[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 115 (Wednesday, June 16, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33693-33694]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-13583]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[U.S. DOT Docket Number NHTSA-98-3430]


Reports, Forms and Recordkeeping Requirements

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 
Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Request for Public Comment on a Proposed Collection of 
Information.

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SUMMARY: Before a Federal agency can collect certain information from 
the public, it must receive approval from the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB). Under procedures established by the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (PRA), before seeking OMB approval, Federal agencies must 
solicit public comment on proposed collections of information, 
including extensions and reinstatement of previously approved 
collections. This document describes a proposed collection of 
information for which NHTSA intends to seek OMB approval.

DATES: Comments must be received on August 16, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Comments must refer to the docket notice numbers cited at 
the beginning of this notice and be submitted to Docket Management, 
Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. Please 
identify the proposed collection of information for which a comment is 
provided as the ``dealer notification rule.'' It is requested, but not 
required, that one (1) original plus two (2) copies of the comment be 
provided. The docket section is open on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Larry Long, Office of Defects 
Investigation, NHTSA, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Room 5319, NVS-215, 
Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: (202) 366-6281.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA, before an agency submits a 
proposed collection of information to OMB for approval, it must first 
publish a document in the Federal Register providing a 60-day comment 
period and otherwise consult with members of the public and affected 
agencies concerning the proposed collection of information. OMB has 
promulgated regulations describing what must be included in such a 
document. Under OMB's regulation (at 5 CFR 1320.8(d)), an agency must 
ask for public comment on the following:
    (i) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for 
the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including 
whether the information will have practical utility;
    (ii) The accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
    (iii) How to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected;
    (iv) How to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, including the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic 
submission of responses.
    In compliance with these requirements, NHTSA asks for public 
comments on the amendments of the following described collection of 
information:
    Title: Dealer Notification of Defects and Noncompliances.
    Type of Request: Amendment to existing information collection 
adding new requirements.
    OMB Control Number: 2127-0004.
    Affected Public: This collection of information applies to 
manufacturers of motor vehicles and items of motor vehicle equipment 
that conduct safety recalls.
    Abstract: On September 27, 1993, NHTSA published in the Federal 
Register a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proposing several 
amendments to its regulations (49 CFR parts 573 and 577) implementing 
the provisions of 49 U.S.C. chapter 301 concerning manufacturers' 
obligations to provide notification and remedy without charge for motor 
vehicles and items of replacement motor vehicle equipment found to 
contain a defect related to motor vehicle safety or a noncompliance 
with a Federal motor vehicle safety standard (58 FR 50314). On April 5, 
1995, we issued a final rule addressing most aspects of that NPRM (60 
FR 17254), and on January 4, 1996, we amended several provisions of 
that final rule after receiving petitions for reconsideration (61 FR 
274). However, we decided to delay issuance of the final rule on the 
subject of dealer notification because we had not resolved all the 
issues raised by the comments on that subject that were submitted in 
response to the NPRM. On May 19, 1999, we issued a supplemental notice 
of proposed rulemaking (SNPRM) in order to seek additional public 
comment on several significant proposed revisions to the proposal that 
we had originally set out in the NPRM (64 FR 27227).
    We had originally proposed to require manufacturers to notify their 
dealers and distributors of safety defects and noncompliances that had 
been determined to exist in their products within 5 days after 
notifying the agency of the determination pursuant to 49 CFR part 573. 
In the SNPRM, however, rather than specify a particular time period, we 
proposed to require manufacturers to notify dealers in accordance with 
a schedule that is to be submitted to the agency with the 
manufacturer's defect or noncompliance information report already 
required by 49 CFR 573.6 (section 573.5 prior to August 9, 2002).

