[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 61 (Friday, March 28, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16740-16743]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-6455]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[U.S. DOT Docket Number NHTSA-2008-0057]


Reports, Forms, and Recordkeeping Requirements

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

ACTION: Request for public comment on revision to a currently approved 
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, 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 collection of information for which NHTSA 
intends to seek OMB approval.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 27, 2008.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments using any of the following methods. 
All comments must have the applicable DOT docket number (e.g., NHTSA-
2008-0057) noted conspicuously on them.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility: U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., West Building Ground 
Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery or Courier: West Building Ground Floor, Room 
W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. Telephone: 1-800-647-
5527.
     Fax: 202-493-2251.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and 
docket number for this proposed collection of information. Note that 
all comments received will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided. 
Please see the Privacy Act heading below.
    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 (65 FR 19477-78) or you may visit http://DocketInfo.dot.gov.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov or the street 
address listed above. Follow the online instructions for accessing the 
dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Timian, Recall Management 
Division (NVS-215), Room W46-324, NHTSA, 1200 New Jersey Ave., 
Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: (202) 366-0209.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 
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 each proposed collection of 
information. The OMB has promulgated regulations describing what must 
be included in such a document. Under OMB's regulation, see 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; and
    (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 following collection of information:
    Title: Defect and Noncompliance Reporting and Notification.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved information 
collection.
    OMB Control Number: 2127-0004.
    Affected Public: Businesses or individuals.
    Abstract: This notice requests comment on NHTSA's proposed revision 
to approved collection of information OMB No. 2127-0004. Broadly 
speaking, this collection covers the information collection 
requirements found within various statutory sections in the Motor 
Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 (Act), 49 U.S.C. 30101, et seq., that 
address and require manufacturer notifications to NHTSA of safety-
related defects and failures to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle 
Safety Standards (FMVSS) in motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment, 
as well as the provision of particular information related to the 
ensuing owner and dealers notifications and free remedy campaigns that 
follow those notifications. The sections of the Act imposing these 
requirements include 49 U.S.C. 30118, 30119, 30120, and 30166. Many of 
these requirements are implemented through, and addressed with more 
specificity in, 49 CFR Part 573, Defect and Noncompliance 
Responsibility and Reports (Part 573) and 49 CFR 577, Defect and 
Noncompliance Notification.
    For ease of reference and comment, we have broken the information 
collection requirements that OMB No. 2127-0004 covers into three 
categories. The first two categories summarize requirements already 
included in OMB No. 2127-0004; the first discussing requirements of 
defect and noncompliance reporting and notifications generally, and the 
second discussing additional requirements that pertain specifically to 
tire recalls and the proper disposal of tires. The third category 
summarizes our proposal to include another collection requirement 
related to tire recall campaigns, but in the past treated separately 
and given a different OMB information collection approval number (2127-
0610).

[[Page 16741]]

A. Information Collection Requirements Applicable to Defect and 
Noncompliance Reporting and Notification Generally

    Pursuant to the Act, motor vehicle and motor vehicle equipment 
manufacturers are obligated to notify, and then provide various 
information and documents to, NHTSA in the event a safety defect or 
noncompliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) is 
identified in products they manufactured. See 49 U.S.C. 30118(b) and 49 
CFR 573.6 (requiring manufacturers to notify NHTSA, and provide certain 
information, when they learn of a safety defect or noncompliance). 
Manufacturers are further required to notify owners, purchasers, 
dealers and distributors about the safety defect or noncompliance. See 
49 U.S.C. 30118(b), 30120(a), and 49 CFR 577.7, 577.13. They are 
required to provide to NHTSA copies of communications pertaining to 
recall campaigns that they issue to owners, purchasers, dealers, and 
distributors. See 49 U.S.C. 30166(f) and 49 CFR 573.6(c)(10).
    Manufacturers are also required to file with NHTSA a plan 
explaining how they intend to reimburse owners and purchasers who paid 
to have their products remedied before being notified of the safety 
defect or noncompliance, and explain that plan in the notifications 
they issue to owners and purchasers about the safety defect or 
noncompliance. See 49 U.S.C. 30120(d) and 49 CFR 573.13. They are 
further required to keep lists of the respective owners, purchasers, 
dealers, distributors, lessors, and lessees of the products determined 
to be defective or noncompliant and involved in a recall campaign, and 
are required to provide NHTSA with a minimum of six quarterly reports 
reporting on the progress of their recall campaigns. See 49 CFR 573.8 
and 573.7, respectively.

