[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 123 (Thursday, June 26, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34492-34494]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-16751]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. 96-119; Notice 2]


Accuride Corporation; Grant of Application for Decision of 
Inconsequential Noncompliance

    This notice grants the application by Accuride Corporation 
(Accuride) to be exempted from the notification and remedy requirements 
of 49 U.S.C. 30118 and 30120 for a noncompliance with 49 CFR 571.120, 
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 120, ``Tire Selection 
and Rims for Motor Vehicles Other Than Passenger Cars.'' The basis

[[Page 34493]]

of the grant is that the noncompliance is inconsequential to motor 
vehicle safety.
    Notice of receipt of the application was published on March 7, 
1997, and an opportunity afforded for comment (62 FR 10617).
    Paragraph S5.2(a) of FMVSS No. 120 requires rims to be marked with 
a designation which indicates the source of the rim's published nominal 
dimension. Paragraph S5.2(c) requires the rim to be marked with the 
symbol DOT, constituting a certification by the manufacturer of the rim 
that the rim complies with all applicable motor vehicle safety 
standards.
    Accuride's description of the noncompliance follows:

    The motor vehicle equipment in issue are certain 22.5 & 
24.5x8.25 inch, 15 deg. drop center, one-piece, tubeless dual wheels 
produced by Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corporation at its Erie, 
Pennsylvania, forging plant and machined at Ultra Forge, Inc. at 
Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. These wheels are designed and marketed by 
Accuride Corporation, a division of Phelps Dodge Corporation, under 
the brand name Accu-Forge. These wheels were sent to original 
equipment manufacturers and would be normal equipment on Class 8 
conventional, over the highway trucks and their trailers. A total of 
1,256 wheels were produced on line 4 between January 6, 1997, and 
January 10, 1997. 682 of these wheels were set aside to go through 
the polishing line and were then stamped later before shipment. The 
total number of suspect wheels is 574, date stamped December 23, 
1996, January 6, 7, 8, or 9, 1997. Six wheels manufactured December 
23, 1996 were also stamped during this time frame. 96 of these 
wheels were located in the plant and corrected, 478 were shipped. 
100% of the 476 wheels shipped contain this condition described 
below.
    These wheels are the subject of a noncompliance because of a[n] 
incorrect stamping of the rim marking. These wheels are 22.5 & 
24.5x8.25 inch, 15 deg. tubeless wheels made from a single-piece 
aluminum forging. They are manufactured correctly in accordance with 
the Accuride specification. However, the symbol ``DOT'' and the 
designation which indicates the source of the rim's published 
nominal dimensions, in this case ``T'', were not included. All other 
stampings specified by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety 120 and by 
Accuride, including the part number and the load rating, were 
correctly stamped on the product. On January 6, 1997 the rim 
stamping equipment on line 4 was replaced. The new equipment was set 
up without the complete stamping as stated above. On January 13, 
this condition was noted and corrected.
    On January 13, Kaiser notified Accuride that a quantity of 
wheels had been shipped to customers without the symbols ``DOT-T''. 
On January 15, Accuride was notified that 478 wheels had been 
shipped to three separate customers. On January 17, Ms. Patricia 
Wallace at NHTSA was notified.

    Accuride supported its application for an inconsequential 
noncompliance with the following:

    1. Accuride Corporation is a Delaware corporation and is a 
subsidiary of Phelps Dodge Corporation. Accuride is headquartered in 
Henderson, Kentucky and is a major manufacturer of truck rims and 
wheels.
    2. The motor vehicle equipment in question are a small number of 
Accu-Forge 22.5 & 24.5x8.25 inch, 15 deg. drop center, one-piece 
tubeless dual wheels produced by Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical 
Corporation at its Erie, Pennsylvania, forging plant and machined at 
Ultra Forge, Inc. in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. In issue are an estimated 
478 of the total 1,256 wheels of this size produced between January 
6, 1997 and January 10, 1997. Six wheels manufactured December 23, 
1996 were also stamped during this time frame. The non-compliance 
relates to the mis-stamping of the marking of the rim. The symbol 
``DOT'' and the designation which indicates the source of the rim's 
published nominal dimensions, in this case ``T'', were not included. 
All other stampings and markings required by FMVSS 120 and Accuride, 
including the part number and load rating, are correctly identified 
on each of the components in questions.
    3. The rim marking is for information only and there is no 
safety-related issue potentially arising from the exclusion of these 
symbols on the wheels.

