Gillig, LLC, Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance |
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Topics: Gillig
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Otto G. Matheke III
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
20 September 2019
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 183 (Friday, September 20, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49624-49625]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-20378]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2019-0042; Notice 1]
Gillig, 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: Gillig LLC, has determined that certain model year (MY) 2013-
2019 Gillig Low Floor buses do not fully comply with Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 102, Transmission Shift Position
Sequence, Starter Interlock, and Transmission Braking Effect. Gillig
filed a noncompliance report dated April 1, 2019, and later amended
their report on April 23, 2019. Gillig subsequently petitioned NHTSA on
May 8, 2019, for a decision that the subject noncompliance is
inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety. This notice
announces receipt of Gillig's petition.
DATES: Send comments on or before October 21, 2019.
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 in the title of this notice and may be
submitted by any of the following methods:
Mail: Send comments by mail addressed to the 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 Delivery: Deliver comments by hand to the 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 for Federal Holidays.
Electronically: Submit comments electronically by logging
onto the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) website at https://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 https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information
provided.
All comments and supporting materials 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 fullest 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 comments, background documentation, and supporting materials
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
https://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 a
Federal Register notice published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-78).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Overview: Gillig has determined that certain MY 2013-2019 Low
Floor buses do not fully comply with paragraph S3.1.3 of FMVSS No. 102,
Transmission Shift Position Sequence, Starter Interlock, and
Transmission Braking Effect (49 CFR 571.102). Gillig filed a
noncompliance report dated April 1, 2019, and later amended their
report on April 23, 2019, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and
Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports. and subsequently petitioned
NHTSA on May 8, 2019, for an exemption from the notification and remedy
requirement of 49 U.S.C Chapter 301 on the basis that this
noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety,
pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) and 49 CFR part 556,
Exemption for Inconsequential Defect or Noncompliance.
This notice of receipt of Gillig's petition is published under 49
U.S.C. 30118 and 30120 and does not represent any agency decision or
other exercises of judgment concerning the merits of the petition.
II. Buses Involved: Approximately 925 MY 2013-2019 Gillig Low Floor
buses, manufactured between December 23, 2013, and February 25, 2019,
are potentially involved.
III. Noncompliance: Gillig explains that the noncompliance is that
the subject buses are equipped with a starter interlock that is
operational while the transmission shift position is in a forward or
reverse drive position and therefore, does not meet the requirements in
paragraph S3.1.3 of FMVSS No. 102.
IV. Rule Requirements: Paragraph S3.1.3 of FMVSS No. 102 provides
the requirements relevant to this petition. Except as provided in
paragraphs S3.1.3.1 through S3.1.3.3, the engine starter shall be
inoperative when the transmission shift position is in a forward or
reverse drive position.
[[Page 49625]]
V. Summary of Petition: Gillig 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, Gillig
submitted the following reasoning:
1. The potentially non-compliant condition occurs as follows:
When the ignition switch is in the ON position, the engine is
stopped, the shift selector is in the ``Forward'' or ``Reverse''
position, and the start button is depressed, the starter cranks the
engine, but the transmission does not engage because, according to
ATI, the shifter is in an inhibited state. With the engine running,
the vehicle operator must perform four separate actions in a
specific sequence to engage the transmission and move the vehicle
under power, specifically: (a) place foot on brake (b) select
neutral (c) select a gear, and (d) remove foot from foot brake.
Fortunately, because the transmission controller defaults the
transmission to neutral after an engine start, there is no risk of
unintentional vehicle movement, and thus, no safety risk arises as a
result of the non-compliant condition.
Gillig concluded 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.
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 buses that Gillig no longer
controlled at the time it determined that the noncompliance existed.
However, any decision on 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 Gillig
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.
Otto G. Matheke III,
Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2019-20378 Filed 9-19-19; 8:45 am]
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