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: 7 October 2024
Subject: American Government

, Safety
Topics: ARC Automotive, Delphi

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 194 (Monday, October 7, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 81136-81137]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-23171]

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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.

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SUMMARY: On October 2, 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 prior
written submission deadline was October 4, 2024. NHTSA is extending the
deadline to October 11, 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 11, 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

[[Page 81137]]

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 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 original deadline for written submissions in response
to the Supplemental Initial Decision was September 4, 2024. Based on a
request received on August 7, 2024, NHTSA extended the original
deadline to October 4, 2024.

Written Submission Deadline Extension Request

On October 2, 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 two weeks. The request claimed that, based on five
documents in the agency's investigative file to which the manufacturers
received access on October 1, 2024, the manufacturers needed more time
to adequately review the documents and prepare their responses. 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 and the limited information
contained in the five documents, NHTSA decided to extend the deadline
to provide written submissions by one week. The prior deadline of
October 4, 2024 has been extended, and written submissions from any
interested person are now due before the close of business on October
11, 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. 2024-23171 Filed 10-3-24; 4:15 pm]
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