Initial Decision That Certain Frontal Driver and Passenger Air Bag Inflators Manufactured by ARC Automotive Inc. and Delphi Automotive Systems LLC Contain a Safety Defect; Second Extension of Written Submission Deadline

Initial Decision That Certain Frontal Driver and Passenger Air Bag Inflators Manufactured by ARC Automotive Inc. and Delphi Automotive Systems LLC Contain a Safety Defect; Second Extension of Written Submission Deadline

Publication: Federal Register
Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Byline: Eileen Sullivan
Date: 7 December 2023
Subjects: American Government

, Safety
Topics: ARC Automotive, Delphi

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 234 (Thursday, December 7, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 85358-85359]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-26797]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2023-0038]

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Second extension of deadline for written submissions in
response to agency's initial decision that certain frontal driver and
passenger air bag inflators manufactured by ARC Automotive Inc. and
Delphi Automotive Systems LLC contain a safety defect.

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SUMMARY: The original deadline for the submission of written
information in response to the agency's Initial Decision was October
20, 2024. NHTSA previously extended the deadline to December 4, 2023,
and is now extending the deadline a second time. The new deadline is
December 18, 2023.

DATES: The written submission deadline related to the Initial Decision
published on September 8, 2023, at 88 FR 62140, is extended to December
18, 2023.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written submissions to the docket number
identified in the heading of this document by any of the following
methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting
comments.
Mail: Docket Management Facility: U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building Ground Floor,
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
Hand Delivery or Courier: 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West
Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET,
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Fax: 202-493-2251.
Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and
docket number. Note that all written

[[Page 85359]]

submissions received will be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided.
Please see the Privacy Act discussion below. We will consider all
written submissions received before the close of business on Monday,
December 18, 2023.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
written submissions received, go to https://www.regulations.gov at any
time or to 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building Ground Floor, Room
W12-140, Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday
through Friday, except Federal Holidays. Telephone: 202-366-9826.
Privacy Act: In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 30118(b)(1), NHTSA will
make a final decision only after providing an opportunity for
manufacturers and any interested person to present information, views,
and arguments. DOT posts written submissions submitted by manufacturers
and interested persons, without edit, including any personal
information the submitter provides, to www.regulations.gov, as
described in the system of records notice (DOT/ALL-14 Federal Docket
Management System (FDMS)), which can be reviewed at
www.transportation.gov/privacy.
Confidential Business Information: If you wish to submit any
information under a claim of confidentiality, you must submit your
request directly to NHTSA's Office of the Chief Counsel. Requests for
confidentiality are governed by 49 CFR part 512. NHTSA is currently
treating electronic submission as an acceptable method for submitting
confidential business information (CBI) to the agency under part 512.
If you would like to submit a request for confidential treatment, you
may email your submission to Ashley Simpson in the Office of the Chief
Counsel at Ashley.Simpson@dot.gov or you may contact her for a secure
file transfer link. At this time, you should not send a duplicate
hardcopy of your electronic CBI submissions to DOT headquarters. If you
claim that any of the information or documents provided to the agency
constitute confidential business information within the meaning of 5
U.S.C. 552(b)(4), or are protected from disclosure pursuant to 18
U.S.C. 1905, you must submit supporting information together with the
materials that are the subject of the confidentiality request, in
accordance with part 512, to the Office of the Chief Counsel. Your
request must include a cover letter setting forth the information
specified in our confidential business information regulation (49 CFR
512.8) and a certificate, pursuant to Sec. 512.4(b) and part 512,
appendix A. In addition, you should submit a copy, from which you have
redacted the claimed confidential business information, to the Docket
at the address given above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ashley Simpson, Office of the Chief
Counsel, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590; (202) 366-8726.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 5, 2023, NHTSA issued an
Initial Decision That Certain Frontal Driver and Passenger Air Bag
Inflators Manufactured by ARC Automotive Inc. and Delphi Automotive
Systems LLC Contain a Safety Defect pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(a) and
49 CFR 554.10. 88 FR 62140 (Sept. 8, 2023). More specifically, NHTSA
initially determined that certain air bag inflators manufactured by ARC
Automotive Inc. (ARC) and Delphi Automotive Systems LLC (Delphi)
through January 2018 may rupture when the vehicle's air bag is
commanded to deploy, causing metal debris to be forcefully ejected into
the passenger compartment of the vehicle, and that these rupturing air
bag inflators pose an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death to
vehicle occupants. In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 30118(b)(1) and 49 CFR
554.10(c)(4), the Initial Decision provided manufacturers and any
interested person an opportunity to present information, views, and
arguments in response to the Initial Decision at a public meeting and/
or by submitting written information to the Agency. The Initial
Decision scheduled the public meeting for October 5, 2023 and set a
deadline for written submissions of October 20, 2023. NHTSA previously
extended the written submission deadline to December 4, 2023. 88 FR
73069.
To provide additional opportunity for any interested person to
present information, views, and arguments in response to the Initial
Decision, NHTSA is providing an additional 14 days to the period during
which interested persons can provide written submissions. The prior
deadline of December 4, 2023 is extended, and written submissions from
any interested person are now due on or before December 18, 2023.
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30118(a), (b); 49 CFR 554.10; delegations of
authority at 49 CFR 1.50(a) and 49 CFR 501.8.

Eileen Sullivan,
Associate Administrator for Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 2023-26797 Filed 12-6-23; 8:45 am]
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