[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 20 (Monday, February 2, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5889-5891]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-2110]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration


Reports, Forms and Recordkeeping Requirements; Agency Information 
Collection Activity Under OMB Review

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the Information 
Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below has been forwarded to the 
Office

[[Page 5890]]

of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICR 
describes the nature of the information collections and their expected 
burden. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period was 
published on November 3, 2008 (73 FR 65444).
    This document describes a collection of information on eight 
Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSSs) and one regulation, for 
which NHTSA intends to seek OMB approval. The information collection 
pertains to requirements that specify certain safety precautions 
regarding items of motor vehicle equipment must appear in the vehicle 
owner's manual.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before March 4, 2009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lori Summers, the National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration, Office of Rulemaking (NVS-112), (202) 
366-4917, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., W43-314, Washington, DC 20590.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

    Title: Consolidated Vehicle Owner's Manual Requirements for Motor 
Vehicles and Motor Vehicle Equipment.
    OMB Number: 2127-0541.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Abstract: In order to ensure that manufacturers are complying with 
the FMVSS and regulations, NHTSA requires a number of information 
collections in FMVSS Nos. 108, 110, 138, 202, 205, 208, 210, and 213, 
and Part 575 Sections 103 and 105.
    FMVSS No.108, ``Lamps, reflective devices, and associated 
equipment.'' This standard requires that certain lamps and reflective 
devices with certain performance levels be installed on motor vehicles 
to assure that the roadway is properly illuminated, that vehicles can 
be readily seen, and the signals can be transmitted to other drivers 
sharing the road, during day, night and inclement weather. Since the 
specific manner in which headlamp aim is to be performed is not 
regulated (only the performance of the device is), aiming devices 
manufactured or installed by different vehicle and headlamp 
manufacturers may work in significantly different ways. As a 
consequence, to assure that headlamps can be correctly aimed, 
instructions for proper use must be part of the vehicle as a label, or 
optionally, in the vehicle owner's manual.
    FMVSS No. 110, ``Tire selection and rims.'' This standard specifies 
requirements for tire selection to prevent tire overloading. The 
vehicle's normal load and maximum load on the tire shall not be greater 
than applicable specified limits. The standard requires a permanently 
affixed vehicle placard specifying vehicle capacity weight, designated 
seating capacity, manufacturer recommended cold tire inflation 
pressure, and manufacturer's recommended tire size. The standard 
further specifies rim construction requirements, load limits of 
nonpneumatic spare tires, and labeling requirements for non-pneumatic 
spare tires, including a required placard. Owner's manual information 
is required for ``Use of Spare Tire.'' FMVSS No. 110 will require 
additional owner's manual information on the revised vehicle placard 
and tire information label, on revised tire labeling, and on tire 
safety and load limits and terminology.
    FMVSS No. 138, ``Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems.'' This standard 
specifies requirements for a tire pressure monitoring system to warn 
the driver of an under-inflated tire condition. Its purpose is to 
reduce the likelihood of a vehicle crash resulting from tire failure 
due to operation in an under-inflated condition. The standard requires 
the Owner's Manual to include specific information on the low pressure 
warning telltale and the malfunction indicator telltale. In a final 
rule published April 8, 2005, most vehicles with a gross vehicle weight 
rating of 4,536 kg or less (e.g., excluding motorcycles) were required 
to be equipped with a tire pressure monitoring system by September 1, 
2008 and include related safety information in the Owner's Manual.
    FMVSS No. 202, ``Head restraints.'' This standard specifies 
requirements for head restraints. The standard, which seeks to reduce 
whiplash injuries in rear collisions, currently requires head 
restraints for front outboard designated seating positions in passenger 
cars and in light multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks and buses. In 
a final rule published on December 14, 2004 (69 FR 74880), the standard 
requires that vehicle manufacturers include information in owner's 
manuals for vehicles manufactured on or after September 1, 2008. The 
owner's manual must clearly identify which seats are equipped with head 
restraints. If the head restraints are removable, the owner's manual 
must provide instructions on how to remove the head restraint by a 
deliberate action distinct from any act necessary for adjustment, and 
how to reinstall head restraints. The owner's manual must warn that all 
head restraints must be reinstalled to properly protect vehicle 
occupants. Finally, the owner's manual must describe, in an easily 
understandable format, the adjustment of the head restraints and/or 
seat back to achieve appropriate head restraint position relative to 
the occupant's head.
    FMVSS No. 205, ``Glazing materials.'' This standard specifies 
requirements for all glazing material used in windshields, windows, and 
interior partitions of motor vehicles. Its purpose is to reduce the 
likelihood of lacerations and to minimize the possibility of occupants 
penetrating the windshield in a crash. More detailed information 
regarding the care and maintenance of such glazing items, as the glass-
plastic windshield, is required to be placed in the vehicle owner's 
manual.
    FMVSS No. 208, ``Occupant crash protection.'' This standard 
specifies requirements for both active and passive occupant crash 
protection systems for passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, 
trucks and small buses. Certain safety features, such as air bags, or 
the care and maintenance of air bag systems, are required to be 
explained to the owner by means of the owner's manual. For example, the 
owner's manual must describe the vehicle's air bag system and provide 
precautionary information about the proper positioning of the 
occupants, including children. The owner's manual must also warn that 
no objects, such as shotguns carried in police cars, should be placed 
over or near the air bag covers.
    FMVSS No. 210, ``Seat belt assembly anchorages.'' This standard 
specifies requirements for seat belt assembly anchorages to ensure 
effective occupant restraint and to reduce the likelihood of failure in 
a crash. The standard requires that manufacturers place the following 
information in the vehicle owner's manual:
    a. An explanation that child restraints are designed to be secured 
by means of the vehicle's seat belts, and,
    b. A statement alerting vehicle owners that children are always 
safer in the rear seat.
    FMVSS No. 213, ``Child restraint systems.'' This standard specifies 
requirements for child restraint systems and requires that 
manufacturers provide consumers with detailed information relating to 
child safety in air bag-equipped vehicles. The vehicle owner's manual 
must include information about the operation and do's and don'ts of 
built-in child seats.
    Part 575 Section 103, ``Camper loading.'' This standard requires 
that manufacturers of slide-in campers designed to fit into the cargo 
bed of pickup trucks affix a label to each camper that contains 
information

