[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 138 (Wednesday, July 20, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 41631-41634]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-14245]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

49 CFR Part 571

[Docket No. NHTSA 05-21878]


Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Occupant Crash Protection

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

ACTION: Interim final rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: Our requirements for advanced air bags are being phased in 
during two stages, the first of which extends over a three-year period 
from September 1, 2003 to August 31, 2006. The phase-in provides 
special requirements for limited line manufacturers. These 
manufacturers are excluded from the first two years of the phase-in but 
must achieve 100 percent compliance for the third year, i.e., the 
production year beginning September 1, 2005. To address problems faced 
by Porsche, we are issuing this interim final rule revising the phase-
in for limited line manufacturers so that 95 percent of a 
manufacturer's vehicles must comply with the advanced air bag 
requirements during this one-year period instead of 100 percent.

DATES: Effective Date: The amendment made in this rule is effective 
September 1, 2005.
    Comments: Comments must be received by NHTSA not later than 
September 19, 2005, and should refer to the docket and notice number of 
this document.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments [identified by the DOT DMS Docket 
Number above] by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
     Web Site: http://dms.dot.gov. Follow the instructions for 
submitting comments on the DOT electronic docket site.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility; U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Nassif Building, Room PL-401, 
Washington, DC 20590-001.
     Hand Delivery: Room PL-401 on the plaza level of the 
Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC, between 9 am 
and 5 pm, Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and 
docket number for this rulemaking. For detailed instructions on 
submitting comments and additional information on the rulemaking 
process, see the Request for Comments heading of the Supplementary 
Information section of this document. Note that all comments received 
will be posted without change to http://dms.dot.gov, including any 
personal information provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading under 
Regulatory Analyses and Notices.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to http://dms.dot.gov at any time or to Room PL-
401 on the plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., 
Washington, DC, between 9 am and 5 pm, Monday through Friday, except 
Federal Holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For non-legal issues, you may call Mr. 
Louis Molino, Office of Crashworthiness Standards, at (202) 366-2264, 
facsimile (202) 493-2739.
    For legal issues, you may call Mr. Edward Glancy, Office of the 
Chief Counsel, at (202) 366-2992, facsimile (202) 366-3820.
    You may send mail to any of these officials at the National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 
20590.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 12, 2000, we published in the Federal 
Register (65 FR 30680) a rule to require advanced air bags. (Docket No. 
NHTSA 00-7013; Notice 1.) The rule amended Standard No. 208, Occupant 
Crash Protection, to require that future air bags be designed so that, 
compared to air bags then installed in production vehicles, they create 
less risk of serious air bag-induced injuries and provide improved 
frontal crash protection for all occupants, by means that include 
advanced air bag technology. The rule is

[[Page 41632]]

