[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 8 (Wednesday, January 12, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Page 1946]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-749]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-99-5681; notice 2]


American Transportation Corporation, Grant of Application for 
Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance

    American Transportation Corporation (AmTran) has determined certain 
air brake systems on AmTran buses were built with air tank volumes that 
are not in full compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 
(FMVSS) No. 121, ``Air brake systems,'' and has filed an appropriate 
report pursuant to 49 CFR Part 573, ``Defect and Noncompliance 
Reports.'' AmTran 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.
    Notice of receipt of the application was published, with a 30-day 
comment period, on May 25, 1999, in the Federal Register (64 FR 28242). 
NHTSA received no comments on this application during the 30-day 
comment period. Since November 5, 1998, AmTram has produced vehicles 
that comply with the air reservoir combined volume requirements of 
FMVSS No. 121.
    FMVSS No. 121 establishes the performance and equipment 
requirements for the braking systems on vehicles equipped with air 
brake systems. On January 12, 1995, NHTSA issued a final rule in the 
Federal Register (60 FR 2896) amending FMVSS No. 121 to allow the 
volume of each air brake chamber to be determined by either the actual 
volume of the brake chamber at maximum travel of the brake piston (or 
pushrod), or the ``rated volume'' of each brake chamber pursuant to a 
table of specified values,'' whichever is lower. On July 11, 1996, 
NHTSA published a final rule amending Table V. The agency decided to 
revise certain rated volumes in Table V, thereby removing design 
restrictions that had continued to discourage the use of long stroke 
brake chambers. AmTran's calculation of the minimum required air 
capacity of affected buses is based on the amended Table V.
    From October 27, 1995, through November 5, 1998, AmTran produced 
122 units with an air reservoir combined volume of 3,630 cubic inches 
or 11.6 times the combined volume of all service brake chambers. 
Standard No. 121 requires those units to have an air reservoir combined 
volume of 3,744 cubic inches or 12 times the combined volume of all 
service brake chambers.
    The rear air brake chambers of the affected buses are 30 inches in 
diameter. During the agency's compliance testing of various motor 
vehicles, the agency conducted compliance testing on an Am Tran bus and 
found that the bus met the air reservoir and the braking performance 
requirements specified in FMVSS No. 121. The compliance test vehicle 
was equipped with smaller rear brake chambers (24-inch diameters) than 
the affected buses.
    On August 16, 1999, AmTran provided the agency with its in-house 
test results on a subject model bus. These tests evaluated the 
vehicle's air consumption under severe braking and indicated that the 
bus' braking system had sufficient compressed air to adequately stop 
the vehicle during repeated brake applications.
    Based on the agency's test findings and the information provided by 
AmTran, the agency believes that in this case, the true measure of its 
inconsequentiality to motor vehicle safety is whether this air 
reservoir combined volume affects the vehicle's overall stopping 
ability. In this case, it does not appear to adversely affect stopping 
ability. Laboratory test data results submitted by the manufacturer 
demonstrate that this non-compliant braking system maintains sufficient 
air after several brake applications. In consideration of the 
foregoing, NHTSA has decided that the applicant has met its burden of 
persuasion that the noncompliance it describes 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.

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

    Issued on: January 7, 2000.
Stephen R. Kratzke,
Acting Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
[FR Doc. 00-749 Filed 1-11-00; 8:45 am]
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