Ride the Ducks International, LLC, Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance |
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Topics: Ride the Ducks
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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 38993-38995]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-17326]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2017-0038; Notice 1]
Ride the Ducks International, 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: Ride the Ducks International, LLC (RTDI), has determined that
certain model year (MY) 1996-2014 Ride the Ducks International Stretch
Amphibious passenger vehicles (APVs) do not fully comply with Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 104, Windshield Wiping and
Washing Systems. RTDI filed a noncompliance information report dated
March 15, 2017. RTDI also petitioned NHTSA on April 12, 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
[[Page 38994]]
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: Ride the Ducks International, LLC (RTDI), has
determined that certain model year (MY) 1996-2014 Ride the Ducks
International Stretch Amphibious passenger vehicles (APVs) do not fully
comply with paragraph S4.2.2 of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) No. 104, Windshield Wiping and Washing Systems. RTDI filed a
noncompliance information report dated March 15, 2017, pursuant to 49
CFR 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports. RTDI also
petitioned NHTSA on April 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.
This notice of receipt of RTDI'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. Vehicles Involved: Approximately 105 MY 1996-2014 Ride the
Ducks International Stretch APVs, manufactured between January 1, 1996,
and December 31, 2014, are potentially involved.
III. Noncompliance: RTDI explained that the noncompliance is that
the subject vehicles were manufactured without a windshield washing
system, as required by paragraph S4.2.2 of FMVSS No. 104.
IV. Rule Text: Paragraph S4.2.2 of FMVSS No. 104 states in
pertinent part:
S4.2.2 Each multipurpose passenger vehicle, truck, and bus shall
have a windshield washing system that meets the requirements of SAE
Recommended Practice J942 (1965) (incorporated by reference, see
Sec. 571.5), except that the reference to ``the effective wipe
pattern defined in SAE J903, paragraph 3.1.2'' in paragraph 3.1 of
SAE Recommended Practice J942 (1965) shall be deleted and ``the
pattern designed by the manufacturer for the windshield wiping
system on the exterior surface of the windshield glazing'' shall be
inserted in lieu thereof.
V. Summary of RTDI's Petition: As background, in 1996, RTDI began
to produce APVs. The original Amphibious Passenger vehicles (APVs) are
based on military vehicles that were capable of operation over both
land and water. The ``Stretch'' APVs were refurbished by RTDI in
accordance with state and U.S. Coast Guard rules and regulations. These
vehicles have renewed hulls that are ``stretched'' over the original
chassis frame and original vehicle components that were replaced with
modern equipment. RTDI manufactured the stretch APVs until 2005, when
RTDI introduced its ``Truck'' APVs. The truck APVs are based on
military cargo vehicles. RTDI has not manufactured any vehicles since
2014.
RTDI 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, RTDI submitted the following reasoning:
1. FMVSS No. 104 specifies, in relevant part, that ``each . . .
[vehicle] shall have a windshield washing system that meets the
requirements of SAE Recommended Practice J942 (1965)'' 49 CFR
571.104, S4(a), S4.2.2. This FMVSS is designed to ensure that when
activated, the windshield washing system is capable of reaching a
sufficient portion of the exterior surface of the windshield, as
designed by the manufacturer. The standard establishes minimum
performance requirements for the windshield wiping and washing
systems so that the vehicle operator is able to sufficiently see
through the windshield. The APVs have features installed that are
designed to achieve the same purpose as the standard. If there is
debris present on the windshield, the driver is able to engage the
vehicle's windshield wipers to clear the windshield's exterior
surface. Further, the windshield of the APVs have a unique design
that allows the driver to fully lower and raise the windshield
glass. In the event that the windshield wipers could not clear the
surface of the windshield, the driver has the option of lowering the
windshield. Under either option, the visibility of the operator
would not be compromised.
2. In the water portion of the vehicles' tours, the APVs are
required to have the windshield lowered during operation, per U.S.
Coast Guard regulations. The Coast Guard has recognized that in the
event of an accident on the water, a raised windshield could impede
passenger egress. Consequently, the Coast Guard has issued guidance
which provides that the windshields of APVs be ``designed to fold
down with minimal force to allow egress.'' U.S. Coast Guard
Navigation and Inspection Circular (NVIC) 1-01, inspection of
Amphibious Passenger Carrying Vehicles, p.24. Further, the APV's
exteriors, including the windshields, are washed after each tour,
removing any debris that may have accumulated during the last tour.
3. From its inception, the Safety Act has included a provision
recognizing that some noncompliances may pose little or no actual
safety risk. The Safety Act exempts manufacturers from their
statutory obligation to provide notice and remedy upon a
determination by NHTSA that a noncompliance is inconsequential to
motor vehicle safety. See 49 U.S.C. 30118(d). In applying this
recognition to particular fact situations, the agency considers
whether the noncompliance gives rise to ``a significantly greater
risk than . . . in a compliant vehicle.'' 69 FR 19897, 19900 (April
14, 2000). As described above, the specialized design of the APVs
and the vehicles' pattern of use does not expose the vehicles to
conditions that could create an increased safety risk when compared
to a vehicle that has a windshield washing system installed.
RTDI concluded by expressing the belief that the subject
noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety,
and that its petition to be
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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 vehicles that RTDI 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 RTDI
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. 2017-17326 Filed 8-15-17; 8:45 am]
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