being phased in during two stages. During the first phase-in, from 
September 1, 2003, through August 31, 2006, increasing percentages of 
motor vehicles are required to meet requirements for minimizing air bag 
risks.
    In developing the advanced air bag rule and in subsequent 
proceedings conducted in response to petitions for reconsideration, we 
have sought to ensure the prompt development and availability of 
vehicles equipped with advanced air bags while also recognizing the 
special needs of various types of manufacturers. As such, we have 
established several different phase-in requirements. While different 
requirements apply during the three-year phase-in, effective September 
1, 2006, all vehicles must comply with the first phase advanced air bag 
requirements.
    The primary phase-in, which applies to manufacturers producing the 
vast majority of motor vehicles, is as follows: 9/1/03 to 8/31/04--20 
percent of a manufacturer's production; 9/1/04 to 8/31/05--65 percent 
of a manufacturer's production; 9/1/05 to 8/31/06--100 percent of a 
manufacturer's production, with manufacturers allowed to use advanced 
credits.
    Limited line manufacturers have the option of being excluded from 
the first two years of the phase-in but, if they select this option, 
must achieve 100 percent compliance for the third year, i.e., the 
production year beginning 9/1/05. They are not permitted to use 
advanced credits under this option.
    Finally, final stage manufacturers of vehicles built in two or more 
stages, and manufacturers that produce no more than 5,000 vehicles 
annually for sale in the United States, are excluded from the phase-in 
altogether.
    Porsche, which is electing to use the limited line manufacturer 
option for the first phase-in, recently contacted the agency concerning 
a problem it is having in achieving 100 percent compliance for the 
production year beginning 9/1/05. While NHTSA has been previously been 
aware of this problem, Porsche provided updated information to the 
agency in a meeting held in June 2005.
    While Porsche will be able to certify all of its regular production 
vehicles to the advanced air bag requirements, it produces a small 
number of custom-made vehicles which it has not been able to redesign 
to meet the advanced air bag requirements. Because of the small number 
of these vehicles, Porsche has had difficulty in getting air bag 
suppliers to provide advanced air bag designs. Air bag suppliers have, 
of course, been primarily engaged during this time period in working to 
develop advanced air bags to enable larger vehicle manufacturers to 
meet the new requirements.
    We note that we have previously responded to requests by Porsche 
for relief related to the advanced air bag phase-in requirements. In a 
final rule published in the Federal Register (68 FR 23614) on May 5, 
2003, we provided some additional flexibility for limited line 
manufacturers, but declined to adopt a request by Porsche that would 
have relieved it of any responsibility to meet the advanced air bag 
requirements before September 1, 2006. Porsche had requested that it be 
treated the same as small volume manufacturers, i.e., manufacturers 
that produce no more than 5,000 vehicles annually for sale in the 
United States. While we recognized that Porsche is relatively small 
related to other manufacturers, we noted that it is still substantially 
larger than those manufacturers for which the agency determined 
compliance before September 1, 2006 would pose an unreasonable 
hardship.
    In a document published in the Federal Register (69 FR 60316) on 
October 8, 2004, we denied a petition from Porsche requesting that 
advanced credits be available to manufacturers selecting the limited 
line option. We concluded that granting the request would provide 
manufacturers using the limited line option with relief not justified 
by their circumstances nor contemplated by the provision for advanced 
credits.
    After considering the latest information provided by Porsche, 
however, we have decided to reconsider whether some type of additional 
relief should be provided in light of that company's compliance 
problems. The basic problem faced by Porsche is that it wishes to 
continue production for a brief period past September 1, 2005, of a 
very small number of vehicles which it has not been able to design to 
meet the advanced air bag requirements. The total number of such 
vehicles was initially on the order of about 500, but is now 
approximately 100 or fewer. Porsche indicated that it has made efforts 
with respect to date of production and allocation of vehicles among 
different countries, but has not been able to fully eliminate the 
problem.
    As indicated above, throughout the advanced air bag rulemaking 
process we have sought to ensure the prompt development and 
availability of vehicles equipped with advanced air bags while also 
recognizing the special needs of various types of manufacturers. Given 
the situation faced by Porsche, we believe that some additional relief 
is appropriate.
    We also note that, in the past, we have in special circumstances 
made a small adjustment in effective date to enable a manufacturer to 
continue production of a vehicle not designed to meet a new 
requirement. On January 10, 1997, in response to a petition from Ford, 
we published in the Federal Register (62 FR 1401) a final rule granting 
a four-month extension of the date by which vehicles with a gross 
vehicle weight rating of more than 8,500 pounds and less than 10,000 
pounds must comply with the requirements for safety belt fit.
    In that situation, due to unexpected developmental problems with a 
new truck platform, Ford had been unable to begin production by the 
expected date. It therefore wanted to continue to produce the current 
truck platform for an additional four months. Ford requested the 
leadtime extension to avoid having to redesign the existing platform 
for only a four-month extension. In that rulemaking, we decided that 
since the safety benefits for the affected trucks was likely to be very 
small, and the costs accentuated, a four-month extension of leadtime 
was reasonable. We also noted that, due to the demographics of the 
occupants of the affected trucks, the benefits from applying the belt 
fit requirement to those trucks would be less than the benefits of 
applying it to lower GVWR vehicles.
    In the current situation, we note that the number of vehicles 
Porsche wishes to continue to produce is very small. Moreover, the 
nature of the vehicles is such that they are less likely to be used to 
transport young children than most vehicles.
    Given that we are in the midst of phasing in the advanced air bag 
requirements, we believe the most appropriate relief is to revise the 
phase-in for limited line manufacturers so that 95 percent of a 
manufacturer's vehicles must comply with the advanced air bag 
requirements during this one-year period instead of 100 percent. We 
believe that Porsche is the only vehicle manufacturer that will utilize 
this relief, and that the actual number of vehicles for which it is 
utilized will be far less than five percent of its production. In any 
event, since the amendment only affects limited line manufacturers and 
only changes the phase-in requirement for a single production year from 
100 percent to 95 percent, any impact on the number of vehicles 
equipped with advanced air bags in the fleet will be minimal.

