[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 42 (Monday, March 4, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Page 9803]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-5092]



[[Page 9803]]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA 2001-10854; Notice 2]


Michelin North America, Inc., Grant of Application for Decision 
of Inconsequential Noncompliance

    Michelin North America, Inc., (Michelin) has determined that 
approximately 1,400 11R24.5 Michelin XDY-EX LRH tires do not meet the 
labeling requirements mandated by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 
(FMVSS) No. 119, ``New Pneumatic Tires for Vehicles Other than 
Passenger Cars,'' and has filed an appropriate report pursuant to 49 
CFR Part 573, ``Defect and Noncompliance Reports.'' Michelin 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 October 29, 2001, in the Federal Register (FR66 
54572). NHTSA received no comments.
    FMVSS No. 199, S6.5, mandates that the tire identification and the 
DOT symbol labeling shall comply with 49 CFR part 574.
    Michelin's noncompliance relates to the mislabeling of 
approximately 1,400 tires. The tires are 11R24.5 Michelin XDY-EX LRH 
truck tires. Michelin states that, ``During the period of the 29th week 
of 2001 through the 36th week of 2001, the Spartanburg, South Carolina 
plant of Michelin North America produced a number of tires with a 
portion of the DOT tire identification number marking (as required on 
one side of the tire by 49 CFR 571.119 S6.5b) which did not meet the 
labeling specifications as described by 49 CFR 574.5.''
    Instead of a required marking that reads: ``DOT B6 4F BVR X NN01'', 
the tires were marked: ``DOT B6 4F NN01 X BVR'' where NN is the week of 
fabrication and 01 is the year. According to Michelin, all performance 
requirements of FMVSS No. 119 are met or exceeded. Up to 1,200 
noncompliant tires have been delivered to end-users. The remaining 
noncompliant tires have been isolated in Michelin's warehouses and will 
be either brought into full compliance with the marking requirements of 
FMVSS No. 119 or scrapped.
    Michelin supports its application for inconsequential noncompliance 
by stating that they do not believe the marking error will impact motor 
vehicle safety because the tires meet all Federal motor vehicle safety 
performance standards and the non-compliance is one of labeling.
    Michelin has reviewed and strengthened its procedures for detecting 
this type of error. Instead of checking the first piece of a particular 
production run at the press, future samples will be taken to a separate 
inspection station where exact labeling specifications are displayed 
for comparison. Based on this improvement, the likelihood of future 
errors of this type is reduced.
    The agency believes that in the case of a tire labeling 
noncompliance, the measure of its inconsequentiality to motor vehicle 
safety is whether the mislabeling would affect the manufacturer's 
ability to identify them, should the tires be recalled for performance 
related noncompliance. In this case, the nature of the labeling error 
does not prevent the correct identification of the affected tires. 49 
CFR 574.5 requires the date code portion of the tire identification 
number to be placed in the last or right-most position. Michelin's 
switching of the date code with the third position reserved for 
optional code information should not cause confusion since that 
optional information consists of letters, not numbers. Consequently, 
persons reading the tire identification label would easily be able to 
identify the four digit date code.
    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 motor vehicle safety. Accordingly, 
Michelin's application is hereby granted, and the application is 
exempted from the obligation of providing notification of, and a remedy 
for, the noncompliance.

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

    Dated: February 22, 2002.
Stephen R. Kratzke,
Associate Administrator, for Safety Performance Standards.
[FR Doc. 02-5092 Filed 3-4-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P