Autocar, LLC, Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance |
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Topics: Autocar Xpeditor
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Jeffrey M. Giuseppe
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
16 August 2017
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 157 (Wednesday, August 16, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38999-39001]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-17331]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2017-0065]
Autocar, 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: Autocar, LLC (Autocar), has determined that certain model year
(MY) 2014-2018 Autocar Xpeditor trucks do not fully comply with Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 101, Controls and Displays.
Autocar filed a noncompliance report dated June 14, 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
[[Page 39000]]
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, LLC (Autocar), has determined that certain MY
2014-2018 Autocar Xpeditor trucks do not fully comply with Table 2 of
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 101, Controls and
Displays. Autocar filed a noncompliance report dated June 14, 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 5,545 MY 2014-2018 Autocar
Xpeditor trucks, manufactured between September 3, 2013 and June 2,
2017, are potentially involved.
III. Noncompliance: Autocar explains that the noncompliance is that
the Low Brake Air Pressure telltale for air brake system 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 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:
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN16AU17.002
[[Page 39001]]
V. Summary of Autocar's Petition: Autocar 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 submitted the following
reasoning:
(a) Autocar 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
could 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 notes that NHTSA has 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
Federal Register 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 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 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's 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 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
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. 2017-17331 Filed 8-15-17; 8:45 am]
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