[[Page 41633]]

    Because the September 1, 2005 compliance date for limited line 
manufacturers is fast approaching, NHTSA finds good cause to issue this 
interim final rule adjusting the phase-in percentage for the September 
1, 2005 to August 31, 2006 production year from 100 percent to 95 
percent for these manufacturers. Further, we find good cause to make it 
effective on September 1, 2005. Today's interim final rule makes no 
substantive change to the standard, but makes a small adjustment in the 
phase-in percentage for limited line manufacturers for a single 
production year. We are accepting comments on this interim final rule. 
See, Request for Comments section below.

Regulatory Analyses and Notices

A. Executive Order, 12866 Regulatory Planning and Review

    Executive Order 12866, ``Regulatory Planning and Review'' (58 FR 
51735, October 4, 1993), provides for making determinations whether a 
regulatory action is ``significant'' and therefore subject to Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) review and to the requirements of the 
Executive Order. The Order defines a ``significant regulatory action'' 
as one that is likely to result in a rule that may:
    (1) Have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more or 
adversely affect in a material way the economy, a sector of the 
economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public 
health or safety, or State, local, or Tribal governments or 
communities;
    (2) Create a serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere with an 
action taken or planned by another agency;
    (3) Materially alter the budgetary impact of entitlements, grants, 
user fees, or loan programs or the rights and obligations of recipients 
thereof; or
    (4) Raise novel legal or policy issues arising out of legal 
mandates, the President's priorities, or the principles set forth in 
the Executive Order.
    This rulemaking document was not reviewed under Executive Order 
12866. It is not significant within the meaning of the DOT Regulatory 
Policies and Procedures. It does not impose any burden on 
manufacturers, and only adjusts the advanced air bag phase-in 
percentage for limited line manufacturers for the September 1, 2005 to 
August 31, 2006 production year from 100 percent to 95 percent.
    The agency believes that this impact is so minimal as to not 
warrant the preparation of a full regulatory evaluation.

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    Pursuant to the Regulatory Flexibility Act, we have considered the 
impacts of this rulemaking action will have on small entities (5 U.S.C. 
601 et seq.). I certify that this rulemaking action will not have a 
significant economic impact upon a substantial number of small entities 
within the context of the Regulatory Flexibility Act.
    This final rule only affects manufacturers of motor vehicles that 
selected the limited line manufacturer option for the advanced air bag 
phase-in. None of these manufacturers are small businesses. Small 
organizations and governmental jurisdictions are unlikely to purchase 
the motor vehicles affected by this rule and, in any event, this 
rulemaking will not cause price increases. Accordingly, we have not 
prepared a Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis.

