Autocar Industries, LLC, Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance |
|---|
Topics: Autocar Xspotter
|
Jeffrey M. Giuseppe
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
16 August 2017
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 157 (Wednesday, August 16, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38995-38997]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-17329]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2017-0063]
Autocar Industries, LLC, Receipt of Petition for Decision of
Inconsequential Noncompliance
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Receipt of petition.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Autocar Industries, LLC (Autocar Industries), has determined
that certain model year (MY) 2014-2018 Autocar Xspotter trucks do not
fully comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No.
101, Controls and Displays. Autocar Industries filed a noncompliance
report dated June 12, 2017, and subsequently petitioned NHTSA on June
19, 2017, for a decision that the subject noncompliance is
inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety.
DATES: The closing date for comments on the petition is September 15,
2017.
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
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 Delivery: 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 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: Autocar Industries has determined that certain MY
2014-2018 Autocar Xspotter trucks do not fully comply with Table 2 of
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 101, Controls and
Displays. Autocar Industries filed a noncompliance report dated June
12, 2017, pursuant to CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance
Responsibility and Reports, and petitioned NHTSA on June 19, 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.
This notice of receipt of their 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. Vehicles Involved: Approximately 644 MY 2014-2018 Autocar
Xspotter trucks, manufactured between September 12, 2013 and August 4,
2017, are potentially involved.
III. Noncompliance: Autocar Industries explains that the
noncompliance is that the Low Brake Air Pressure telltale for air brake
systems displays the word ``BRAKE PRESSURE'' and the Canadian Motor
Vehicle Safety Standard (CMVSS) 101 specified symbol, rather than the
words ``Brake Air,'' as specified in Table 2 of FMVSS No. 101. Autocar
Industries states that the telltale is accompanied by an audible alert
and pressure gauges.
IV. Rule Text: Paragraph S5 of FMVSS No. 101 provides: ``Each
passenger car, multipurpose passenger vehicle, truck and bus that is
fitted with a control, a telltale, or an indicator listed in Table 1 or
Table 2 must meet the requirements of this standard for the location,
identification, color, and illumination of that control, telltale or
indicator.''
Paragraph S5.2.1 of FMVSS No. 101 provides, in pertinent part: ``.
. . each control, telltale and indicator that is listed in column 1 of
Table 1 or Table 2 must be identified by the symbol specified for it in
column 2 or the word or abbreviation specified for it in column 3 of
Table 1 or Table 2.''
Table 2 appears as follows:
[[Page 38996]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN16AU17.000
V. Summary of Petition: Autocar Industries 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, Autocar Industries submitted the
following reasoning:
(a) Autocar Industries notes that the purpose of the low brake air
pressure telltale is to alert the driver to a low air condition,
consistent with the requirements of FMVSS No. 121, S5.1.5 (warning
signal). The words ``BRAKE PRESSURE'' instead of ``BRAKE AIR,'' the
CMVSS required symbol, and an audible alert that occurs in the subject
vehicles would alert the driver to an air issue with the brake system.
Once alerted, the driver can check the actual air pressure by reading
the primary and secondary air gauges and seeing the contrasting color
on the gauges indicating low pressure.
(b) NHTSA stated in a 2005 FMVSS No. 101 rulemaking that the reason
for including vehicles over 10,000 pounds GVWR in the application of
the standard is that drivers of heavier vehicles need to see and
identify their displays, just like drivers of lighter vehicles. See 70
FR 48295, 48298 (Aug. 17, 2005). Drivers of commercial vehicles conduct
pre-trip daily inspections. For vehicles with pneumatic brake systems,
the in-cab air brake checks for warning light and buzzer, at 60 PSI,
would familiarize the driver with the specific telltale displayed and
audible warning in the event a low-air condition occurred during
operation.
(c) There are two scenarios when a low brake air pressure condition
would exist: A parked vehicle and a moving vehicle. In both conditions,
the driver would be alerted to a low-air condition by the following
means:
Red contrasting color of the telltale indicating ``BRAKE
PRESSURE''
Audible alert to the driver as long as the vehicle has low
air
Air pressure gauges for the primary and secondary air
reservoirs clearly indicating the level of air pressure in the system
Red contrasting color on the air gauges indicating
pressure below 60 PSI
The functionality of both the parking brake system and the service
brake system remains unaffected by using ``BRAKE PRESSURE'' instead of
``Brake Air'' for the telltale in the subject vehicles.
(d) NHTSA Precedents--Autocar Industries notes that NHTSA has
[[Page 38997]]
previously granted petitions for decisions of inconsequential
noncompliance for similar brake telltale issues. See Docket No. NHTSA-
2012-0004, 78 FR 69931 (November 21, 2013) (grant of petition for Ford
Motor Company); Docket No. NHTSA-2014-0046, 79 FR 78559 (December 30,
2014) (grant of petition for Chrysler Group, LLC); and Docket No.
NHTSA-2016-0103, 82 FR 17084 (April 7, 2017) (grant of petition for
Daimler Trucks North America). In all of these instances, the vehicles
at issue did not have the exact requirements listed in FMVSS No. 101
table 2. The available warnings were deemed sufficient to provide the
necessary driver warning. Autocar Industries respectfully suggests that
the same is true for the subject vehicles: The red ``BRAKE PRESSURE''
telltale, the audible alert, and the contrasting colors on the air
pressure gauges are fully sufficient to warn the driver of a low brake
air pressure situation.
Autocar Industries 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.
To view Autocar Industries' petition analyses in its entirety you
can visit https://www.regulations.gov by following the online
instructions for accessing the dockets and by using the docket ID
number for this petition shown in the heading of this notice.
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 vehicles that Autocar
Industries 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 vehicles under their control
after Autocar Industries 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. 2017-17329 Filed 8-15-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P