Forest River, Inc., Grant of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance |
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Topics: Forest River
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Michael A. Cole
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
1 March 2019
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 41 (Friday, March 1, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7178-7180]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-03573]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2018-0003; Notice 2]
Forest River, Inc., 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: Forest River, Inc. (Forest River), has determined that certain
model year (MY) 2017-2018 Forest River buses and school buses do not
fully comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No.
205, Glazing Materials. Forest River filed two separate noncompliance
reports, both dated November 30, 2017. Forest River then petitioned
NHTSA on December 12, 2017, for a decision that the subject
noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety.
This notice announces the grant of this petition.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Leroy Angeles, Office of Vehicle
Safety Compliance, NHTSA, telephone (202) 366-5304, facsimile (202)
366-3081.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Overview
Forest River has determined that certain MY 2017-2018 Forest River
buses and school buses do not fully comply with FMVSS No. 205, Glazing
Materials (49 CFR 571.205). Forest River filed two separate
noncompliance reports, both dated November 30, 2017, pursuant to 49 CFR
part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports. Forest
River then petitioned NHTSA on December 12, 2017, pursuant to 49 U.S.C.
30118(d) and 30120(h) and 49 CFR part 556, for an exemption from the
notification and remedy requirements of 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301 on the
basis that this noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor
vehicle safety.
II. Buses Involved
Approximately 544 MY 2017-2018 Forest River school buses and
approximately 2,121 MY 2017-2018 Forest River buses, manufactured
between June 26, 2017, and November 10, 2017, are potentially involved.
The following Forest River buses are involved:
School Buses
Starcraft Allstar XL, Quest XL and Prodigy
[[Page 7179]]
Buses
Starcraft Allstar XL, Allstar, Starlite, XLT, Starquest, and
Allstar MVP
StarTrans President, PS2, Senator, Senator II, Candidate, and
Candidate II
Glaval Apollo, Commute, Concorde II, Entourage, Legacy,
Primetime, Sport, Titan II, Titan II LF and Universal
Elkhart Coach ECII
III. Noncompliance
Forest River explains that the noncompliance is that the subject
buses were equipped with curbside entry door glass that does not fully
comply with paragraph S6 of FMVSS No. 205. Specifically, the curbside
entry door glass has the AS3 glazing marking when it should have been
marked with the AS2 glazing marking.
IV. Rule Requirements
Section S6 of FMVSS No. 205, titled ``Certification and Marking''
includes the requirements relevant to this petition:
A prime glazing material manufacturer must certify, in
accordance with 49 U.S.C. 30115, each piece of glazing material to
which this standard applies is designed as:
a. A component of any specific motor vehicle or camper; or
b. To be cut into components for use in motor vehicles or items of
motor vehicle equipment.
A prime glazing manufacturer certifies its glazing by
adding to the marks required by section 7 of ANSI/SAE Z26.1-1996, in
letters and numerals of the same size, the symbol ``DOT'' and a
manufacturer's code mark that NHTSA assigns to the manufacturer.
NHTSA will assign a code mark to a manufacturer after the
manufacturer submits a written request to the Office of Vehicle Safety
Compliance, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The request
must include the company name, address, and a statement from the
manufacturer certifying its status as a prime glazing manufacturer as
defined in paragraph S4.
A manufacturer or distributor who cuts a section of
glazing material to which this standard applies, for use in a motor
vehicle or camper, must:
a. Mark that material in accordance with section 7 of ANSI/SAE
Z26.1-1996; and
b. Certify that its product complies with this standard in
accordance with 49 U.S.C. 30115.
V. Summary of Forest River's Petition
Forest River described the subject noncompliance and stated its
belief that the noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor
vehicle safety. In support of its petition, Forest River submitted the
following arguments:
1. As an initial matter, the noncompliance does not present a
safety risk because it has no effect on the structure, performance, or
safety of the glass. That is, the noncompliance relates solely to the
glass' markings, specifically the use of the marking ``AS3,'' instead
of ``AS2.''
2. The glass required for the subject buses and school buses must
meet the requirements of ANSI 26.1-1996 AS2. Forest River requested
that a sample of the glass be tested to ensure its compliance with all
applicable standards. The test results have affirmed that the glass
indeed meets ANSI 26.1-1996 AS2's requirements and is compliant for the
designed position in which it is applied.
