National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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.

In June 2003, NHTSA published a final rule establishing upgraded tire performance requirements for new tires for use on vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or less. This document responds to petitions for reconsideration of that final rule. After carefully considering the petitions, the agency is modifying certain performance requirements to better address snow tires and certain specialty tires. Specifically, we are amending the performance requirements for snow tires used on light vehicles. Further, we decided that the safety performance of certain other specialty tires is better addressed through the requirements of a different Federal safety standard.

This notice grants the Cross Lander USA (``Cross Lander'') application for a temporary exemption from the requirements of S4.2 and S14 of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 208, Occupant crash protection. The exemption applies to the Cross Lander 244X vehicle line. In accordance with 49 CFR part 555, the basis for the grant is that compliance would cause substantial economic hardship to a manufacturer that has tried in good faith to comply with the standard.

This notice proposes to amend the regulations that implement the section 410 program, under which States can receive incentive grants for alcohol-impaired driving prevention programs. The proposed amendments implement changes that were made to the section 410 program by the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy For Users (SAFETEA-LU). As a result of SAFETEA-LU, States are provided with two alternative means to qualify for a section 410 grant. Under the first alternative, States may qualify as a ``low fatality rate State'' if they have an alcohol-related fatality rate of 0.5 or less per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT). Under the second alternative, States may qualify as a ``programmatic State'' if they demonstrate that they meet three of eight grant criteria for fiscal year 2006, four of eight grant criteria for fiscal year 2007, and five of eight grant criteria for fiscal years 2008 and 2009. Qualifying under both alternatives would not entitle the State to receive additional grant funds. SAFETEA-LU also provides for a separate grant to the ten States that are determined to have the highest rates of alcohol-related driving fatalities. This notice of proposed rulemaking proposes criteria States must meet and procedures they must follow to qualify for section 410 grants, beginning in fiscal year 2006.