[[Page 33694]]

Under the SNPRM, if the agency were to find that the public interest 
requires dealers to be notified at an earlier date than that proposed 
by the manufacturer, the manufacturer would have to notify its dealers 
in accordance with the agency's directive. The SNPRM also proposed to 
require that the dealer notification contain certain information 
(including language about manufacturer and dealer obligations under 49 
U.S.C. 30116 and 30120(i)) and described the manner in which such 
notification is to be accomplished.
    We fully considered the comments submitted in response to the 
SNPRM, and are about to issue a final rule. Consistent with the PRA, we 
are issuing this request for comments on the burden of complying with 
the dealer notification requirements. Before issuing the SNPRM in May 
1999, we had published a request for such comments on a different 
version of the regulation. See 62 FR 63598 (December 1, 1997). Since 
the SNPRM made major changes to the proposal (based in part on the 
comments submitted in response to that request), we are issuing a new 
request for comments on the PRA burdens.
    Estimated annual burden: Pursuant to statute (see 49 U.S.C. 30116, 
30118(b) and (c), and 30119(d)(4)) and their own internal practices, 
manufacturers currently notify their dealers and distributors of all 
recalls that address safety defects or noncompliances in their 
products. Under the revised regulation, manufacturers conducting 
recalls will be required to (1) add information about the 
manufacturer's intended schedule for dealer notification to the 
manufacturer's notifications to NHTSA of defects and noncompliances 
that are already provided pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, and (2) include 
certain specified language in the notifications that they send to their 
dealers and distributors. In addition, vehicle manufacturers will now 
be required to maintain a list of its dealers and distributors that it 
notified for a period of 5 years. (Pursuant to 49 CFR 573.8(c), 
manufacturers of motor vehicle equipment are already subject to such a 
retention requirement.) Each manufacturer conducting a recall would 
only have to develop language for inclusion in its notifications to its 
dealers and distributors once, since the language will be the same in 
succeeding recalls. With respect to retention requirement, vehicle 
manufacturers already maintain lists of all of their dealers and 
distributors, and the dealers and distributors that are notified are 
likely to be identical or at least substantially similar for all 
recalls conducted by a manufacturer.
    Based on the above, we estimate that the average time needed for a 
manufacturer to perform these activities will be no more than 2 hours 
per recall. Based on past experience, we estimate that there will be 
about 500 recalls per year. Accordingly, the manufacturer burden hours 
are estimated to be 1,000 per year (500 recalls x 2 hours).
    In cases in which a manufacturer sells or arranges for the delivery 
of vehicles or items of equipment to or through independent 
distributors that subsequently sell or arrange for the delivery of the 
vehicles or equipment items to independent retail outlets, 
manufacturers will be required to include in the notification to such 
distributors language instructing them to provide copies of the 
notification to all entities further along the distribution chain 
within five working days of its receipt. Although the regulation does 
not directly impose any requirement on the distributors to comply with 
the manufacturer's instructions, we expect them to do so, so we have 
estimated the paperwork burdens associated with subsequent 
notifications by distributors. As a practical matter, this requirement 
would only affect equipment recalls, since vehicle manufacturers 
generally communicate directly with their dealers rather than through a 
distribution network. Therefore, our estimate considers only equipment 
recalls. There are approximately 50 such recalls each year. The only 
thing that these distributors would do (assuming they followed the 
manufacturer's instructions) would be to forward copies of the 
manufacturer's notification to entities further down the distribution 
chain. We estimate that identifying the applicable lower-tier entities, 
making copies, and sending out those copies would take about 5 hours 
per recall. Assuming that each recalling equipment manufacturer 
utilizes an average of three separate distributors (which is probably 
an over-estimate, since many equipment manufacturers do not use any 
independent distributors), the total number of burden hours potentially 
associated with this provision of the final rule is estimated to be 750 
per year (50 recalls x 3 independent distributors x 5 hours).
    Number of respondents: Every manufacturer of motor vehicles or 
replacement equipment is potentially affected by this rule. We estimate 
that there are 30,000 such manufacturers. However, on average, about 
300 manufacturers actually conduct the approximately 500 safety recalls 
that are conducted each year.

    Issued on: June 9, 2004.
Kenneth N. Weinstein,
Associate Administrator for Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 04-13583 Filed 6-15-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P