B. Additional Information Collection Requirements Applicable to Tire 
Recall Campaigns and Proper Tire Disposal

    The Act and Part 573 also contain numerous information collection 
requirements specific to tire recall and remedy campaigns. These 
requirements relate to the proper disposal of recalled tires, including 
a requirement that the manufacturer conducting the tire recall submit a 
plan and provide specific instructions to certain persons (such as 
dealers and distributors) addressing that disposal, and a requirement 
that those persons report back to the manufacturer certain deviations 
from the plan. See 49 U.S.C. 30120(d) and 49 CFR 573.6(c)(9). These 
requirements are in addition to the general requirements previously 
discussed. Due to the length and complexity of these requirements, we 
have outlined below those requirements in order to make them more 
comprehensible.
    I. If there is a tire recall, which parties must provide 
information?
    A. The tire manufacturer conducting the recall;
    B. Any affected tire brand name owners conducting the recall, such 
as retail chain stores that sell recalled tires under their own 
``private labels'' or house labels;
    C. Any vehicle manufacturer that conducts a tire recall;
    D. Tire outlets under the control of a manufacturer conducting a 
tire recall, such as owned stores, franchised dealers and/or 
distributors.
    II. To which parties must the information be provided?
    A. Each manufacturer, whether a tire manufacturer, tire brand name 
owner, or a vehicle manufacturer conducting a recall campaign for a 
tire, would have to provide information to three categories of parties:
    1. NHTSA;
    2. Owned stores, franchised dealers and/or distributors (third 
parties);
    3. Independent tire outlets authorized to replace tires under the 
recall.
    B. In the event of a recall, each tire outlet under the control of 
a manufacturer must provide information to the manufacturer if the 
outlet does not comply with certain requirements. This is referred to 
as ``exceptions reporting'' or ``third party reporting,'' and is 
discussed below in section IV.
    III. What information must each manufacturer provide?
    A. In its report to NHTSA:
    1. The manufacturer's plan for assuring that the entities replacing 
the tires are aware of the legal requirements related to recalls of 
tires established by 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301 and its implementing 
regulations;
    2. An explanation of how the manufacturer will prevent, to the 
extent within its control, the recalled tires from being resold for 
installation on a motor vehicle;
    3. A description of the manufacturer's program for disposing of 
recalled tires that are returned to the manufacturer or collected by 
the manufacturer from retail outlets, including, at a minimum, 
statements that the returned tires will be disposed of in compliance 
with applicable state and local laws and regulations regarding disposal 
of tires, and will be channeled, insofar as possible, into an 
``alternative beneficial non-vehicular use'' rather than being disposed 
of in landfills; and
    4. A draft of the notification(s) to be sent to stores, dealers, 
etc. that is described in section III.B, below.
    B. In its reports to owned stores, franchised dealers and/or 
distributors, and independent outlets that are authorized to replace 
the recalled tires:
    1. A description of the legal requirements related to recalls of 
tires established by the Act and its implementing regulations, 
including the prohibitions on the sale of new and used defective and 
noncompliant tires, the right to reimbursement of the costs of certain 
pre-notification remedies, and the duty to notify NHTSA of a knowing or 
willful sale or lease of a new or used recalled tire that is intended 
for use on a motor vehicle;
    2. Directions to manufacturer-owned and other manufacturer-
controlled outlets, and guidance to all other outlets that are 
authorized to replace the recalled tires, on how and when to alter the 
recalled tires permanently so they cannot be used on vehicles; and
    3. Directions to manufacturer-owned and other manufacturer-
controlled outlets, and guidance to all other outlets that are 
authorized to replace the recalled tires, either:
    (a) To ship all recalled tires to one or more locations designated 
by the manufacturer as part of the manufacturer's recall program or to 
allow the manufacturer to collect and dispose of the recalled tires; or
    (b) To ship recalled tires to a location of their own choosing, 
provided that they comply with applicable state and local laws 
regarding disposal of tires, along with directions and guidance on how 
to limit the disposal of recalled tires into landfills and instead, 
channel them to an ``alternative beneficial non-vehicular use.''
    Under Option (a), if the manufacturer establishes a testing program 
for recalled tires, the directions and guidance shall also include 
criteria for selecting recalled tires for the testing program and 
instructions for labeling those tires and returning them to the 
manufacturer.
    4. Directions to manufacturer-owned and other manufacturer-
controlled outlets to report to the manufacturer on a monthly basis the 
number of recalled tires removed from vehicles by the outlet that have 
not been rendered unsuitable for resale for installation on a motor 
vehicle within the specified time frame and to describe any such 
failure to comply with the manufacturer's plan.
    IV. What information must tire outlets under the control of the 
manufacturer provide to the manufacturer (third party reporting)?

