[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 110 (Thursday, June 8, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33333-33334]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-8878]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA 2006-24322; Notice 2]


Yokohama Tire Corporation, Grant of Petition for Decision of 
Inconsequential Noncompliance

    Yokohama Tire Corporation (Yokohama) has determined that certain 
tires that it produced in 2005 and 2006 do not comply with S4.3.2 of 49 
CFR 571.109, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 109, 
``New pneumatic tires.'' Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h), 
Yokohama 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 a petition was published, with a 30-day 
comment period, on April 7, 2006, in the Federal Register (71 FR 
17954). NHTSA received no comments.
    Affected are a total of approximately 1,918 Yokohama brand T155/
70D17 110M Y870B temporary-use-only tires produced from August 2005 to 
February

[[Page 33334]]

2006. S4.3.2 of FMVSS No. 109 refers to 49 CFR 574.5, which requires 
\3/4\ inch maximum width spacing between the manufacturer's 
identification mark/tire size code grouping and the subsequent tire 
type code and date of manufacture. The subject tires have a spacing 
that exceeds \3/4\ inch. Yokohama has corrected the problem that caused 
these errors so that they will not be repeated in future production.
    Yokohama believes that the noncompliance is inconsequential to 
motor vehicle safety and that no corrective action is warranted. 
Yokohama states that the noncompliant spacing ``does not impair the 
purpose or the use of the identification number and does not pose a 
threat to motor vehicle safety.'' Yokohama says that all other aspects 
of the tire identification number comply with the standard.
    NHTSA agrees with Yokohama that the noncompliance is 
inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. Although the spacing is 
incorrect, all the correct information required by FMVSS No. 109 is 
provided and therefore is likely to achieve the safety purposes of the 
requirement. All other informational markings are present, and the 
tires meet or exceed all of the performance requirements of FMVSS No. 
109.
    In consideration of the foregoing, NHTSA has decided that the 
petitioner has met its burden of persuasion that the noncompliance 
described is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. Accordingly, 
Yokohama's petition is granted and the petitioner is exempted from the 
obligation of providing notification of, and a remedy for, the 
noncompliance.

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

    Issued on: June 2, 2006.
Daniel C. Smith,
Associate Administrator for Enforcement.
[FR Doc. E6-8878 Filed 6-7-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P