[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 227 (Tuesday, November 25, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62798-62799]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-30904]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-97-3129; Notice 1]


Ford Motor Company; Receipt of Application for Decision of 
Inconsequential Noncompliance

    Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, Michigan, has estimated that 
approximately 853,000 of the 1995-1997 Ford Explorer and 1997 Mercury 
Mountaineer vehicles with console armrests fail to comply with 49 CFR 
571.302, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 302, 
``Flammability of Interior Materials,'' and has filed an appropriate 
report pursuant to 49 CFR Part 573, ``Defects and Noncompliance 
Reports.'' Ford has also petitioned 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 
as it relates to motor vehicle safety.
    This notice of receipt of a 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.
    FMVSS No. 302, Paragraphs S4.2 and S4.3 specify that any portion of 
a single or composite material which is within \1/2\ inch of the 
occupant compartment air space, when tested in accordance with 
paragraph S5, shall not burn, nor transmit a flame across its surface 
at a rate of more than 4 inches per minute. Composite is defined as a 
material that adheres to other material(s) at every point of contact. 
FMVSS No. 302's burn rate testing requires a 4-inch wide by 14-inch 
long sample, wherever possible (S5.2).
    The Ford armrest has multi-layer cover materials: a 1.5mm thick 
exterior cover, a 2mm thick second layer Ethylene Vinyl Acetate/
Polyethylene (EVA/PE), referred to in the petition as ``plus pad,'' a 
13mm thick third layer foam bun pad, and a 3mm polycarbonate 
substratum. The subject flammable interior material of Ford's petition 
for determination of inconsequential noncompliance is the 2mm thick 
``plus pad'' layer.
    Ford acknowledged that the ``plus pad'' material is not adhered to 
its 1.5mm exterior cover material or the 13mm foam bun under it at 
every point of contact. Therefore, as specified in FMVSS No. 302, the 
``plus pad'' material cannot be tested with other materials as a 
composite material and has to be tested separately. Ford reported that 
when the ``plus pad'' material was tested separately, it showed a burn 
rate range from 8 to 10 inches per minute--a noncompliance to FMVSS No. 
302. Ford stated that all other affected materials in the armrest 
satisfy the 4-inch per minute burn rate, presumably they were tested 
according to the standard's requirements. Ford explained that the 
supplier of the ``plus pad'' material only ``certified'' the raw 
material for FMVSS No. 302 by testing 11mm thick samples, not the 
designed 2mm thickness.
    Ford supports its application for inconsequential noncompliance 
with the following:
    A. Ford stated that the FMVSS No. 302 burn rate testing requirement 
of cutting a sample from the ``normal configuration and packaging in 
the vehicle'' is conservative in regard to the actual fire spreading 
potential of the tested material.
    B. The 2mm ``plus pad'' failed the FMVSS No. 302 test requirements 
when tested as a single material. However, a series of further testing 
demonstrates that the noncompliance does not adversely affect occupant 
safety because it does not increase the burn rates of the assembly or 
the adjacent materials in the assembly to levels higher than specified 
by FMVSS No. 302.
    C. The ``plus pad'' counts less than 10 percent of the armrest 
material and is an insignificant percentage of the vehicle's remaining 
materials. All other flammable interior materials of the subject 
vehicles complied with FMVSS No. 302. Therefore, the noncompliance of 
the ``plus pad'' offers an insignificant portion of interior materials 
that could potentially support an interior fire.
    Ford attached the following summary results of several alternative 
tests, including a worse case scenario test:
    1. FMVSS No. 302 type tests (cover, plus pad, and foam)--treated 
the

[[Page 62799]]

assembly materials as a composite material.
    2. FMVSS No. 302 type tests (cover, plus pad, and foam) simulating 
cut or torn materials:
    a. Cut the cover layer longitudinally,
    b. Cut a hole in the cover layer, and
    c. Cut through the cover layer and the ``plus pad'' longitudinally.
    3. FMVSS No. 302 type tests (plus pad and foam)--with the cover 
layer completely removed to simulate a worst case scenario.
    4. Cut a complete armrest assembly in half along the lateral-
vertical plane:
    a. Exposed the opposite of the cut end to the flame, and
    b. Exposed the cut cross-section to the flame.
    All tested results satisfied the FMVSS No. 302 burn rate 
requirements.
    In conclusion, Ford requested NHTSA to grant the inconsequentiality 
petition since the ``plus pad'' complied with FMVSS No. 302's 
requirements in every other test except that when tested by itself. 
Ford's request was based on the facts that the ``plus pad'' represents 
an insignificant adverse effect on interior material burn rate and the 
potential for occupant injury due to interior fire and that the 
noncompliance presents no reasonably anticipated risk to motor vehicle 
safety.
    Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and 
arguments on the application of Ford described above. Comments should 
refer to the docket number and be submitted to: U.S. Department of 
Transportation Docket Management, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW, 
Washington, DC 20590. It is requested, but not required, that two 
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: December 26, 1997.
    For further information contact the following persons at the 
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW, 
Washington, DC, 20590. For non-legal issues: Dr. William J.J. Liu, 
Office of Crashworthiness Standards (Telephone: 202-366-4923). For 
legal issues: Mr. Z. Taylor Vinson, Office of the Chief Counsel 
(Telephone: 202-366-5263).

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

    Issued on: November 19, 1997.
L. Robert Shelton,
Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
[FR Doc. 97-30904 Filed 11-24-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P