Supplemental Initial Decision That Certain Frontal Driver and Passenger Air Bag Inflators Manufactured by ARC Automotive Inc. and Delphi Automotive Systems LLC, and Vehicles in Which Those Inflators Were Installed, Contain a Safety Defect

Supplemental Initial Decision That Certain Frontal Driver and Passenger Air Bag Inflators Manufactured by ARC Automotive Inc. and Delphi Automotive Systems LLC, and Vehicles in Which Those Inflators Were Installed, Contain a Safety Defect

Publication: Federal Register
Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Byline: Eileen Sullivan
Date: 27 August 2024
Subject: American Government

, Safety
Topics: ARC Automotive, Delphi

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 166 (Tuesday, August 27, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68702-68703]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-19232]

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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: Extension of deadline for written submissions.

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SUMMARY: On August 7, 2024, NHTSA received a request to extend the
period during which manufacturers and any interested person may submit
written information in response to the agency's Supplemental Initial
Decision published in the Federal Register on August 5, 2024. The
original written submission deadline was September 4, 2024. NHTSA is
extending the deadline to October 4, 2024.

DATES: The written submission deadline related to the Supplemental
Initial Decision published on August 5, 2024, at 89 FR 63473, is
extended to October 4, 2024.

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 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 Friday, October 4, 2024.
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

[[Page 68703]]

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 Allison Hendrickson in the Office of the Chief Counsel at
Allison.Hendrickson@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: Allison Hendrickson, Office of the
Chief Counsel, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590; (202) 366-2992.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July 31, 2024, NHTSA issued a
Supplemental Initial Decision That Certain Frontal Driver and Passenger
Air Bag Inflators Manufactured by ARC Automotive Inc. and Delphi
Automotive Systems LLC, and Vehicles in Which Those Inflators Were
Installed, Contain a Safety Defect pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(a) and
49 CFR 554.10. 89 FR 63473 (Aug. 5, 2024). More specifically, NHTSA
confirmed its initial decision of September 5, 2023, at 88 FR 62140,
that certain air bag inflators manufactured by ARC Automotive Inc.
(ARC) and Delphi Automotive Systems LLC (Delphi) 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 Supplemental Initial
Decision provided manufacturers and any interested person an
opportunity to present information, views, and arguments in response to
the Supplemental Initial Decision by submitting written information to
the Agency. The deadline for written submissions in response to the
Supplemental Initial Decision was September 4, 2024.

Written Submission Deadline Extension Request

On August 7, 2024, NHTSA received a request from counsel
representing certain unspecified motor vehicle and motor vehicle
equipment manufacturers asking NHTSA to extend the period for written
submissions by 30 days. The request claimed that, to meaningfully
respond, the manufacturers needed more time to adequately review the
Supplemental Initial Decision and related materials and prepare their
analyses. A copy of the extension request and NHTSA's response will be
added to the public docket.

Extension of Written Submission Deadline

After consideration of the request, NHTSA has granted the requested
30-day extension of the deadline to provide written submissions. The
prior deadline of September 4, 2024 has been extended, and written
submissions from any interested person are now due before the close of
business on October 4, 2024.
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. 2024-19232 Filed 8-26-24; 8:45 am]
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