Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance

Topics:  Cooper Tires

Jeffrey M. Giuseppe
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
May 22, 2014

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 99 (Thursday, May 22, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29502-29503]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-11882]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2014-0001; Notice 1]


Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, Receipt of Petition for Decision of 
Inconsequential Noncompliance

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 
Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Receipt of Petition.

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SUMMARY: Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, ``Cooper'' has determined that 
certain Cooper light truck tires do not fully comply with paragraph 
S6.4 of Federal Motor Tire 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. Cooper has filed an 
appropriate report dated December 6, 2013 pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, 
Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports.

DATES: The closing date for comments on the petition is June 23, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written data, 
views, and arguments on this petition. Comments must refer to the 
docket and notice number cited at the beginning of this notice and be 
submitted by any of the following methods:
     Mail: Send comments by mail addressed to: U.S. Department 
of Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, 
Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590.
     Hand Deliver: Deliver comments by hand to: U.S. Department 
of Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, 
Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. The 
Docket Section is open on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. except 
Federal Holidays.
     Electronically: Submit comments electronically by: logging 
onto the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) Web site at http://www.regulations.gov/. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments. Comments may also be faxed to (202) 493-2251.
    Comments must be written in the English language, and be no greater 
than 15 pages in length, although there is no limit to the length of 
necessary attachments to the comments. If comments are submitted in 
hard copy form, please ensure that two copies are provided. If you wish 
to receive confirmation that your comments were received, please 
enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard with the comments. Note that 
all comments received will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided.
    Documents submitted to a docket may be viewed by anyone at the 
address and times given above. The documents may also be viewed on the 
Internet at http://www.regulations.gov by following the online 
instructions for accessing the dockets. DOT's complete Privacy Act 
Statement is available for review in the Federal Register published on 
April 11, 2000, (65 FR 19477-78).
    The petition, supporting materials, and all comments received 
before the close of business on the closing date indicated below will 
be filed and will be considered. All comments and supporting materials 
received after the closing date will also be filed and will be 
considered to the extent possible. When the petition is granted or 
denied, notice of the decision will be published in the Federal 
Register pursuant to the authority indicated below.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Cooper's Petition

    Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) (see implementing rule 
at 49 CFR part 556), Cooper submitted a petition 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.
    This notice of receipt of Cooper's petition is published under 49 
U.S.C. 30118 and 30120 and does not represent any agency decision or 
other exercise of judgment concerning the merits of the petition.

II. Tires Involved

    Affected are approximately 83,343 Mickey Thompson Baja MTZ brand 
LT315/70R17 Load Range D Tubeless tires manufactured from January 28, 
2006 through October 31, 2013.

III. Noncompliance

    Cooper explains that the noncompliance is that, due to a molding 
error, the subject tires were manufactured with only five of the six 
treadwear indicators required by paragraph S6.4 of FMVSS No. 119.

IV. Rule Text

    Paragraph S6.4 of FMVSS No. 119 requires in pertinent part:

    S6.4 Treadwear Indicators. Except as specified in this 
paragraph, each tire shall have at least six treadwear indicators 
spaced approximately equally around the circumference of the tire 
that enable a person inspecting the tire to determine visually 
whether the tire has worn to a tread depth of 1.6mm (one-sixteenth 
of an inch). . . .

V. Summary of Cooper's Analyses

    Cooper believes that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential 
to motor vehicle safety because the absence of a single treadwear 
indicator has no practical effect on motor vehicle safety. Cooper 
supported this belief by stating that the presence of five of the six 
treadwear indicators provides ample coverage over the surface of the 
tire

[[Page 29503]]

because consumers or technicians who attempt to inspect tread depth by 
relying on the treadwear indicators can easily see several of the 
indicators. In fact, when the vehicle is parked, only a small portion 
of the tread surface is not visible.
    Therefore, Cooper believes that five treadwear indicators have an 
equivalent functionality of six indicators whether the tire is mounted 
on a vehicle or not.
    Copper also points out that NHTSA has previously granted other 
petitions that Cooper believes were similar to the subject petition.
    Cooper has informed NHTSA that it has corrected the noncompliance 
so that all future production of these tires will comply with FMVSS No. 
119.
    In summation, Cooper believes that the described noncompliance of 
the subject tires is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety, and that 
its petition, to exempt Cooper from providing recall notification of 
noncompliance as required by 49 U.S.C. 30118 and remedying the recall 
noncompliance as required by 49 U.S.C. 30120 should be granted.
    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, any decision on 
this petition only applies to the subject tires that Cooper no longer 
controlled at the time it determined that the noncompliance existed. 
However, any decision on this petition does not relieve Cooper 
distributors and dealers of the prohibitions on the sale, offer for 
sale, or introduction or delivery for introduction into interstate 
commerce of the noncompliant motor tires under their control after 
Cooper notified them that the subject noncompliance existed.

    Authority:  49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120: delegations of authority at 
49 CFR 1.95 and 501.8.

Jeffrey M. Giuseppe,
Acting Director, Office of Tire Safety Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2014-11882 Filed 5-21-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P