[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 146 (Tuesday, July 30, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46000-46001]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-18243]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2012-0008; Notice 2]


Osram Sylvania Products Incorporated, Grant of Petition for 
Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Grant of petition.

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SUMMARY: Osram Sylvania Products, Inc.\1\ (Osram) has determined that 
certain Type HB2 replaceable light sources, manufactured between 
September 25 2011 and October 8, 2011, do not fully comply with 
paragraph S7.7 of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 
108, Lamp, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment. Osram has 
filed an appropriate report dated November 23, 2011,\2\ pursuant to 49 
CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports.
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    \1\ Osram Sylvania Products Inc. is a manufacturer of motor 
vehicle replacement equipment and is registered under the laws of 
the state of Delaware.
    \2\ Osram submitted an amended version of the report on January 
6, 2012.
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    Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) and the rule 
implementing those provisions at 49 CFR part 556, Osram has petitioned 
for an exemption from the notification and remedy requirements of 49 
U.S.C. Chapter 301 on the basis that this noncompliance is 
inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. Notice of receipt of the 
petition was published, with a 30-day public comment period, on April 
9, 2012 in the Federal Register (77 FR 21152). No comments were 
received. To view the petition and all supporting documents log onto 
the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) Web site

[[Page 46001]]

at: http://www.regulations.gov/. Then follow the online search 
instructions to locate docket number ``NHTSA-2012-0008.''
    For further information on this decision contact Mr. Michael Cole, 
Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance, the National Highway Traffic 
Safety Administration (NHTSA), telephone (202) 366-2334, facsimile 
(202) 366-7002.
    Equipment Involved: Affected are approximately 40,544 Type HB2 
replaceable light sources that were manufactured by Osram Sylvania 
Products, Inc., between September 25, 2011, and October 8, 2011.
    Summary of Osram's Analysis and Arguments: Osram explains that the 
noncompliance is due to an error in the production facility. Certain 
Type HB2 replaceable light sources were produced with an incorrect 
upper beam filament wire which results in an upper beam luminous flux 
outside (below) the specifications as required in paragraph S7.7 of 
FMVSS No. 108.
    Osram stated that although the subject Type HB2 replaceable light 
source may not meet the required luminous flux specifications, the 
noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. Osram came to 
this conclusion based on the following results of testing that it 
conducted on a large sample of lamps using the subject noncompliant 
Type HB2 replaceable light sources:
    (1) In half of the vehicle/lamp applications, the upper beam 
photometry specified for HB2 lamps will continue to be met;
    (2) In the remaining applications, the photometry performance falls 
just below the specified minimums for HB2 lamps (and in no more than 
three, but typically just one or two, test points on a per-measured 
headlamp basis); and
    (3) All lamps using the noncompliant bulbs perform at or above the 
upper beam photometry requirements of other lamp types, such as HB1 and 
HB5, that are currently permitted by FMVSS 108 and in prevalent use on 
U.S. roads.
    Osram also stated that the issue that caused the subject 
noncompliance has been corrected at the production facility and all 
products currently being shipped meet the applicable requirements.
    In summation, Osram believes that the described noncompliance of 
its Type HB2 replaceable light sources to meet the requirements of 
FMVSS No. 108 is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety, and that its 
petition, to exempt from providing recall notification of noncompliance 
as required by 49 U.S.C. 30118 and remedying the recall noncompliance 
as required by 49 U.S.C. 30120 should be granted.

NHTSA Analysis and Decision:

Requirement Background

    Section S7.7 of FMVSS No. 108 specifically states:

    S7.7 Each replaceable light source shall be designed to conform 
to the dimensions and electrical specifications furnished with 
respect to it pursuant to part 564 of this chapter, and shall 
conform to the following requirements: . . .

    NHTSA has reviewed and accepts Osram's analyses that this 
noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. While the 
replaceable light source marginally fails to comply with the luminous 
flux requirements of Docket No. NHTSA-1998-3397-0011, when it is placed 
into a headlamp, it does meet the FMVSS photometry requirements.
    The subject replaceable light source fell 4% below the lower limit 
for the upper beam of HB2 bulbs, rendering it noncompliant. According 
to Osram, this was due to an incorrect filament wire being used during 
production. When this noncompliance was determined, the entire 
inventory of suspect light sources of Osram's sole customer of original 
equipment was returned to Osram. Therefore, this petition only applies 
to aftermarket products. Headlamp performance is primarily affected by 
luminous flux output and filament geometry. Osram found that while 
bulbs produced with the incorrect filament wire did not meet the upper 
beam luminous flux requirements, they did comply with upper beam 
filament geometry requirements. This allowed headlamps using the 
subject replaceable light sources to pass the upper beam photometry 
requirements specified in section UB3 of Table XVIII in FMVSS No. 108. 
Furthermore, in a 2006 University of Michigan Transportation Research 
Institute report,\3\ researchers observed that upper beams were only 
used for 3.1% of the distance driven at night. This indicates that the 
potential safety risk with slightly less intensity lighting would be 
further diminished because the noncompliance only applies to upper beam 
performance.
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    \3\ ``Real-World Use of High-Beam Headlamps''. Report No: UMTRI-
2006-11, Mefford, Flannagan, and Bogard, April 2006.
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    As such, NHTSA agrees that due to a combination of the following 
factors: The subject replaceable light source only fell 4% below the 
lower limit, headlamps with the subject light sources pass FMVSS 108 
photometry requirements, only aftermarket products are affected, and 
only the upper beam is affected; an occupant using the noncompliant 
subject light source would not be exposed to a significantly greater 
risk than an occupant using a similar compliant light source. Therefore 
the noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety.
    In consideration of the foregoing, NHTSA has decided that Osram has 
met its burden of persuasion that the FMVSS No. 108 noncompliance in 
the Type HB2 replaceable light sources identified in Osram's 
Noncompliance Information Report is inconsequential to motor vehicle 
safety. Accordingly, Osram's petition is granted and the Osram is 
exempted from the obligation of providing notification of, and a remedy 
for, that noncompliance under 49 U.S.C. 30118 and 30120.
    NHTSA notes that the statutory provisions (49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 
30120(h)) that permit manufacturers to file petitions for a 
determination of inconsequentiality allow NHTSA to exempt manufacturers 
only from the duties found in sections 30118 and 30120, respectively, 
to notify owners, purchasers, and dealers of a defect or noncompliance 
and to remedy the defect or noncompliance. Therefore, this decision 
only applies to the subject Type HB2 replaceable light sources that 
Osram no longer controlled at the time it determined that a 
noncompliance existed.

    Authority:  49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120: delegations of authority at 
49 CFR 1.95 and 501.8.

    Issued on July 25, 2013.
Claude H. Harris,
Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2013-18243 Filed 7-29-13; 8:45 am]
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