[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 220 (Friday, November 14, 2003)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 64568-64569]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-28480]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

49 CFR Part 579

[Docket No. NHTSA 2001-8677; Notice 7]
RIN 2127-AJ21


Reporting of Information and Documents About Potential Defects

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), DOT.

ACTION: Correcting amendment.

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SUMMARY: This document corrects a provision in the early warning 
reporting regulation under the Transportation Recall Enhancement, 
Accountability, and Documentation (TREAD) Act. As noted in a petition 
for reconsideration, the due date for one-time historical reports was 
extended to a date that is not consistent with schedules of many of the 
manufacturers that must provide the reports. This corrects the 
reporting date from December 31, 2003 to January 15, 2004.

DATES: This final rule is effective November 14, 2003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For non-legal issues, contact Jonathan 
White, Office of Defects Investigation, NHTSA (phone: 202-366-5226). 
For legal issues, contact Andrew DiMarsico, Office of Chief Counsel, 
NHTSA (phone: 202-366-5263).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On July 10, 2002, the National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration (NHTSA) published a final rule implementing the early 
warning reporting (EWR) provisions of the Transportation Recall 
Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation (TREAD) Act, 49 U.S.C. 
30166(m) (67 FR 45822).
    We received a number of petitions for reconsideration of the final 
rule, and have responded to most of them in three separate rulemaking 
notices. These notices were published on April 15, 2003 (Notice 4, 68 
FR 18136), and on June 11, 2003 (Notice 5, 68 FR 35132; Notice 6, 68 FR 
35145). Notice 6 amended the EWR reporting dates. In response, we 
received one petition for reconsideration of the due date for the 
filing of the one-time historical report. We now make a technical 
correction in light of that petition.

II. Extension of Due Date for the One-Time Historical Report

    Notice 6 deferred the initial reporting dates of EWR information 
for a calendar quarter and the date for submitting the one-time 
historical report required by 49 CFR 579.28(c), 68 FR 35148. Currently, 
the latter report must be filed no later than December 31, 2003. On 
July 28, 2003, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (Alliance) 
petitioned for reconsideration of this date, asking that it be changed 
to January 15, 2004. The Alliance asserted that the December 31 date 
``falls during a traditional winter holiday period, during which most 
Alliance member offices in the United States are closed.'' This request 
does not affect the initial due date for filing of the initial 
quarterly report, which remains December 1, 2003.
    At the time that we published Notice 6, we were primarily concerned 
with deferring reporting by one quarter and with adopting a schedule 
that staggered the submission of field reports and one-time historical 
reports to dates later than the reports of incidents and statistical 
data. We did not specifically consider whether a December 31 due date 
would pose any problems. If we had taken into account the practices 
noted by the Alliance, we would not have adopted that date. We do not 
believe that safety will be compromised by deferring the reporting date 
of historical information by two weeks in order to accommodate the 
practice of members of the Alliance, as well as other vehicle and child 
restraint system and tire manufacturers, and are amending the 
introductory text of subsection 579.28(c) accordingly.

IV. Privacy Act Statement

    Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all comments 
received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf 
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's 
complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on 
April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477) or you may visit http://dms.dot.gov.

V. Rulemaking Analyses

    This notice extends, by 15 days, a reporting date adopted in Notice 
6. The changes made to the EWR regulation by this notice do not alter 
the burdens and impacts discussed in the Regulatory Analyses of Notice 
6. To the extent that

[[Page 64569]]

Regulatory Analyses may be relevant to this minor technical change, the 
Analyses of Notice 6 (68 FR at 35147) are hereby incorporated by 
reference.

List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 579

    Imports, Motor vehicle safety, Motor vehicles, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements.


0
For the reasons set out in the preamble, 49 CFR part 579 is amended as 
follows:

PART 579--REPORTING OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS ABOUT 
POTENTIAL DEFECTS

0
1. The authority citation for part 579 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: Sec. 3, Pub. L. 106-414, 114 Stat. 1800 (49 U.S.C. 
30102-103, 30112, 30117-121, 30166-167); delegation of authority at 
49 CFR 1.50.

Subpart C--Reporting of Early Warning Information

0
2. The introductory text to Sec.  579.28(c)(1) is revised to read as 
follows:


Sec.  579.28  Due dates of reports and other miscellaneous provisions.

* * * * *
    (c) One-time reporting of historical information. (1) No later than 
January 15, 2004:
* * * * *

    Issued on: November 6, 2003.
Jeffrey W. Runge,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 03-28480 Filed 11-13-03; 8:45 am]
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