Continental Tire the Americas, LLC, Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance |
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Topics: Continental Tire
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Jeffrey M. Giuseppe
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
25 March 2016
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 58 (Friday, March 25, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16269-16270]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-06731]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2016-0003; Notice 1]
Continental Tire the Americas, LLC, 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: Continental Tire the Americas, LLC (CTA), has determined that
certain CTA tires do not fully comply with paragraph S5.5(f) of Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 139 New Pneumatic Radial
Tires for Light Vehicles. CTA filed a report dated December 11, 2015,
pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility
and Reports. CTA then petitioned NHTSA under 49 CFR part 556 requesting
a decision that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential to motor
vehicle safety.
DATES: The closing date for comments on the petition is April 25, 2016.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written data,
views, and arguments regarding this petition. Comments must refer to
the docket and notice number cited in the title 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 comments you have submitted by mail 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.
The petition, supporting materials, and all comments received
before the close of business on the closing date indicated above will
be filed in the docket 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
also be published in the Federal Register pursuant to the authority
indicated at the end of this notice.
All documents submitted to the 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. The docket ID number for this
petition is shown in the heading of this notice.
DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement is available for review in the
Federal Register published on April 11, 2000, (65 FR 19477-78).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Overview: Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) (see
implementing regulations at 49 CFR part 556), CTA 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 CTA'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 1,800 General Tire
brand Grabber size LT265/75R16 112/109 Q LRC tires that were
manufactured between December 10, 2010 and September 9, 2013.
[[Page 16270]]
III. Noncompliance: CTA explains that due to a mold error, the
number of tread plies indicated on the sidewall of the subject tires
does not match the actual number of plies in the tire construction. The
tires are marked ``PLIES: TREAD: 2 POLYESTER + 2 STEEL + 2 POLYAMIDE''
whereas the correct marking should be: ``PLIES: TREAD: 2 POLYESTER + 2
STEEL + 1 POLYAMIDE.'' As a consequence, these tires do not meet
requirements specified in paragraph S5.5(f) of FMVSS No. 139.
IV. Rule Text: Paragraph S5.5(f) of FMVSS No. 139 states, in
pertinent part:
S5.5 Tire Markings. Except as specified in paragraph (a) through
(i) of S5.5, each tire must be marked on each sidewall with the
information specified in S5.5(a) through (d) and on one sidewall
with the information specified in S5.5(e) through (i) according to
the phase-in schedule specified in S7 of this standard. . .
(f) The actual number of plies in the sidewall, and the actual
number of plies in the tread area, if different.
V. Summary of CTA's Petition: CTA described the subject
noncompliance and stated its belief that the noncompliance is
inconsequential to motor vehicle safety.
In support of its petition, CTA submitted the following information
pertaining to the subject noncompliance:
(a) CTA stated that the tires covered by this petition are labeled
with incorrect information regarding the number of tread plies. The
company noted that while the number of polyester and steel plies
indicated on the sidewall is accurate, the number of polyamide plies
indicated is incorrect. The company contended, however, that this
mislabeling has no impact on the operational performance of these tires
or on the safety of vehicles on which these tires are mounted. The
company asserted that the tires meet or exceed all of the performance
requirements of FMVSS No. 139.
(b) CTA noted that NHTSA has concluded in response to numerous
other petitions that this type of noncompliance is inconsequential to
motor vehicle safety. CTA referenced notices that NHTSA has published
in the Federal Register granting the following inconsequentiality
petitions:
Petition of Hankook Tire America Corp., 79 FR 30688 (May
28, 2014);
Petition of Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC, 78
FR 47049 (August 2, 2013);
Petition of Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, 78 FR 47050
(August 2, 2013).
(C) CTA states that all tires covered by its petition meet or
exceed the performance requirements of FMVSS No. 139, as well as the
other labeling requirements of the standard.
(d) CTA also states that it is not aware of any crashes, injuries,
customer complaints, or field reports associated with the subject
noncompliance.
CTA additionally informed NHTSA that it has quarantined all
existing inventory of the tires that contain the noncompliant tire
sidewall labeling and has corrected the molds at the manufacturing
plant so that no additional tires will be manufactured with the
noncompliance.
In summation, CTA believes that the described noncompliance is
inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety, and that its
petition to be exempted from providing notification of the
noncompliance, as required by 49 U.S.C. 30118, and to remedy the
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 CTA 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 from 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 CTA
notified them that the subject noncompliance exists.
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. 2016-06731 Filed 3-24-16; 8:45 am]
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