[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 40 (Wednesday, March 2, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10161-10162]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-3988]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA 2003-16114; Notice 2]


Michelin North America, Inc.; Grant of Application for Decision 
That a Noncompliance Is Inconsequential to Motor Vehicle Safety

    Michelin North America, Inc. (MNA) has determined that 
approximately 31,266 Michelin Pilot Sport/Alpin tires have been 
imported into the United States with sidewall markings that do not meet 
the labeling requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 
(FMVSS) No. 109 ``New Pneumatic Tires.''
    Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h), MNA has petitioned for 
a determination that this noncompliance is inconsequential to motor 
vehicle safety and has 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 October 
14, 2003, in the Federal Register (68 FR 59235). NHTSA received no 
comment on this application.
    The affected tires are those whose sidewalls labeling includes a 
maximum psi inflation pressure marking which rounds from the metric 
value to the nearest whole number (in this case down), rather than 
rounding up to the next higher whole number as specified by FMVSS No. 
109 S4.3.4 (a). The tires in question meet or exceed all other 
requirements of FMVSS 109. The provisions of FMVSS No. 109 applicable 
to 340 kPa tires that are the subject of the petition require that the 
psi units be rounded ``to the next higher whole number'' even when the 
nearest whole number, would require rounding down, rather than up. The 
correct marking for the maximum inflation pressure required by FMVSS 
No. 109 for these tires is: ``340 kPa (50 psi).'' The

[[Page 10162]]

noncompliant tires were incorrectly marked: ``340 kPa (49 psi).'' The 
actual conversion of 340 kPa to psi units yields 49.35 psi before 
rounding to whole numbers (340 kPa divided by a conversion factor of 
6.895 equals 49.35 psi).
    The labeling requirements of FMVSS No. 109 New Pneumatic Tire 
S4.3.4 (a) mandate that each tire have permanently molded into or onto 
both sidewalls the maximum permissible inflation pressure in pounds per 
inch (psi) rounded to the next higher whole number.
    MNA argues that this noncompliance will have no impact on either 
the performance of the tire on a motor vehicle, or on motor vehicle 
safety itself. MNA argues that NHTSA has recently studied the impact of 
tire labeling information on safety in the context of its rulemaking 
efforts under the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability and 
Documentation (TREAD) Act. This analysis found that sidewall maximum 
inflation pressure labeling is poorly understood by the general public, 
and indicated that those consumers that are aware of sidewall maximum 
inflation pressure labeling commonly misuse this information. A number 
of commenters on both the Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and 
the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for tire labeling recommended that 
the maximum inflation pressure labeling be removed from the sidewall 
because of its limited safety value and its propensity to confuse 
consumers. NHTSA ultimately decided to retain maximum inflation 
pressure labeling requirements as an aid in preventing over-inflation. 
The mislabeling issue in this case will in no way contribute to the 
risk of over-inflation because the value actually marked is lower than 
the value required by the regulations.
    Also, MNA states that, this mislabeling is clearly inconsequential 
with respect to safety for all of the following stated reasons: (1) The 
noncompliance is one solely of rounding to the nearest whole number and 
labeling; (2) The actual labeling is one psi less than that required by 
the regulation; (3) Rounding 49.35 psi to 49 psi, the nearest whole 
number, is more accurate in this case than rounding to the next higher 
whole number (50) as required by the regulations; (4) All performance 
requirements of FMVSS No. 109 are met or exceeded; (5) These tires are 
marked with the correct metric maximum inflation pressure (as allowed 
by FMVSS No. 109 and as shown on pages 1-32 of the 2003 Tire and Rim 
Association yearbook); (6) Use of the sidewall label as a source of 
information for the maximum inflation pressure will not increase the 
risk of over-inflation of the tire because the actual value is lower 
than both the actual maximum inflation pressure (by 0.35 psi) and lower 
than the 50 psi value required for these tires by the regulations; (7) 
Incorrect use of the sidewall label maximum inflation pressure as a 
source of information for the recommended inflation pressure will not 
result in an overloading of the tires or reduce the load capacity of 
the tires because the 49 psi conversion still remains 8 psi greater 
than that required to carry the maximum load for these tires. In fact, 
340 kPa (50psi) is the higher of two alternative choices for the 
maximum inflation pressure provided for this tire's load rating per The 
Tire and Rim Association yearbook. Consequently, MNA believes that the 
foregoing noncompliance will have an inconsequential impact on motor 
vehicle safety.
    NHTSA 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. In 
this case, MNA selected the lower inflation pressure provided for this 
tire's load rating per The Tire and Rim Association yearbook. Except 
for the one psi understated maximum permissible inflation pressure on 
the sidewall, the subject tires are properly labeled and constructed in 
accordance with FMVSS No. 109. This labeling noncompliance has no 
effect on the performance of the subject tires.
    In consideration of the foregoing, NHTSA has decided that the 
applicant has met its burden of persuasion that the noncompliance is 
inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. Accordingly, its 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.

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

    Issued on: February 18, 2005.
Stephen R. Kratzke,
Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 05-3988 Filed 3-1-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P