[[Page 16742]]

    A. Monthly (or within 30 days of the deviation) reports on the 
number of recalled tires, if any, removed from vehicles by the outlet 
that have not been rendered unsuitable for resale or installation on a 
motor vehicle within the specified time frame (other than those 
returned for testing) and that describe any such failure to act in 
accordance with the manufacturer's plan;
    B. Monthly (or within 30 days of the deviation) reports on the 
number of recalled tires disposed of in violation of applicable state 
and local laws and regulations that describe any such failure to act in 
accordance with the manufacturer's plan.
    V. Manufacturers' Quarterly Reports to NHTSA pursuant to 49 CFR 
573.7 for recalls involving the replacement of tires must include the 
following information:
    A. The aggregate number of recalled tires that the manufacturer 
becomes aware have not been rendered unsuitable for resale for 
installation on a motor vehicle in accordance with the manufacturer's 
plan;
    B. The aggregate number of recalled tires that the manufacturer 
becomes aware have been disposed of in violation of applicable state 
and local laws and regulations; and
    C. A description of any failure of a tire outlet to act in 
accordance with the directions in the manufacturer's plan, including an 
identification of the outlet in question.
    VI. Recordkeeping Requirements
    No recordkeeping requirements are imposed by these requirements.

C. Addition of New Information Collection Requirement: Reporting of 
Sale or Lease of Defective or Noncompliant Tires to NHTSA

    The Act contains an additional information collection requirement 
not previously included in this approved collection. 49 U.S.C. 
30166(n), and its implementing regulation found at 49 CFR 573.10, 
mandates that anyone who knowingly and willfully sells or leases for 
use on a motor vehicle a defective tire or a tire that is not compliant 
with FMVSS, and with actual knowledge that the tire manufacturer has 
notified its dealers of the defect or noncompliance as required under 
the Act, is required to report that sale or lease to NHTSA no more than 
five working days after the person to whom the tire was sold or leased 
takes possession of it.
    NHTSA had, in the past, sought and received approval for this 
collection of information, and it had been assigned the approval number 
OMB No. 2127-0610. Given this collection's similarity in purpose and 
subject matter to the other collection requirements found in the Act 
and in Part 573, the agency believes it more appropriate and is 
proposing to include it in this information collection rather than keep 
it separate. Comments are welcome on this consolidation.
    Estimated Burden: This collection has a present estimated burden of 
19,974 hours per year. Our review of recent annual recall figures 
demonstrates to us that this figure could be adjusted to more precisely 
reflect recent experience. Accordingly, we calculate that figure should 
be revised to 21,370 burden hours per year. An explanation of how we 
reach this total annual figure follows.

A. Estimated Burden Associated With Defect and Noncompliance Reporting 
and Notification Requirements Generally

    Over the past 3 years, there has been an average of 650 
noncompliance or safety defect notifications to NHTSA filed each year 
by approximately 175 distinct manufacturers, with an estimated 750 
quarterly reports filed per quarter (or 3,000 reports per year).
    We estimate that it takes a manufacturer an average of 4 hours to 
complete each notification report to NHTSA, that it takes another 4 
hours to complete each quarterly report, and that maintenance of the 
required owner, purchaser, dealer and distributors lists requires 8 
hours. Accordingly, the subtotal estimate of annual burden hours 
related to the reporting to NHTSA of a safety defect or noncompliance, 
completion of quarterly reports on the progress of recall campaigns, 
and maintenance of owner and purchaser lists is 16,000 hours annually 
((650 notices x 4 hours/report) + (3,000 quarterly reports x 4 hours/
report) + (175 manufacturers x 8 hours)).
    In addition, we estimate an additional 2 hours will be needed to 
add to a manufacturer's information report details relating to the 
manufacturer's intended schedule for notifying its dealers and 
distributors, and tailoring its notifications to dealers and 
distributors in accordance with the requirements of 49 CFR 577.13. This 
would total to an estimated 1,300 hours annually (650 notices x 2 
hours/report).
    In the event a manufacturer supplied the defect or noncompliant 
product to independent dealers through independent distributors, that 
manufacturer is required to include in its notifications to those 
distributors an instruction that the distributors are to then provide 
copies of the manufacturer's notification of the defect or 
noncompliance to all known distributors or retail outlets further down 
the distribution chain within five working days. See 49 CFR 
577.8(c)(2)(iv). As a practical matter, this requirement would only 
apply to equipment manufacturers since vehicle manufacturers generally 
sell and lease vehicles through a dealer network, and not through 
independent distributors. In recent years, there have been roughly 90 
equipment recalls per year. Although the distributors are not 
technically under any regulatory requirement to follow that 
instruction, we expect that they will, and have estimated the burden 
associated with these notifications (identifying retail outlets, making 
copies of the manufacturer's notice, and mailing) to be 5 hours per 
recall campaign. Assuming an average of 3 distributors per equipment 
item, (which is a liberal estimate given that many equipment 
manufacturers do not use independent distributors) the total number of 
burden hours associated with this third party notification burden is 
approximately 1,350 hours per year (90 recalls x 3 distributors x 5 
hours).
    As for the burden linked with a manufacturer's preparation of and 
notification concerning its reimbursement for pre-notification 
remedies, consistent with previous estimates (see 69 FR 11477 (March 
10, 2004)), we estimate that preparing a plan for reimbursement takes 
approximately 8 hours annually, and that an additional 2 hours per year 
is spent tailoring the plan to particular defect and noncompliance 
notifications to NHTSA and adding tailored language about the plan to a 
particular safety recall's owner notification letters. In sum, these 
required activities add an additional 2,700 annual burden hours ((175 
manufacturers x 8 hours) + (650 recalls x 2 hours)).
    In summary, the total burden associated with the defect and 
noncompliant information collection and reporting requirements 
described in this section is 21,350 hours per year.