C. Executive Order 13132, Federalism

    E.O. 13132 requires NHTSA to develop an accountable process to 
ensure ``meaningful and timely input by State and local officials in 
the development of regulatory policies that have federalism 
implications.'' E.O. 13132 defines the term ``Policies that have 
federalism implications'' to include regulations that have 
``substantial direct effects on the States, on the relationship between 
the national government and the States, or on the distribution of power 
and responsibilities among the various levels of government.'' Under 
E.O. 13132, NHTSA may not issue a regulation that has federalism 
implications, that imposes substantial direct compliance costs, and 
that is not required by statute, unless the Federal government provides 
the funds necessary to pay the direct compliance costs incurred by 
State and local governments, or NHTSA consults with State and local 
officials early in the process of developing the proposed regulation.
    This final rule will not have substantial direct effects on the 
States, on the relationship between the national government and the 
States, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the 
various levels of government as specified in E.O. 13132. Thus, the 
requirements of section 6 of the Executive Order do not apply to this 
rule.

D. The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

    The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4) requires 
agencies to prepare a written assessment of the costs, benefits and 
other effects of proposed or final rules that include a Federal mandate 
likely to result in the expenditure by State, local or tribal 
governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of more than 
$100 million annually. This action will not result in additional 
expenditures by state, local or tribal governments or by any members of 
the private sector. Therefore, the agency has not prepared an economic 
assessment pursuant to the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.

E. Paperwork Reduction Act

    Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) 
(PRA), a person is not required to respond to a collection of 
information by a Federal agency unless the collection displays a valid 
OMB control number. This final rule does not impose any new collection 
of information requirements for which a 5 CFR part 1320 clearance must 
be obtained.

F. Civil Justice Reform

    This final rule does not have any retroactive effect. Under 49 
U.S.C. 30103(b), whenever a Federal motor vehicle safety standard is in 
effect, a state or political subdivision may prescribe or continue in 
effect a standard applicable to the same aspect of performance of a 
Federal motor vehicle safety standard only if the standard is identical 
to the Federal standard. However, the United States Government, a 
state, or political subdivision of a state, may prescribe a standard 
for a motor vehicle or motor vehicle equipment obtained for its own use 
that imposes a higher performance requirement than that required by the 
Federal standard. 49 U.S.C. 30161 sets forth a procedure for judicial 
review of final rules establishing, amending, or revoking Federal motor 
vehicle safety standards. A petition for reconsideration or other 
administrative proceedings are not required before parties file suit in 
court.

F. Privacy Act

    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 (Volume 65, Number 70; Pages 19477-78) or you may visit 
http://dms.dot.gov.

G. Environmental Impacts

    We have considered the impacts of this final rule under the 
National

[[Page 41634]]

Environmental Policy Act. This rulemaking action only adjusts the 
advanced air bag phase-in percentage for limited line manufacturers for 
the September 1, 2005 to August 31, 2006 production year from 100 
percent to 95 percent. This rulemaking does not require any change that 
would have any environmental impacts. Accordingly, no environmental 
assessment is required.

Request for Comments

How Do I Prepare and Submit Comments?

    Your comments must be written and in English. To ensure that your 
comments are correctly filed in the Docket, please include the docket 
number of this document in your comments. Your comments must not be 
more than 15 pages long. (49 CFR 553.21). We established this limit to 
encourage you to write your primary comments in a concise fashion. 
However, you may attach necessary additional documents to your 
comments. There is no limit on the length of the attachments. Please 
submit two copies of your comments, including the attachments, to 
Docket Management at the address given above under ADDRESSES. Comments 
may also be submitted to the docket electronically by logging onto the 
Docket Management System Web site at http://dms.dot.gov. Click on 
``Help & Information'' or ``Help/Info'' to obtain instructions for 
filing the document electronically. If you are submitting comments 
electronically as a PDF (Adobe) file, we ask that the documents 
submitted be scanned using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) process, 
thus allowing the agency to search and copy certain portions of your 
submissions.\1\ Please note that pursuant to the Data Quality Act, in 
order for substantive data to be relied upon and used by the agency, it 
must meet the information quality standards set forth in the OMB and 
DOT Data Quality Act guidelines. Accordingly, we encourage you to 
consult the guidelines in preparing your comments. OMB's guidelines may 
be accessed at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/fedreg/reproducible.html. 
DOT's guidelines may be accessed at http://dmses.dot.gov/submit/DataQualityGuidelines.pdf.
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    \1\ Optical character recognition (OCR) is the process of 
converting an image of text, such as a scanned paper document or 
electronic fax file, into computer-editable text.
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How Can I Be Sure That My Comments Were Received?

