Custom Glass Solutions Upper Sandusky Corporation, Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance

Jeffrey M. Giuseppe
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
September 25, 2014

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 186 (Thursday, September 25, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57654-57655]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-22814]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2013-0124; Notice 1]


Custom Glass Solutions Upper Sandusky Corporation, 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: Custom Glass Solutions Upper Sandusky Corporation (Custom 
Glass), a subsidiary of Guardian Industries Corporation, has determined 
that certain laminated glass panes, other than windscreens, do not 
fully comply with paragraph S6 of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 
(FMVSS) No. FMVSS 205, Glazing Materials. Custom Glass has filed an 
appropriate report dated September 17, 2013, pursuant to 49 CFR part 
573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports.

DATES: The closing date for comments on the petition is October 27, 
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.,

[[Page 57655]]

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. Custom Glass's Petition: Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 
30120(h) (see implementing rule at 49 CFR part 556), Custom Glass 
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 Custom Glass'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. Glazing Involved: Approximately 160 laminated glass panes, 
other than windscreens, intended for the cabs of approximately twenty 
mining vehicles being manufactured by Atlas Copco in Australia. The 
panes consist of two 4.0 mm tempered panes manufactured by Auto Temp, 
Inc. (ATI) that were bonded together with a 0.76 mm PVB layer by Custom 
Glass and then shipped to Angus Palm, Watertown, South Dakota between 
August 1, 2013 and September 4, 2013.
    III. Noncompliance: Custom Glass explains that the noncompliance is 
that the labeling on the subject laminated glass panes does not fully 
meet the requirements of paragraph S6 of FMVSS No. 205. The panes were 
labeled with the incorrect DOT number, manufacturer's trademark, 
manufacturer's model number (i.e., ``M number'') and were incorrectly 
marked as Tempered.
    IV. Rule Text: Refer to the entire text of Paragraph S6 of FMVSS 
No. 205 for requirements and contextual restrictions.
    V. Summary of Custom Glass's Analyses: Custom Glass stated its 
belief that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential to motor 
vehicle safety based on the following reasoning:
    The parts are labeled with the DOT number, ``M number'' and 
trademark belonging to the tempered glazing supplier, ATI. The correct 
DOT number, which should have been affixed to the parts at issue, is 
DOT 22. The correct ``M number'' is M85L2 (which corresponds to a 
laminated glass construction with an 8.5 mm nominal thickness, from 
which Guardian fabricates automotive parts for use anywhere in a motor 
vehicle except windshields). The panes are marked with the correct AS 
Item number.
    Although the subject laminated glass panes are affixed with the 
incorrect DOT number, ``M number'' and manufacturer's trademark, the 
glass construction from which the laminated glass parts were fabricated 
is in full compliance with the technical requirements of FMVSS No. 205 
that currently apply to laminated glass for use anywhere in a motor 
vehicle except windshields.
    Custom Glass also asserts that the subject noncompliance could not 
result in the wrong part being used in an OEM or ARG application given 
that the part would be ordered by its unique part number and not the 
``M number'' (which corresponds to the glass construction from which 
the part is fabricated). The parts are also easily traceable back to 
Custom Glass since they are the only glazing supplier for this 
particular vehicle.
    Custom Glass has additionally informed NHTSA that it has corrected 
the noncompliance so that all future production vehicles delivered with 
laminated glass will comply with FMVSS No. 205.
    In summation, Custom Glass believes that the described 
noncompliance of the subject laminated glass parts is inconsequential 
to motor vehicle safety, and that its petition, to exempt 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 laminated glass parts that 
Custom Glass no longer controlled at the time it determined that the 
noncompliance existed. However, any decision on this petition does not 
relieve equipment 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 laminated glass parts 
under their control after Custom Glass 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 Vehicle Safety Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2014-22814 Filed 9-24-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P