|
|---|
|
Volvo Bus Corporation, Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance Publication: Federal Register Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Byline: Otto G. Matheke III Date: 8 May 2024 Subject: American Government  , Buses, Safety
Topic: Volvo 9700 |
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 90 (Wednesday, May 8, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38943-38945]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-10062]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2023-0010; Notice 1]
Volvo Bus Corporation, Receipt of Petition for Decision of
Inconsequential Noncompliance
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Receipt of petition
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Volvo Bus Corporation (VBC) has determined that certain model
year (MY) 2009-2023 Volvo 9700 buses do not fully comply with Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 108, Lamps, Reflective
Devices, and Associated Equipment. VBC filed a noncompliance report
dated November 15, 2022, and subsequently petitioned NHTSA (the
``Agency'') on December 13, 2022, for a decision that the subject
noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety.
This document announces receipt of VBC's petition.
DATES: Send comments on or before June 7, 2024.
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 may be
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
[[Page 38944]]
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).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Leroy Angeles, NHTSA, Office of
Vehicle Safety Compliance, (202) 366-5304.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Overview: VBC determined that certain MY
2009-2023 VBC 9700 buses do not fully comply with paragraph S7.7.15.3
of FMVSS No. 108, Lamps, Reflective Deivces, and Associated Equipment
(49 CFR 571.108).
VBC filed a noncompliance report dated November 15, 2022, pursuant
to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and
Reports. VBC petitioned NHTSA on December 13, 2022, 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 VBC's petition is published under 49
U.S.C. 30118 and 30120 and does not represent any agency decision or
another exercise of judgment concerning the merits of the petition.
II. Vehicles Involved: Approximately 958 MY 2009-2023 Volvo 9700
buses, manufactured between February 1, 2008 and May 1, 2022, were
reported by the manufacturer.
III. Rule Requirements: Paragraph S7.7.15.3 of FMVSS No. 108
includes the requirements relevant to this petition. Paragraph
S7.7.15.3 of FMVSS No. 108 requires that light rays reach all portions
of an imaginary plate of the same size at least 25 mm ahead of the
actual plate measured perpendicular to the plane of the plate.
IV. Noncompliance: VBC explains that the noncompliance is that the
subject vehicles are equipped with license plate lamps that do not
reach all portions of the license plate when the license plate is
placed 25 mm ahead of its normal position. Therefore, the subject
vehicles do not comply with paragraph S7.7.15.3 of FMVSS No. 108.
V. Summary of VBC's Petition: The following views and arguments
presented in this section, ``V. Summary of VBC's Petition,'' are the
views and arguments provided by VBC. They have not been evaluated by
the Agency and do not reflect the views of the Agency. VBC describes
the subject noncompliance and contends that the noncompliance is
inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety.
VBC says that although the subject license plate lamps are
noncompliant, when the license plate is installed in its normal
position, it is fully illuminated by the lamps.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ See Figure 3 and Figure 4 of VBC's petition.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
VBC states that it has corrected the subject noncompliance in
vehicle production and production is currently in compliance with
paragraph S7.7.15.3 of FMVSS No. 108. VBC notes that paragraph
S7.7.15.3 of FMVSS No. 108 ``refers to an imaginary plate in a testing
position, and not a real license plate that requires physical testing
with measurable test data.''
VBC contends that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential to
motor vehicle safety because the noncompliant license plate lamps
equipped on the subject vehicles fulfill its main purpose to ensure
that law enforcement personnel and the public are able to identify
vehicles in low-lighting conditions.
VBC explains that ``except for vehicle testing purposes, the
license plate is never installed in a position that differs from its
original intended one.'' Furthermore, VBC says no vehicles were
delivered with a license plate in the testing position. Additionally,
the license plates are fixed in the original position and cannot be
adjusted. Thus, VBC believes that the license plate equipped on the
subject vehicles ``will always be fully illuminated under normal
vehicle operating conditions.''
VBC says that ``test results demonstrate that this noncompliance is
imperceptible to road users considering that the license plate is fully
illuminated when normally installed, as demonstrated in Attachment 2
`VBC Engineering Report ER-684684'.''
VBC says that since 2008, over 900 subject vehicles have been
functioning with the noncompliance at issue, and VBC has not received
any customer complaints, field reports, or warranty claims related to
the subject noncompliance. VBC adds that it is not aware of any
accidents, injuries, or death related to the subject noncompliance.
VBC says that NHTSA has granted prior petitions in which a
noncompliance involving the license plate lamps ``is expected to be
imperceptible, or nearly so, to vehicle occupants or approaching
drivers.'' VBC believes that the subject noncompliance is imperceptible
to all road users, therefore, VBC contends that NHTSA should also grant
VBC's petition.
VBC concludes by stating its belief that the subject noncompliance
is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety and 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 VBC 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 VBC
notified them that the subject noncompliance existed.
[[Page 38945]]
(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. 2024-10062 Filed 5-7-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P