[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 158 (Wednesday, August 16, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 42496-42497]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-20344]



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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
49 CFR Part 575

[Docket No. 94-30, Notice 5]
RIN 2127-AF17


Consumer Information Regulations: Uniform Tire Quality Grading 
Standards

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 
Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: This notice grants a request to extend the comment period on 
an agency proposal to amend the Uniform 

[[Page 42497]]
Tire Quality Grading Standards to change the treadwear grading 
procedures, add an additional traction grade, and to substitute a fuel 
economy grade for the current temperature resistance grade. Subsequent 
to the publication of the proposal, NHTSA extended the comment period 
to August 14, 1995 and held a public meeting on the proposals at the 
request of several tire manufacturers. In response to a petition, the 
agency is further extending the comment period from August 14, 1995 to 
September 1, 1995.

DATES: Comments on the May 24, 1995 proposal must be received by the 
agency on or before close of business, September 1, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Comments should refer to Docket No. 94-30, Notice 2, and be 
submitted to the Docket Section, NHTSA, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Room 
5109, Washington, DC 20590. Docket hours are from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 
p.m., Monday through Friday. Telephone (202) 366-4949.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Orron Kee, Office of Market 
Incentives, Office of the Associate Administrator for Safety 
Performance Standards, NHTSA, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Room 5313, 
Washington, DC 20590, telephone (202) 366-4936.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 24, 1995, NHTSA published a Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to amend the Uniform Tire Quality Grading 
Standards (UTQGS), 49 CFR 575.104. The amendments would change the 
treadwear grading procedures, add an ``AA'' rating to the traction 
grade, and substitute a fuel economy rating for the current temperature 
resistance rating. The agency believed that the proposed fuel economy 
rating, based on reduced tire rolling resistance, would be more 
meaningful to consumers than the temperature resistance rating.
    The NPRM specified a comment closing date of July 10, 1995. 
However, the agency subsequently received several requests to extend 
the comment period and to hold a public hearing on the issues involved 
in the proposed rulemaking. In order to provide ample opportunity for 
interested parties to express their views on the UTQGS proposals, NHTSA 
extended the comment period until August 14, 1995 and granted the 
requests for a public meeting (60 FR 34961, July 5, 1995). The agency 
held the public meeting on July 28, 1995 at the DOT headquarters 
building, 400 Seventh Street, Washington, DC 20590. Twenty-nine persons 
testified and additional written testimony was submitted for inclusion 
in the record. At the meeting, Multinational Business Services, Inc. 
(MBS), among others, requested an additional extension of the comment 
period to provide participants an opportunity to review the record of 
the proceedings and submit additional comments, if desired.
    On August 3, 1995, the National Tire Dealers & Retreaders 
Association (NTDRA) petitioned the agency to extend the comment period 
an additional 2 weeks from the present closing date of August 14, 1995. 
NTDRA stated that the public meeting revealed ``considerable 
disagreement * * * within the tire industry on a wide range of issues'' 
and, like MBS and the others, asserted that the meeting participants 
needed an opportunity to review the data presented by the other 
attendees.
    After thorough review of the NTDRA petition and the other requests 
for an extension of the comment period, NHTSA agrees that additional 
time for commenting on the May 24, 1995 NPRM is desirable. Such 
extension will provide interested parties the opportunity to review the 
record of the public meeting and submit additional matters for the 
agency's consideration in this rulemaking action. Accordingly, the 
agency believes that there is good cause for the further extension of 
the comment period and that this extension is consistent with the 
public interest. Based on the above considerations, the agency is 
extending the comment closing date on the May 24, 1995, NPRM until 
September 1, 1995.

    Issued on: August 11, 1995.
Barry Felrice,
Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
[FR Doc. 95-20344 Filed 8-11-95; 4:54 pm]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P