[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 38 (Monday, February 27, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11623-11624]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-4371]



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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2011-0154]


Reports, Forms, and Recordkeeping Requirements

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Department of 
Transportation.

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 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 25, 2011 (76 FR 72747). No comments were 
received.
    This document describes a collection of information on nine Federal 
motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSSs) and two regulations, 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 that must appear in the vehicle owner's 
manual.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before March 28, 2012.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lou Molino, the National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration, Office of Rulemaking (NVS-112), (202) 
366-1740, 1200 New Jersey Avenue W43-311 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 FMVSSs and regulations, NHTSA requires a number of information 
collections in FMVSS Nos. 108, 110, 138, 202, 205, 208, 210, 213 and 
226, 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, 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 non-pneumatic 
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 the revised tire labeling, and on the 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.
    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 
requirement 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 vehicle 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

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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.
    FMVSS No. 226, ``Ejection mitigation.'' This standard establishes 
vehicle requirements intended to reduce the partial and complete 
ejection of vehicle occupants through side windows in crashes, 
particularly rollover crashes. The standard applies to vehicles with a 
gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 kg or less. Written information 
must be provided with every vehicle describing any ejection mitigation 
countermeasure that deploys in the event of a rollover and a discussion 
of the readiness indicator specifying a list of the elements of the 
system being monitored by the indicator, a discussion of the purpose 
and location of the telltale, and instructions to the consumer on the 
steps to take if the telltale is illuminated.
    Part 575 Section 103, ``Camper loading.'' This regulation requires 
manufacturers of slide-in campers to affix to each camper a label that 
contains information relating to identification and proper loading of 
the camper and to provide more detailed loading information in the 
vehicle owner's manual. This regulation also requires manufacturers of 
trucks that would accommodate slide-in campers to specify the cargo 
weight ratings and the longitudinal limits within which the center of 
gravity for the cargo weight rating should be located.
    Part 575 Section 105, ``Vehicle rollover.'' This regulation 
requires manufacturers of utility vehicles to alert the drivers of 
these vehicles that they have a higher possibility of rollover than 
other vehicle types and to advise them of steps that can be taken to 
reduce the possibility of rollover and/or to reduce the likelihood of 
injury in a rollover. A statement is provided in the regulation, which 
manufacturers shall include, in its entirety or equivalent form, in the 
vehicles 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: 3,724 hours.
ADDRESSES: 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: February 17, 2012.
Christopher J. Bonanti,
Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 2012-4371 Filed 2-24-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P