Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC, Grant of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance

Topics:  Bridgestone

Jeffrey M. Giuseppe
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
December 11, 2015

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 238 (Friday, December 11, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Page 77081]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-31167]



[[Page 77081]]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2015-0078; Notice 2]


Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC, Grant of Petition for 
Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance

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

ACTION: Grant of petition.

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SUMMARY: Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC (BATO), has 
determined that certain Bridgestone bus tires do not fully comply with 
paragraph S6.5(e) 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. BATO has filed an 
appropriate report dated July 7, 2015, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, 
Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports.

ADDRESSES: For further information on this decision contact Abraham 
Diaz, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance, the National Highway Traffic 
Safety Administration (NHTSA), telephone (202) 366-5310, facsimile 
(202) 366-5930.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    I. Overview: Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) (see 
implementing rule at 49 CFR part 556), BATO 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.
    Notice of receipt of the BATO's petition was published, with a 30-
day public comment period, on October 2, 2015 in the Federal Register 
(80 FR 59850). No substantive comments were received. To view the 
petition, comments and all supporting documents log onto the Federal 
Docket Management System (FDMS) Web site at: http://www.regulations.gov/. Then follow the online search instructions to 
locate docket number ``NHTSA-2015-0078.''
    II. Tires Involved: Affected are approximately 328 Bridgestone 
R192GZ size 12R22.5 bus tires sold in the U.S. territory of Guam and 
manufactured between January 1, 2004 and April 30, 2015.
    III. Noncompliance: BATO explains that the noncompliance is that 
the sidewall of the subject tires clearly states the speed restriction 
in km/h, however, omits the English units in mph as required by 
paragraph S6.5(e) of FMVSS No. 119.
    IV. Rule Text: Paragraph S6.5 of FMVSS No. 119 requires in 
pertinent part:

    S6.5 Tire Markings. Except as specified in this paragraph, each 
tire shall be marked on each sidewall with the information specified 
in paragraphs (a) through (j) of this section. . . .
    (e) The speed restriction of the tire, if 90 km/h (55 mph) or 
less, shown as follows:

Max speed ____km/h (___mph). . . .

    V. Summary of BATO's Petition: BATO states that Guam does not have 
interstate highways and that the speed limits throughout Guam (35 mph 
rural, 15 mph urban and 15-25 in school zones) are significantly lower 
than the speed restriction of the subject tires (55 mph), thus, BATO, 
believes that there is no risk of drivers consistently driving faster 
than the speed restriction on the tires, even if a driver is unfamiliar 
with metric units.
    BATO also believes that most professional drivers would understand 
the speed restriction as stated in metric units. Since the subject 
tires cannot be used in a passenger vehicle application, and will be 
serviced and driven by professionals who understand the difference 
between English and metric units; it is unlikely an unqualified driver 
would mistakenly drive these tires faster than the speed restriction.
    BATO notes that they have not received any complaints, claims, or 
warranty adjustments related to the subject tires and that these tires, 
meet all other performance requirements of FMVSS No. 119.
    BATO has additionally informed NHTSA that it has corrected the 
noncompliance so that all future production of the subject tires 
complies with FMVSS No. 119.
    In summation, BATO believes that the described noncompliance of the 
subject tires is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety, and that its 
petition, to exempt BATO 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'S Decision

    NHTSA's Analysis: The agency agrees with BATO that the subject 
noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. 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 the vehicles on which these tires are mounted.
    The subject speed-restricted tires are correctly stamped with the 
speed restriction in km/h. As BATO explained in its petition, omitting 
the English unit does not cause a safety concern in this case since the 
vehicles on which the subject tires are mounted are serviced and driven 
by professionals in U.S. territory of Guam (Guam) who understand the 
difference between English (mph) and Metric (kmh) speed units.
    Furthermore, NHTSA has confirmed that Guam has no interstate 
highways and has maximum speed restriction of 35 mph on its road 
network which is significantly less than the 55 mph speed restriction 
intended for the subject tires.
    For the above reasons, it is very unlikely that the subject 
vehicles will be driven faster than 55 mph for any sustained periods of 
time in Guam.
    NHTSA's Decision: In consideration of the foregoing, NHTSA has 
decided that BATO has met its burden of persuasion that the FMVSS No. 
119 noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. 
Accordingly, BATO's petition is hereby granted and BATO is exempted 
from the obligation of providing notification of, and remedy for the 
subject noncompliance.
    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 subject tires that BATO no longer controlled at the 
time it determined that the noncompliance existed. However, the 
granting of 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 tires under their control after BATO 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,
Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2015-31167 Filed 12-10-15; 8:45 am]
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