3. Forest River is enclosing copies of statements from the glass
manufacturer Cleer Vision, and test data confirming the glass'
compliance with ANSI and FMVSS No. 205's performance standards.
4. Forest River stated that the agency has previously granted
numerous petitions for determinations of inconsequential noncompliance
in regard to FMVSS No. 205, including petitions involving mismarkings
similar to the instant matter. See the following recent examples:
a. Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. Petition, 80 FR 72482
(November 19, 2015) (involving rear door windows marked with the
model number ``M66'' instead of the correct ``M131'');
b. Custom Glass Solutions Upper Sandusky Corporation Petition,
79 FR 49833 (January 23, 2015) (involving laminated glass panes
mistakenly marked as ``tempered'' and with the incorrect
manufacturer's DOT number, model number, and manufacturer's
trademark).
c. Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. Petition, 79 FR 49833
(August 22, 2014) (involving rear door windows marked with the model
number ``M13l'' instead of the correct ``M129'');
d. General Motors LLC Petition, 79 FR 23402 (April 28, 2014)
(involving quarter windows marked as ``AS2'' instead of the correct
``AS3'').
Forest River concluded by expressing the belief that the subject
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 a remedy for the
noncompliance, as required by 49 U.S.C. 30120, should be granted.
Forest River's complete petition and all supporting documents are
available by logging onto the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS)
website at: https://www.regulations.gov and following the online search
instructions to locate the docket number listed in the title of this
notice.
VI. NHTSA's Analysis
NHTSA has reviewed Forest River's petition and agrees with Forest
River that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential to motor
vehicle safety. The agency believes that the true measure of
inconsequentiality to motor vehicle safety in this case is that the
mismarking of the glazing material has no effect on the operational
safety of the subject buses. This noncompliance to the labeling
requirements in FMVSS No. 205 will have an inconsequential effect on
motor vehicle safety because:
Forest River's petition included letters from Cleer Vision, stating
that the glass inadvertently marked AS3 does in fact meet all
requirements of AS2 certification including, but not limited to, the
visual light transmittance being 70 percent or greater. Cleer Vision
provided a Certificate of Conformity from Guardian Industries
certifying that the float glass products they manufacture comply with
applicable FMVSS specifications with respect to thickness, optics,
inclusions, and transmittance. Guardian Industries' provided data
showing the average visible light transmittance as 80.03 percent, thus
greater than the minimum 70 percent for AS2.
ANSI Z26.1-1996 requires that all AS3 tempered glass pass the ball
impact test, fracture test, and the shot bag impact test. In addition
to AS3 tempered glass requirements, Forest River's AS2 tempered glass
must also meet the light stability, luminous transmittance, and
abrasion resistance requirements set forth in ANSI Z26.1-1996 for AS2
tempered glass. Since Forest River's petition focused largely on
luminous transmittance, NHTSA contacted Forest River requesting test
data confirming that the subject glass meets all the requirements set
forth in ANSI Z26.1-1996 for AS2 tempered glass.
In response, Forest River provided a test report documenting the
results of testing to all of the requirements for AS2 tempered glass.
NHTSA reviewed Forest River's report and verified that the subject
glass meets the performance requirements set forth in ANSI Z26.1-1996
for AS2 tempered glass incorporated by reference in FMVSS No. 205.
The agency contacted Forest River on April 2, 2018, asking Forest
River what they will do to ensure the
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noncompliance does not happen again in the future. In response, Forest
River stated that they have implemented a triple verification process
between the supplier and Forest River to further prevent future
occurrences.
VII. NHTSA's Decision
In consideration of the foregoing analysis, NHTSA has decided that
Forest River has met its burden of persuasion that the FMVSS No. 205
noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. Accordingly,
Forest River's petition is hereby granted and Forest River is exempted
from the obligation of providing notification of, and a remedy for, the
subject noncompliance under 49 U.S.C. 30118 and 30120.
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 buses that Forest River no longer
controlled at the time it determined that the noncompliance existed.
However, the granting of this petition does not relieve vehicle
distributors and dealers of the prohibitions on the sale, offer for
sale, or introduction or delivery for introduction into interstate
commerce of the noncompliant buses under their control after Forest
River 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).
Michael A. Cole,
Acting Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2019-03573 Filed 2-28-19; 8:45 am]
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