    No comments were received on the application.
    The agency has reviewed the Accurride application and agrees that 
the noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. Between 
January 6, 1997, and January 10, 1997, Accurride manufactured an 
estimated 478 Accu-Forge 22.5 & 24.5x8.25 inch, 15 degree drop center, 
one-piece tubeless dual wheel rims that were not stamped with two of 
the markings required in FMVSS No. 120. Six wheels manufactured 
December 23, 1996, were also stamped during this time frame. All of the 
other applicable markings are on the rim.
    Accuride stated the noncompliance is inconsequential to safety 
because ``the omitted stamping of ``DOT-T'' is only for information and 
there is no safety-related issue potentially arising from the deletion 
of this symbol.'' The agency disagrees in part with Accuride's 
argument, although it believes the noncompliance is inconsequential to 
motor vehicle safety. The labeling requirement is not ``only for 
information.'' Since August 1976, FMVSS No. 120 has required rims to be 
marked with five items of information: the size designation (and, in 
the case of multipiece rims, the type designation), an indication of 
the source of the rim's nominal dimensions, and the DOT symbol which 
must appear on the weather side, while identification of the 
manufacturer and date of manufacture may appear at any place on the 
rim's surface. FMVSS No. 120 established a set of code letters to 
indicate the required five items of information to reduce the 
possibility of confusion and to minimize the number of characters 
stamped on the rim. The symbol ``DOT'' constitutes certification by the 
manufacturer of the rim that the rim complies with applicable motor 
vehicle safety standards. The symbol ``T'' indicates that the rim's 
nominal dimensions are in accordance with the U. S.-based ``The Tire 
and Rim Association.'' Thus, the exclusion of information on the tire 
rim can be significant. The labeling of motor vehicle tires and rims 
with the information required by regulations and the Federal Motor 
Vehicle Safety Standards benefits motor vehicle manufacturers and 
consumers. Primarily, these labeling requirements help ensure that the 
tires are mounted on appropriate rims and that the rims and tires are 
mounted on vehicles for which they were intended. If tires and rims 
were not labeled, mismatching of tire and rim sizes would likely occur. 
This occurrence could often result in poor tire performance, and may 
cause tire and rim separation or tire blowouts from an overload. 
However, the rims identified in this application are designated for use 
on Class 8 vehicles; thereby, eliminating the likelihood that an 
unskilled consumer would misapply the rims.
    NHTSA's decision to grant Accuride's application is also based on 
the fact that all other informational tire markings required by FMVSS 
No. 120, particularly the rim type designation, are on the rims, and 
correctly marked. Although NHTSA traditionally considers failure to 
mark ``DOT'' as a failure to certify under 49 Part 567-Certification 
rather than a failure to comply with a FMVSS, the absence of the 
``DOT'' symbol will not compromise motor vehicle safety.
    Accordingly, for the reasons expressed above, the applicant has met 
its burden of persuasion that the noncompliance herein described is 
inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety, and the agency 
grants Accuride's application for exemption from notification of the 
noncompliance as required by 49 U.S.C. 30118 and from remedy as 
required by 49 U.S.C. 30120.

(49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120; delegations of authority at 49 CFR 1.50 and 
501.8)

(49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120; delegations of authority at 49 CFR 1.50 and 
501.8)


[[Page 34494]]


    Issued on: June 20, 1997.
L. Robert Shelton,
Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
[FR Doc. 97-16751 Filed 6-25-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P