLC (`American Wheel').'' The petition listed the allegedly defective products and the alleged defect (which varied by allegedly defective product).

General Motors, LLC (GM),\1\ has determined that certain 2008 through 2010 Model Year Chevrolet Malibu passenger cars equipped with automatic transmissions and manufactured May 2007 through March 2010 do not fully meet the requirements of paragraph S3.1.4.1 of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 102, Transmission Shift Position Sequence, Starter Interlock, and Transmission Braking Effect. GM filed an appropriate report pursuant to 49 CFR Part 573 Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports, dated March 30, 2010.

This notice announces NHTSA's publication of a technical report describing relationships between a vehicle's mass, footprint (size), and body type and its rate of involvement in fatal crashes. The report's title is: Relationships Between Fatality Risk, Mass, and Footprint in Model Year 2000-2007 Passenger Cars and LTVsPreliminary Report.

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 school buses and other buses.

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.

Continental Tire North America, Inc., (Continental), has determined that certain passenger car tires manufactured between March of 2007 and June of 2009 did not fully comply with paragraphs S5.5(e) and S5.5(f) of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) No. 139, New Pneumatic Radial Tires for Light Vehicles. Continental has filed an appropriate report pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports (dated June 30, 2009). Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) and the rule implementing those provisions at 49 CFR part 556, Continental 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 Continental's petition was published, with a 30-day public comment period, on April 7, 2010, in the Federal Register (75 FR 17830). No comments were received. To view the petition and all supporting documents log onto the Federal Docket Management System Web site at: https://www.regulations.gov/. Then follow the online search instructions to locate docket number ``NHTSA-2010-0024.'' For further information on this decision, contact Mr. George Gillespie, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), telephone (202) 366-5299, facsimile (202) 366-7002. Affected are approximately 28,169 size 235/55R18 100V SL Continental brand CrossContact UHP model passenger car tires manufactured between March of 2007 and June of 2009 at Continental's plant located in Otrokovice, Czech Republic. A total of 8,858 of these tires have been delivered to Continental's customers. The remaining tires (approximately 19,311) are being held in Continental's possession until they can be correctly relabeled. Continental explains that the noncompliance is that, due to a mold stamping anomaly, the sidewall marking on the tires incorrectly describes the actual generic name and number of the body plies. Specifically, the tires in question were inadvertently manufactured with ``TREAD 6 PLIES: 2 POLYESTER + 2 STEEL + 2 NYLON; SIDEWALL 2 PLY POLYESTER.'' The labeling should have been ``TREAD 5 PLIES: 1 RAYON + 2 STEEL + 2 NYLON; SIDEWALL 1 PLY RAYON.'' Continental states that all other sidewall identification markings and safety information are correct. Continental argues that this non-compliant sidewall marking is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety as it ``does not affect the safety, performance and durability of the tire; the tires were built as designed.'' In addition, Continental states that the tires comply with all other NHTSA requirements. Continental said that it performs ongoing compliance testing ``to assure tire performance'' and that ``all tires included in this petition will meet or exceed the performance requirements of FMVSS 139.'' Continental further states that ``there will be no operational impact on the performance or safety of vehicles on which these tires are mounted.'' Continental points out that NHTSA has previously granted similar petitions for non-compliances in sidewall marking. Continental also stated that it has corrected the problem that caused these errors so that they will not be repeated in future production. In summation, Continental states that it believes that because the noncompliances are inconsequential to motor vehicle safety that no corrective action is warranted. NHTSA Decision: The agency agrees with Continental that the noncompliances are inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. The agency believes that the true measure of inconsequentiality to motor vehicle safety in this case is that there is no effect of the noncompliances on the operational safety of vehicles on which these tires are mounted. The safety of people working in the tire retread, repair, and recycling industries must also be considered. Although tire construction affects the strength and durability, neither the agency nor the tire industry provides information relating tire strength and durability to the number of plies and types of ply cord material in the tread and sidewall. Therefore, tire dealers and customers should consider the tire construction information along with other information such as load capacity, maximum inflation pressure, and tread wear, temperature, and traction ratings, to assess performance capabilities of various tires. In the agency's judgment, the incorrect labeling of the tire construction information will have an inconsequential effect on motor vehicle safety because most consumers do not base tire purchases or vehicle operation parameters on the ply material in a tire. The agency also believes the noncompliance will have no measureable effect on the safety of the tire retread, repair, and recycling industries. The use of steel cord construction in the sidewall and tread is the primary safety concern of these industries. In this case, since the tire sidewalls do not contain steel plies, this potential safety concern does not exist. NHTSA notes that the statutory provisions (49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h)) that permit manufacturers to file petitions for a determination of inconsequentiality allow NHTSA to exempt manufacturers only from the duties found in sections 30118 and 30120, respectively, to notify owners, purchasers, and dealers of a defect or noncompliance and to remedy the defect or noncompliance. Therefore, this decision only applies to the 8,858 \1\ tires that Continental no longer controlled at the time that it determined that a noncompliance existed in the subject vehicles.

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 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), before seeking OMB approval, Federal agencies must solicit public comment on proposed collections of information, including extensions and reinstatements of previously approved collections. This document describes an Information Collection Request (ICR) for which NHTSA intends to seek OMB approval.

On May 25, 1989, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) granted in full Porsche Cars North America's (Porsche) petition for an exemption in accordance with Sec. 543.9(c)(2) of 49 CFR part 543, Exemption from the Theft Prevention Standard for the Porsche 911 vehicle line beginning with model year (MY) 1990. On August 16, 2011, Porsche submitted a petition to modify its previously approved exemption for the Porsche 911 vehicle line and notified the agency that all new successor models within the 911 line will be installed with the proposed antitheft device beginning with MY 2012. NHTSA is granting Porsche's petition to modify the exemption in full, because it has determined that the modified device is also likely to be as effective in reducing and deterring motor vehicle theft as compliance with the parts-marking requirements of the Theft Prevention Standard.

This document grants in full the Chrysler LLC, (Chrysler) petition for exemption of the Chrysler [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 the Theft Prevention Standard 49 CFR part 541, Federal Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard. Chrysler requested confidential treatment for specific information in its petition. The agency granted Chrysler's request for confidential treatment by letter dated September 14, 2011. Chrysler informed the agency that the nameplate and model year of introduction will be released to the public prior to introduction of the vehicle line.

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 June 24, 2011 [76 FR 37189].