[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]
[[Page 11623]]
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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
[[Page 11624]]
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]
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