    If you wish Docket Management to notify you upon its receipt of 
your comments, enclose a self-addressed, stamped postcard in the 
envelope containing your comments. Upon receiving your comments, Docket 
Management will return the postcard by mail.

How Do I Submit Confidential Business Information?

    If you wish to submit any information under a claim of 
confidentiality, you should submit three copies of your complete 
submission, including the information you claim to be confidential 
business information, to the Chief Counsel, NHTSA, at the address given 
above under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. In addition, you should 
submit two copies, from which you have deleted the claimed confidential 
business information, to Docket Management at the address given above 
under ADDRESSES. When you send a comment containing information claimed 
to be confidential business information, you should include a cover 
letter setting forth the information specified in our confidential 
business information regulation. (49 CFR Part 512.)

Will the Agency Consider Late Comments?

    We will consider all comments that Docket Management receives 
before the close of business on the comment closing date indicated 
above under DATES. To the extent possible, we will also consider 
comments that Docket Management receives after that date. If Docket 
Management receives a comment too late for us to consider in developing 
a final rule (assuming that one is issued), we will consider that 
comment as an informal suggestion for future rulemaking action.

How Can I Read the Comments Submitted by Other People?

    You may read the comments received by Docket Management at the 
address given above under ADDRESSES. The hours of the Docket are 
indicated above in the same location. You may also see the comments on 
the Internet. To read the comments on the Internet, take the following 
steps:
    (1) Go to the Docket Management System (DMS) Web page of the 
Department of Transportation (http://dms.dot.gov/).
    (2) On that page, click on ``Simple Search.''
    (3) On the next page (http://dms.dot.gov/search/), type in the 
four-digit docket number shown at the beginning of this document. 
Example: If the docket number were ``NHTSA-1998-1234,'' you would type 
``1234.'' After typing the docket number, click on ``Search.''
    (4) On the next page, which contains docket summary information for 
the docket you selected, click on the desired comments. You may 
download the comments. However, since the comments are imaged 
documents, instead of word processing documents, the downloaded 
comments are not word searchable.
    Please note that even after the comment closing date, we will 
continue to file relevant information in the Docket as it becomes 
available. Further, some people may submit late comments. Accordingly, 
we recommend that you periodically check the Docket for new material.

List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 571

    Motor vehicle safety, reporting and record keeping requirements, 
and tires.

0
In consideration of the foregoing, NHTSA amends 49 CFR part 571 as 
follows:

PART 571--FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARDS

0
1. The authority citation for part 571 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 322, 30111, 30115, 30117, and 30166; 
delegation of authority at 49 CFR 1.50.

0
2. Section 571.208 is amended by revising S14.1(b) to read as follows:


Sec.  571.208  Standard No. 208, Occupant crash protection.

* * * * *
    S14.1 Vehicles manufactured on or after September 1, 2003, and 
before September 1, 2006. * * *
    (b) Manufacturers that sell three or fewer carlines, as that term 
is defined at 49 CFR 585.4, in the United States may, at the option of 
the manufacturer, meet the requirements of this paragraph instead of 
paragraph (a) of this section. At least 95 percent of the vehicles 
manufactured by the manufacturer on or after September 1, 2005 and 
before September 1, 2006 shall meet the requirements specified in 
S14.5.1(a), S14.5.2, S15.1, S15.2, S17, S19, S21, S23, and S25 (in 
addition to the other requirements specified in this standard).
* * * * *

    Issued: July 15, 2005.
Jeffrey W. Runge,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 05-14245 Filed 7-19-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P