Cosco, Inc.; Appeal of Denial of Petition for Determination of Inconsequential Noncompliance

Topics:  Cosco

Barry Felrice
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
15 June 1994

[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 114 (Wednesday, June 15, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-14521]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: June 15, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. 93-48; Notice 3]

 

Cosco, Inc.; Appeal of Denial of Petition for Determination of 
Inconsequential Noncompliance

    Cosco, Inc. (Cosco), of Columbus, Indiana, has appealed a decision 
by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that 
denied Cosco's petition that its noncompliance with Federal Motor 
Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 213, ``Child Restraint Systems,'' 
be deemed inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety (Docket 
No. 93-48, Notice 2; 59 FR 14443; March 28, 1994).
    This notice of receipt of Cosco's appeal is published in accordance 
with NHTSA regulations (49 CFR 556.7 and 556.8) and does not represent 
any agency decision or other exercise of judgment concerning the merits 
of the appeal.
    Paragraph S5.7 of FMVSS No. 213 states that ``[e]ach material used 
in a child restraint system shall conform to the requirements of S4 of 
FMVSS No. 302 [``Flammability of Interior Materials''] (571.302).'' 
Paragraph S4.3(a) of FMVSS No. 302 states that ``[w]hen tested in 
accordance with S5, material described in S4.1 ``[W]hen tested in 
accordance with S5, material described in S4.1 and S4.2 shall not burn, 
nor transmit a flame front across its surface, at a rate of more than 4 
inches per minute.''
    Cosco determined that some of its child safety seats failed to 
comply with FMVSS No. 213, and filed an appropriate report pursuant to 
49 CFR part 573, ``Defect and Noncompliance Reports.'' Cosco petitioned 
to be exempted from the notification and remedy requirements of the 
National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act (Act) (15 U.S.C. 1381 et 
seq.) on the basis that the noncompliance is inconsequential as it 
relates to motor vehicle safety.
    Notice of receipt of the petition was published in the Federal 
Register on July 7, 1993 (58 FR 36510). On March 28, 1994, NHTSA 
published a notice in the Federal Register denying Cosco's petition, 
stating that the petitioner had not met its burden of persuasion that 
the noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle 
safety. The reader is referred to these notices for a further 
discussion of the noncompliance and the agency's rationale in denying 
the petition.
    In Cosco's original petition and part 573 report, it stated that it 
produced 133,897 child restraint seats with shoulder harness straps 
that do not comply with the flammability requirements of FMVSS No. 213. 
In its appeal it states that, due to an error in its data processing 
system, this number was incorrect. The correct number of seats covered 
by the noncompliance determination is 23,449.
    In its appeal, Cosco contends that it is extremely unlikely that 
straps of its child restraints would ignite independently of an 
interior fire that was already in progress from another source. It 
argues that NHTSA based its denial of the petition on hypothetical 
situations rather than confirmed reports of child restraint fires.
    Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and 
arguments on the appeal of Cosco, described above. Comments should 
refer to the docket and notice number and be submitted to: Docket 
Section, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, room 5109, 400 
Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, 20590. It is requested but not 
required that six copies be submitted.
    All comments received before the close of business on the closing 
date indicated below will be considered. All comments received after 
the closing date will also be filed and will be considered to the 
extent feasible. When the appeal is granted or denied, notice will be 
published in the Federal Register.

    Comment closing date: July 15, 1994.

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 1417; delegations of authority at 49 CFR 
1.50.

    Issued on: June 9, 1994.
Barry Felrice,
Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 94-14521 Filed 6-14-94; 8:45 am]
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