[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 177 (Wednesday, September 12, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47517-47518]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-22850]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA 2001-9116; Notice 2]


Hankook Tire Corporation; Grant of Application for Decision That 
Noncompliance Is Inconsequential to Motor Vehicle Safety

    Hankook Tire Manufacturing Company, Ltd. (Hankook), a Korean 
corporation, has determined that approximately 7,600 P205/75R14 Dayton 
Thorobred tires, produced in the Hankook Daejun Plant during August

[[Page 47518]]

2000 through January 2001, 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), Hankook has petitioned 
for a determination that the noncompliance is inconsequential to motor 
vehicle safety. It has filed an appropriate report pursuant to 49 CFR 
part 573, ``Defect and Noncompliance Reports.''
    Notice of receipt of application was published, with a 30-day 
comment period, on April 3, 2001, in the Federal Register (66 FR 
17747). NHTSA received no comments on this application.
    The noncompliance with FMVSS No., 109, paragraph S4.3 (a) relates 
to a mismarking of the tire size on one mold, Serial Number 24383. The 
actual stamping in the bead area of the DOT serial side (normally 
mounted in-board) is P205/75R15 and the correct stamping should have 
been P205/75R14, which is stamped on the customer side of the tires 
(normally mounted outboard).
    Hankook stated that the estimated 7,600 affected P205/75R14 Dayton 
Thorobred tires meet all other requirements of FMVSS No. 109. According 
to Hankook, there is a larger, predominant P205/75R14 correct marking 
on the mid-sidewall of both sides of the tires and the tire labels 
supplied to tire dealers with the tires are also marked with the 
correct tire size information. Furthermore, Hankook stated that an 
attempt by the company to mount the P205/75R14 tire on a 15-inch rim 
was unsuccessful since the mounting machine could not apply sufficient 
force to accomplish the mismatch. Hankook submitted that it was unaware 
of any adverse effects of this noncompliance and, as a result, believes 
the noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety.
    The agency believes that the true measure of inconsequentiality to 
motor vehicle safety in this case is the effect of the noncompliance on 
tire and rim safety. Tire and rim safety would be adversely affected if 
these tires, which are 14 inches in diameter, were to be mounted on 15-
inch rims. Hankook stated in its petition for inconsequential 
noncompliance that the tires are mislabeled on one side only, the DOT 
serial side, which is generally mounted in-board. In addition to the 
labeling information in the bead area required by FMVSS No. 109, the 
tire size is marked in large characters in the mid-sidewall area. 
According to Hankook, these mid-sidewall tire size markings on both 
sides of the tires are correct and the new tire label supplied to tire 
dealers with the tires is also marked with the correct tire size. Since 
the tire size is marked incorrectly in one location (in-board bead) 
only, and correctly marked in several other locations, the agency 
believes it is highly unlikely that the tire size could be 
misunderstood by a tire service technician. According to Hankook, an 
attempt to mount one of these 14-inch tires on a 15-inch rim was 
unsuccessful because the tire-mounting machine could not generate 
sufficient force to mount the tire on an oversized rim. The agency 
believes it would highly unlikely that 14-inch diameter tires could be 
mounted on 15-inch rims in the event they were mistaken to be 15-inch 
tires. The agency has no knowledge of safety problems that have arisen 
as a result of tire size mislabeling when the incorrect label indicated 
that the tire was larger than its actual size. Based on the information 
provided by Hankook, the agency believes the noncompliance is 
inconsequential to motor vehicle safety.
    In consideration of the foregoing, NHTSA has decided that the 
applicant has met the burden of persuasion and that the noncompliance 
is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. Accordingly, Hankook's 
application is granted and the applicant is exempted from providing the 
notification of the noncompliance as 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: September 7, 2001.
Stephen R. Kratzke,
Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
[FR Doc. 01-22850 Filed 9-11-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P