B. Estimated Burden Associated With Tire Recall Campaigns

    As explained earlier, manufacturers are required to include 
specific information relative to tire disposal in the notifications 
they provide NHTSA concerning identification of a safety defect or 
noncompliance with FMVSS in their tires, as well as in the 
notifications with they issue to their dealers or other tire outlets 
participating in the recall campaign. See 49 CFR 573.6(c)(9). 
Consistent with prior projections, see 69 FR 21883 (April 22, 2004), 
and current experience, we

[[Page 16743]]

estimate that there will be about 10 tire recall campaigns per year, 
and that inclusion of this additional information will require an 
additional two hours of effort beyond the subtotal above associated 
with non-tire recall campaigns. This additional effort consists of one 
hour for the NHTSA notification and one hour for the dealer 
notification for a total of 20 burden hours (10 tire recalls a year x 2 
hours per recall).
    Also discussed earlier was the requirement that manufacturer owned 
or controlled dealers notify and provide certain information should 
they deviate from the manufacturer's disposal plan. Consistent with 
previous analysis, we continue to ascribe zero burden hours to this 
requirement since to date no such reports have been provided and our 
original expectation that dealers would comply with manufacturers' 
plans has proven true.
    Accordingly, we estimate 20 burden hours a year will be spent 
complying with the tire recall campaign requirements found in 49 CFR 
573.6(c)(9).

C. Estimated Burden Associated With the Addition of the Requirement 
That Intentional Sales and Leases of Defective or Noncompliant Tires Be 
Reported to NHTSA, to This Information Collection

    We have proposed and plan to incorporate into this information 
collection (OMB No. 2127-0004) the requirement that those persons that 
sell or lease defective or noncompliant tires knowing that the 
manufacturer has determined them to be defective or noncompliant with 
FMVSS report those sales or leases to NHTSA. We explained that we are 
proposing and planning this inclusion for the simple reason of 
consolidation. The requirement is found in Part 573, and given that 
today's information collection concerns information collections found 
within that Part, we do not see a basis for keeping this requirement 
separate from all of the rest.
    In the original Federal Register notice we published announcing 
this requirement and calculating its burden, we estimated that roughly 
9 persons a year would report such sales or leases, and that the 
reporting would require a maximum of one-half of one hour to 
accomplish. See 65 FR 81409 (December 26, 2000). In reviewing this 
collection requirement, we found that in the seven years since this 
requirement has been in place we have yet to receive a single report of 
a sale or lease of a defective or noncompliant tire pursuant to this 
information collection requirement. Consequently, we are revising our 
initial estimate of the burden associated with this requirement to zero 
burden hours.

Estimated Number of Respondents

    Over the past several years NHTSA has received reports of defect or 
noncompliance from roughly 175 manufacturers per year. We have no 
reason at this juncture to suspect this annual figure will change in 
any significant manner in the coming years. Accordingly, we estimate 
that there will continue to be approximately 175 manufacturers per year 
filing defect or noncompliance reports and completing the other 
information collection responsibilities associated with those filings.
    We discussed above that we have yet to receive a single report 
filed pursuant to 49 CFR 573.10. This information collection 
requirement, to reiterate, requires anyone who sells or leases a 
defective or noncompliant tire, with knowledge of that tire's 
defectiveness or noncompliance, to report that sale or lease to NHTSA. 
Given the lack of filing history over many years, we estimate that 
there will continue to be zero reports filed and therefore zero 
respondents as to this requirement.
    In summary, we estimate that there will be a total of 175 
respondents per year associated with OMB No. 2127-0004.

    Issued on: March 25, 2008.
Kathleen C. DeMeter,
Director, Office of Defects Investigation.
 [FR Doc. E8-6455 Filed 3-27-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P