[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 119 (Wednesday, June 21, 1995)] [Notices] [Pages 32391-32392] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 95-15087] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [Docket No. 95-49; Notice 1] General Motors Corporation; Receipt of Application for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance General Motors Corporation (GM) of Warren, Michigan, has determined that some of its vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of 49 CFR 571.108, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 108, ``Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment,'' and has filed an appropriate report pursuant to 49 CFR Part 573, ``Defect and Noncompliance Reports.'' GM has also applied to be exempted from the notification and remedy requirements of 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301--``Motor Vehicle Safety'' on the basis that the noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. This notice of receipt of an application 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 application. In FMVSS No. 108, Table III lists turn signal lamps as required equipment. Society of Automotive Engineers' (SAE) Standard J588, NOV84, incorporated by reference in Table III, provides that the photometric requirements for turn signal lamps may be met at zones or groups of test points, instead of at each individual test point. Within a zone, the lamp is permitted to fail at individual test points as long as the total light intensity of all the test points within the zone is not below the specified level for the zone. SAE J588 specifies four such zones for turn signals. During the period of September 1990 through 1995, GM manufactured approximately 544,420 Buick Centuries on which the turn signal lamps failed to meet the photometric requirements referenced in Table III of FMVSS No. 108. Of the four zones tested on the turn signal lamps, zones 1, 2, and 4 met the requirements, while zone 3 did not. The required light intensity for zone 3 is 2,375 candela (cd). When tested, 17 of the subject lamps produced, on average, a light intensity of approximately 2,145 cd or 90 percent of the required intensity. The three compliant zones exceed the light intensity requirements by at least 20 percent. GM supports its application for inconsequential noncompliance with the following: The difference between the FMVSS 108 requirement for zone 3 and the average performance of the subject lamps is [[Page 32392]] imperceptible to the human eye. The average performance value for zone 3 for all 17 tested lamps is 10 percent below the 2375 cd federal requirement, and every lamp fell within 20 percent of that requirement (ranging from -1% to -18% of the requirement). As acknowledged in NHTSA's notices granting other similar petitions for determination of inconsequential noncompliance, and as demonstrated in the recent study (DOT HS 808 209, Final Report dated September 1994) sponsored by the agency Driver Perception of Just Noticeable Difference in Signal Lamp Intensities, a change in luminous intensity of approximately 25 percent is required before the human eye can detect a difference between the two lamps. (See, e.g., Notice granting petition by Subaru of America (56 Fed. Reg. 59971); and Notice granting petition by Hella, Inc. (55 Fed. Reg. 37602).) Since the average discrepancy for the Buick lamp is only 10% with a maximum measured discrepancy of 18%, the subject lamps do not compromise motor vehicle safety as the noncompliance is not detectable by the human eye. The subject lamps otherwise meet or exceed all other requirements of FMVSS 108, including the requirement of SAE J588, November 1984, that ``the measured values at each test point shall not be less than 60% of the minimum value in Table 3 [Photometric Design Guidelines].'' GM is not aware of any accidents, injuries, owner complaints or field reports related to this condition. Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and arguments on the application of GM described above. Comments should refer to the docket number and be submitted to: Docket Section, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Room 5109, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, D.C. 20590. It is requested but not required that six copies be submitted. All comments received before the close of business on the closing date indicated below will be considered. The application and supporting materials, and all comments received after the closing date, will also be filed and will be considered to the extent possible. When the application is granted or denied, the notice will be published in the Federal Register pursuant to the authority indicated below. Comment closing date: July 21, 1995. (15 U.S.C. 1417; delegations of authority at 49 CFR 1.50 and 501.8) Issued on June 14, 1995. Barry Felrice, Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards. [FR Doc. 95-15087 Filed 6-20-95; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910-59-M