[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 40 (Wednesday, March 2, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10164-10165]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-3991]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2005-20274; Notice 1]


Workhorse Custom Chassis, Receipt of Petition for Decision of 
Inconsequential Noncompliance

    Workhorse Custom Chassis (Workhorse) has determined that certain 
incomplete motor home chassis it produced in 2000 through 2004 do not 
comply with S3.1.4.1 of 49 CFR 571.102, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety 
Standard (FMVSS) No. 102, ``Transmission shift lever sequence, starter 
interlock, and transmission braking effect.'' Workhorse has filed an 
appropriate report pursuant to 49 CFR Part 573, ``Defect and 
Noncompliance Reports.''
    Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h), Workhorse has 
petitioned for an exemption from the notification and remedy 
requirements of 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301 on the basis that this 
noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety.

[[Page 10165]]

    This notice of receipt of Workhorse's petition is published under 
49 U.S.C. 30118 and 30120 and does not represent any agency decision or 
other exercise of judgment concerning the merits of the petition.
    Affected are a total of approximately 42,524 incomplete motor home 
chassis built between July 2000 and December 31, 2004. S3.1.4.1 of 
FMVSS No. 102 requires that

if the transmission shift lever sequence includes a park position, 
identification of shift lever positions * * * shall be displayed in 
view of the driver whenever any of the following conditions exist: 
(a) The ignition is in a position where the transmission can be 
shifted. (b) The transmission is not in park.

Workhorse describes its noncompliance as follows:

    In these vehicles when the ignition key is in the ``OFF'' 
position, the selected gear position is not displayed. ``OFF'' is a 
position not displayed, but located between lock and run. The gear 
selector lever can be moved while the ignition switch is in ``OFF.''

    Workhorse believes that the noncompliance is inconsequential to 
motor vehicle safety and that no corrective action is warranted. 
Workhorse states that:

    [T]he vehicles will be in compliance with FMVSS No. 102 during 
normal ignition activation and vehicle operation. Workhorse believes 
that the purpose of the rule is to provide the driver with 
transmission position information for the vehicle conditions where 
such information can reduce the likelihood of shifting errors. This 
occurs primarily when the engine is running, and Workhorse's PRNDL 
is always visible when the engine is running.
    Should the shift lever be in any position other than park or 
neutral, the ignition will not start * * * Should the Workhorse 
vehicle be in neutral at the time the ignition is turned to start, 
the display will immediately come on and be visible to the driver.
    There are a number of safeguards to preclude the driver from 
leaving the vehicle with the vehicle in a position other than in the 
park position. First, if the driver should attempt to remove the 
key, the driver will discover that the vehicle is not in park 
because the key may not be removed. * * * If the driver were to 
attempt to leave the vehicle without removing the key, the audible 
warning required by FMVSS No. 114 would immediately sound reminding 
the driver that the key is still in the vehicle.

    Workhorse states that this situation is substantially the same as 
for two petitions which NHTSA granted, one from General Motors (58 FR 
33296, June 16, 1993) and the second from Nissan Motors (64 FR 38701, 
June 19, 1999). Workhorse says, ``In both of those cases, the PRNDL 
display would not be illuminated if the transmission was left in a 
position other than `park' when the ignition key was turned to `OFF.' 
''
    Workhorse states that it has no customer complaints or accident 
reports related to the noncompliance.
    Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and 
arguments on the petition described above. Comments must refer to the 
docket and notice number cited at the beginning of this notice and be 
submitted by any of the following methods. Mail: Docket Management 
Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, Nassif Building, Room PL-
401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, 20590-0001. Hand 
Delivery: Room PL-401 on the plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 
Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC. It is requested, but not required, 
that two copies of the comments be provided. The Docket Section is open 
on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. except Federal Holidays. Comments 
may be submitted electronically by logging onto the Docket Management 
System Web site at http://dms.dot.gov. Click on ``Help'' to obtain 
instructions for filing the document electronically. Comments may be 
faxed to 1-202-493-2251, or may be submitted to the Federal eRulemaking 
Portal: go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments.
    The petition, supporting materials, and all comments received 
before the close of business on the closing date indicated below will 
be filed and will be considered. All comments and supporting materials 
received after the closing date will also be filed and will be 
considered to the extent possible. When the petition is granted or 
denied, notice of the decision will be published in the Federal 
Register pursuant to the authority indicated below.
    Comment closing date: April 1, 2005.

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

    Issued on: February 22, 2005.
Ronald L. Medford,
Senior Associate Administrator for Vehicle Safety.
[FR Doc. 05-3991 Filed 3-1-05; 8:45 am]
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