[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 47 (Friday, March 8, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9517-9518]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-5566]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. 95-77; Notice 2]
Cantab Motors, Ltd.; Grant of Application for Decision of
Inconsequential Noncompliance
Cantab Motors, Ltd. (Cantab) of Purcellville, Virginia, determined
that some of its vehicles fail to comply with the automatic restraint
system requirements of 49 CFR 571.208, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (FMVSS) No. 208, ``Occupant Crash Protection,'' and filed an
appropriate report pursuant to 49 CFR Part 573, ``Defect and
Noncompliance Reports.'' Cantab also applied to be exempted from the
notification and remedy
[[Page 9518]]
requirements of 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301--``Motor Vehicle Safety'' on the
basis that the noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle
safety.
Notice of receipt of the application was published on September 18,
1995, and an opportunity afforded for comment (60 FR 48195). This
notice grants the application.
Paragraph S4.1.4 of FMVSS No. 208 requires that vehicles
manufactured on or after September 1, 1989, be equipped with a
restraint system at each front outboard designated seating position
that meets the standard's frontal crash protection requirements by
means that require no action by vehicle occupants. This type of system
is referred to as an automatic restraint system.
The agency granted an exemption for Cantab to manufacture vehicles
without automatic restraints between May 16, 1990 and May 1, 1993.
Cantab imported and manufactured nine vehicles without automatic
restraint systems during this time period. However, after the exemption
had expired, Cantab imported and manufactured nine more vehicles
without automatic restraint systems. Of these nine vehicles, seven
entered the U.S. during 1994 and two in 1995. These vehicles all meet
the requirements of Standard No. 208 prior to the implementation of
automatic restraint requirements. Cantab subsequently applied for and
was granted a new exemption from the automatic restraint requirements
for this type of vehicle (60 FR 47422).
Cantab supported its application for inconsequential
noncompliance with the following.
[Cantab] submits that, during the entire time period subsequent
to its initial grant of exemption in May of 1990, it has imported
and manufactured a total of eighteen cars. Nine of these were
imported during the period of exemption, nine subsequent to its
lapsing and prior to [Cantab's] submission of a second application
for exemption. Each of these eighteen cars was identically
constructed to meet all applicable FMVSS, including those of FMVSS
208 prior to implementation of the automatic restraint requirements.
During this time, [Cantab] has made substantial progress in the
development of a dual air bag system and expects to have it
installed and operative within a year.
[Cantab] has previously suggested to NHTSA in its [May 10, 1995]
petition for exemption, the unusual nature of its vehicles--cars
driven by enthusiasts for pleasure, rather than daily for business
commuting or on long trips, by people who own two or more other
passenger cars for such purposes.
[Cantab] respectfully suggests that its nine noncomplying cars,
representing a minuscule proportion of the total number of motor
vehicles sold and operated in the U.S. during the period of 1994-
1995, operated as noted above, constructed with well-proven safety
systems, would not materially affect overall motor vehicle safety,
and that their operation would be in the public interest and would
be consistent with the objectives of the National Traffic and Motor
Vehicle Safety Act.
No comments were received on the application.
As noted, the agency has granted Cantab's application for temporary
exemption, on grounds that immediate compliance would cause it
substantial economic hardship. An additional finding was that the
exemption would be consistent with the public interest and motor
vehicle safety. This finding was reached in part on the limited number
of vehicles that will be covered by the exemption during its life.
Given the fact that there are far fewer vehicles covered by the
application under consideration, and that the noncompliance apparently
cannot be remedied by repair, the agency wishes to reach a decision
that is consistent with that reached in granting the application for
temporary exemption. Given the fact that there are nine vehicles
involved here, and that they comply with the requirements of FMVSS No.
208 that were once in effect, Cantab's noncompliance may be deemed
inconsequential to safety.
In consideration of the foregoing, it is hereby found that the
applicant has met its burden of persuasion that the noncompliance
herein described is inconsequential to safety. Accordingly, its
application is granted, and the applicant is exempted from providing
the notification of the noncompliance that is required by 49 U.S.C.
30118, and from remedying the noncompliance, as required by 49 U.S.C.
30120.
(15 U.S.C. 1417; delegations of authority at 49 CFR 1.50 and 501.8)
Issued on: March 5, 1996.
Barry Felrice,
Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
[FR Doc. 96-5566 Filed 3-7-96; 8:45 am]
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