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FCA US LLC Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance Publication: Federal Register Signing Official: Otto G. Matheke III Agency/Department: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Date: 17 June 2022 Topic: Alfa Romeo Stelvio  
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 117 (Friday, June 17, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36573-36574]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-13082]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2021-0080; Notice 1]
FCA US 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: FCA US LLC f/k/a Chrysler Group LLC (collectively referred to
as ``FCA US'') has determined that certain model year (MY) 2018-2022
Alfa Romeo Stelvio motor vehicles do not fully comply with Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 111, Rear Visibility. FCA US
filed a noncompliance report dated September 21, 2021. FCA US
subsequently petitioned NHTSA on October 14, 2021, for a decision that
the subject noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor
vehicle safety. This notice announces receipt of FCA US' petition.
DATES: Send comments on or before July 18, 2022.
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 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 docket. 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
FCA US has determined that certain MY 2018-2022 Alfa Romeo Stelvio
motor vehicles do not fully comply with the requirements of paragraphs
S2 and S.5.5.1 of FMVSS No. 111, Rear Visibility (49 CFR 571.111). FCA
US filed a noncompliance report dated September 21, 2021, pursuant to
49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports.
FCA US subsequently petitioned NHTSA on October 14, 2021, 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, 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 FCA US' 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.
[[Page 36574]]
II. Vehicles Involved
Approximately 43,701 MY 2018-2022 Alfa Romeo Stelvio motor vehicles
manufactured between April 12, 2017, and August 27, 2021, are
potentially involved.
III. Noncompliance
FCA US explains that the noncompliance is that the subject vehicles
are equipped with rearview camera displays that when tested to FMVSS
No. 111, covers a required portion of a test object and therefore, do
not fully meet the field of view requirements outlined in paragraphs S2
and S5.5.1 of FMVSS No. 111. Specifically, the rearview camera display
includes ``dynamic guidelines'' that project the vehicle to be wider
than it is. As a result, the ``dynamic gridlines'' partially cover the
lower inside edges of the front test object when the steering wheel is
straight.
IV. Rule Requirements
Paragraphs S2 and S5.5.1 of FMVSS No. 111 include the requirements
relevant to this petition. Paragraph S2 of FMVSS No. 111 specifies that
the purpose of this standard is to reduce the number of deaths and
injuries that occur when the driver of a motor vehicle does not have a
clear and reasonably unobstructed view to the rear. Paragraph S5.5.1 of
FMVSS No. 111 requires the rearview image to include: (a) A minimum of
a 150-mm wide portion along the circumference of each test object
located at positions F and G; and (b) the full width and height of each
test object located at positions A through E, when tested in accordance
with the procedures in S14.1 of FMVSS 111.
V. Summary of FCA US' Petition
The following views and arguments presented in this section, V.
Summary of FCA US' Petition, are the views and arguments provided by
FCA US. They have not been evaluated by the Agency and do not reflect
the views of the Agency.
In its petition, FCA US describes the subject noncompliance and
explains that it is caused by an incorrect calibration in the subject
vehicles. According to FCA US the subject noncompliance is
inconsequential to motor vehicle safety because the subject
noncompliance ``does not create an unclear or unreasonably obstructed
view to the rear.'' FCA US specifies that although the subject
noncompliance exists, the obstruction caused by the gridlines while
performing the FMVSS No. 111 test is ``transitory'' and does not
``significantly obstruct the view to the rear.'' \1\ Further, the
gridlines will move rearward as the vehicle does, resulting in the test
objects to be ``displayed in full.''
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\1\ FCA US provided photos of the noncompliance in its petition
which can be viewed in full at https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NHTSA-2021-0080.
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FCA US quoted an excerpt from the notice of final rule for FMVSS
No. 111 in which FCA US says that NHTSA ``acknowledged that over lays,
such as gridlines, could provide safety-related benefits.''
FCA US concludes 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 vehicles that FCA US 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 FCA US
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. 2022-13082 Filed 6-16-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P