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Continental Tire the Americas, LLC, Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance Publication: Federal Register Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Byline: Otto G. Matheke III Date: 13 April 2022 Subjects: American Government  , Motorcycles, Safety
Topic: Continental |
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 71 (Wednesday, April 13, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22022-22023]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-07827]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2021-0095; Notice 1]
Continental Tire the Americas, 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: Continental Tire the Americas, LLC, (CTA) has determined that
certain Continental motorcycle tires do not fully comply with Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 119, New Pneumatic Tires for
Motor Vehicles with a GVWR of More Than 4,536 Kilograms (10,000
Pounds), Specialty Tires, and Tires for Motorcycles. CTA filed a
noncompliance report dated December 2, 2021, and subsequently
petitioned NHTSA on December 22, 2021, for a decision that the subject
noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety.
This notice announces receipt of CTA's petition.
DATES: Send comments on or before May 13, 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).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jayton Lindley, General Engineer,
[[Page 22023]]
NHTSA, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance, (325) 655-0547.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Overview
CTA has determined that certain Continental motorcycle tires from
several different tire lines do not fully comply with the requirements
of paragraph S6.5(b) of FMVSS No. 139, New Pneumatic Tires for Motor
Vehicles with a GVWR of More Than 4,536 Kilograms (10,000 Pounds) (49
CFR 571.119). CTA filed a noncompliance report dated December 2, 2021,
pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility
and Reports. CTA subsequently petitioned NHTSA on December 22, 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 CTA's 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.
II. Tires Involved
Approximately 14,198 Continental motorcycle tires, size 100/80-16
M/C 50P, manufactured between July 2, 2018, and September 24, 2020, are
potentially involved.
III. Noncompliance
CTA explains the noncompliance is that the tires contain unallowed
symbols in the tire identification number (TIN) and, therefore, do not
meet the requirements of 49 CFR 574.5(f) which results in a
noncompliance with paragraph S6.5(b) of FMVSS No. 119. Specifically,
the sidewalls of the subject tires are marked with a TIN that may
contain one of the following unallowed symbols: G, I, O, Q, S, and Z.
IV. Rule Requirements
Paragraph S6.5(b) of FMVSS No. 119 includes the requirements
relevant to this petition. Each tire must be marked on each sidewall
with the TIN required by part 574. Specifically, part 574.5(f) states
that the only symbols that manufacturers and retreaders are allowed to
use in the tire identification number are: A, B, C, D, E, F, H, J, K,
L, M, N, P, R, T, U, V, W, X, Y, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 0.
V. Summary of CTA's Petition
The following views and arguments presented in this section, ``V.
Summary of CTA's Petition,'' are the views and arguments provided by
CTA. They have not been evaluated by the Agency and do not reflect the
views of the Agency.
CTA begins its petition by describing the subject noncompliance and
contending that it is inconsequential because the subject tires can
still be registered with the unauthorized symbols and can be
identified, in the event of a recall.
CTA explains that it uses a third-party company, Computerized
Information and Management Services, Inc. (CIMS), who maintains ``a
database of all CTA's tire registrations for the purpose of identifying
purchasers of tires in the event of a future recall.'' Further, CTA
states that the database can be searched for not only exact matches but
also ``close matching database entries,'' which would mean the database
can perform a search ``if an `I' was misrepresented as a `1' or vice
versa.''
CTA says that in the event of a recall, the subject tires can be
identified in the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association's tire recall
search tool \1\ because it uses an algorithm in which the unallowed
letter can be used interchangeably with a corresponding allowed number,
for example, ``G or 6, I or 1, O or 0, etc.''
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\1\ https://recallinfo.ustires.org/.
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CTA states that NHTSA has previously assigned a plant code
containing an unauthorized letter to Continental Tire's location in
Timisoara, Romania. In that case, the plant code contained the letter
``G'' which CTA believes ``does not cause any issues with tire
registration and would not affect the registration search in the case
of a recall.'' Therefore, CTA argues, the use of the unallowed symbols
in the TIN of the subject tires will not affect tire registration or
the identification of the TIN in the event of a recall.
CTA says that it has stopped the sale of the subject tires and
``has initiated the process of changing tire curing molds to compliant
DOT TIN's'' and that ``the mold change dates will be documented in the
CTA specification system for future traceability.'' CTA also says that
it is taking action to prevent the reoccurrence of the subject
noncompliance by modifying its sidewall specification system to include
``a control point before a DOT TIN can be released for production.''
Additionally, CTA says that it will comply with the new 13 character
TIN requirement by including a 3 character assigned plant code and the
6 digit manufacturer code that will be ``automatically generated by the
specification system, which assumes that only authorized symbols are
used.''
CTA concludes its petition by stating 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 tires that CTA no longer
controlled at the time it determined that the noncompliance existed.
However, any decision on this petition does not relieve equipment
distributors and dealers of the prohibitions on the sale, offer for
sale, or introduction or delivery for introduction into interstate
commerce of the noncompliant tires under their control after CTA
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. 2022-07827 Filed 4-12-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P