[[Page 5891]]

relating to certification, identification and proper loading, and to 
provide more detailed loading information in the owner's manual of the 
truck.
    Part 575 Section 105, ``Utility vehicles.'' This regulation 
requires manufacturers of utility vehicles to alert drivers that the 
particular handling and maneuvering characteristics of utility vehicles 
require special driving practices when these vehicles are operated on 
paved roads. For example, the vehicle owner's manual is required to 
contain a discussion of vehicle design features that cause this type of 
vehicle to be more likely to roll over, and to include a discussion of 
driving practices that can reduce the risk of roll over. A statement is 
provided in the regulation that manufacturers shall include, in its 
entirety or equivalent form, in the vehicle owner's manual.
    Affected Public: Individuals, households, business, other for-
profit, not-for-profit, farms, Federal Government and State, Local or 
Tribal Government.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 3,051 hours.
    Send comments, within 30 days, to the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 725 17th Street, 
NW., Washington, DC 20503, Attention NHTSA Desk Officer.
    Comments are invited on: Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the Department, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; the accuracy of the Department's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed information collection; ways to enhance the quality, utility 
and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to minimize 
the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including 
the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of 
information technology. A comment to OMB is most effective if OMB 
receives it within 30 days of publication.

     Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3506(c); delegation of authority at 49 CFR 
1.50.

    Issued on: January 26, 2009.
Stephen R. Kratzke,
Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.
 [FR Doc. E9-2110 Filed 1-30-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P