[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 154 (Thursday, August 9, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41930-41931]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-20037]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA 2000-8461; Notice 2]


Continental General Tire, Inc., Grant of Application for Decision 
That Noncompliance Is Inconsequential to Motor Vehicle Safety

    Continental General Tire, Inc., (Continental) has determined that 
approximately 3,187 P255/70R16 Ameri*660 AS passenger car tires do not 
meet the labeling requirements mandated by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety 
Standard (FMVSS) No. 109, ``New Pneumatic Tires.'' Pursuant to 49 
U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h), Continental petitioned for a 
determination that this noncompliance is inconsequential to motor 
vehicle safety and filed an appropriate report pursuant to 49 CFR part 
573, ``Defect and Noncompliance Reports.''
    Notice of receipt of the application was published, with a 30-day 
comment period, on December 15, 2000, in the Federal Register (65 FR 
78530). NHTSA received two comments on this application, one from 
General Motors (GM) and one from Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety 
(Advocates).
    FMVSS No. 109, paragraph S4.3 (e), requires that each tire shall 
have permanently molded into or onto both sidewalls the actual number 
of plies in the sidewall, and the actual number of plies in the tread 
area, if different. According to Continental, the noncompliance relates 
to a specific mold, number 33460, which ran for the production period 
of June 14, 2000 through July 29, 2000 with an incorrect side plate on 
the bottom or inboard sidewall. This side plate was not changed from a 
previous production run in which the tire construction was different. 
The stamping at the rim line read: Tread 6 plies: 2 Steel + 2 Polyester 
+ 2 Nylon. It should have read: Tread: 4 Plies: 2 Steel + 2 Polyester.
    The P255/70R16 General Ameri*660 AS primarily is supplied to 
General Motors (GM) for original equipment pickup truck application. 
According to Continental, 1,550 of the 3,187 tires manufactured with 
this noncompliance were not released, 1,555 were provided to GM for 
original equipment on pickup trucks, and 82 tires were sold as 
replacements.
    Continental stated in its petition that all molded labeling items 
on the letter white (LW), outboard sidewall, including the tire 
construction information, are correct. The incorrect tire construction 
information would be on the bottom or inboard (non-customer) sidewall. 
Continental believes that no unsafe conditions would result from the 
noncompliance.
    GM supported granting the petition, stating that it understood that 
approximately 1,555 of the 3,187 tires manufactured with this 
noncompliance were shipped to it for installation on pickup trucks. GM 
repeated the assertion by Continental that the tires would be mounted 
on the vehicles with the LW or customer side mounted outboard and would 
likely maintain in that configuration through the life of the tire. GM 
also stated that all the labeling information required by FMVSS No. 109 
is correctly marked on the LW side of the tires.
    Advocates commented that, as a result of the events in the summer 
of 2000 involving tire failure and sport utility vehicles, the agency 
must view all applications for inconsequential noncompliance regarding 
incorrect tire labeling with increased scrutiny. Advocates further 
stated that the agency must consider whether these incorrect markings 
are relied upon by tire dealers or customers in the selling or 
purchasing of the tires. Additionally, according to Advocates, 
aftermarket tires may be mounted on rims with the LW side inboard 
exposing the incorrect tire construction information, which is a 
potential source of confusion.
    The Transportation Recall, Enhancement, Accountability, and 
Documentation (TREAD) Act of November 2000 required, among other 
things, that the agency initiate rulemaking to improve tire label 
information. In response to section 11 of the TREAD Act, the agency 
published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) in the 
Federal Register on December 1, 2000 (65 FR 75222). The ANPRM sought 
comments on the tire labeling information required by 49 CFR 571.109 
and part 119, part 567, part 574, and part 575. The agency received 
more than 20 comments. Most of the comments were from motor vehicle and 
tire manufacturers, although several private citizens and consumer 
interest organizations responded to the ANPRM. With regard to the tire 
construction labeling requirements of FMVSS 109, S4.3 (d) and (e), most 
comments indicated that the information was of little or no safety 
value to consumers. However, the tire construction information is 
valuable to the tire retread, repair, and recycling industries, 
according to several trade groups representing tire manufacturing. The 
International Tire and Rubber Association, Inc. (ITRA) indicated that 
the tire construction information is used by tire technicians to 
determine the steel content of a tire and to select proper retread, 
repair, and recycling procedures.
    In addition to the written comments solicited by the ANPRM, the 
agency conducted a series of focus groups, as required by the TREAD 
Act, to examine consumer perceptions and understanding of tire 
labeling. Few of the focus group participants had knowledge of tire 
information beyond the tire brand name, tire size, and tire pressure.
    Based on the information obtained from comments to the ANPRM and 
the consumer focus groups, we concur that it is likely that few 
consumers are influenced by the tire construction information (number 
of plies and cord material in the sidewall and tread plies) when making 
a motor vehicle or tire purchase decision.

[[Page 41931]]

    Actions by the agency since November 2000, in response to 
Congressional requirements, have addressed most of the concerns raised 
by Advocates in its docket submission. As previously stated, written 
comments to the ANPRM on tire labeling issues indicated that the tire 
construction information molded onto the tire is of little safety value 
to the general public since most consumers do not understand tire 
construction technology. Additionally, few consumers use the tire 
construction information as input to tire or vehicle purchasing 
decisions, according to the results of focus group surveys sponsored by 
the agency. However, the tire repair, retread, and recycling industries 
use the tire construction information and the agency is considering 
retaining all the current labeling requirements of FMVSS No. 109 in 
some form.
    The agency believes that the true measure of inconsequentiality to 
motor vehicle safety in this case is the effect of the noncompliance on 
the operational safety of vehicles on which these tires are mounted. 
The safety of people working in the tire retread, repair, and recycling 
industries must also be considered. The tires have been chosen by GM as 
original equipment, suited for pickup trucks. Further, the tires are 
certified to meeting all the performance requirements of FMVSS No. 109. 
The agency agrees with GM's statement indicating that, in customer use, 
the LW or outboard side or the tire would likely stay in the original 
configuration through the life of the tire. Although tire construction 
affects tire strength and durability, neither the agency nor the tire 
industry provides information relating the strength and durability of a 
tire to the number and types of plies in the tread and sidewall. The 
agency believes the incorrect labeling of the tire construction 
information will have an inconsequential effect on consumer safety. The 
agency believes the safety of the GM pickup truck users and the users 
of these tires as replacements will not be adversely affected by the 
noncompliance because most consumers do not base tire purchases or 
vehicle operation parameters on tire construction information. The 
agency believes the noncompliance will have an inconsequential effect 
on the safety of the tire retread, repair, and recycling industries. 
The use of steel cord construction is the primary safety concern of 
these industries, according to ITRA. In this case, the steel used in 
the construction of the tires is properly labeled.
    In consideration of the foregoing, NHTSA has decided that the 
burden of persuasion has been met and that the noncompliance is 
inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. Accordingly, Continental's 
application is granted and the applicant is exempted from providing the 
notification of the noncompliance that would be required by 49 U.S.C. 
30118, and from remedying the noncompliance, as would be required by 49 
U.S.C. 30120.


(49 U.S.C. 301118, 301120; delegations of authority at 49 CFR 1.50 
and 501.8)

    Issued on: August 3, 2001.
Stephen R. Kratzke,
Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
[FR Doc. 01-20037 Filed 8-8-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P