[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 118 (Thursday, June 19, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35224-35225]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-14286]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2014-0054; Notice 1]


Ford Motor Company, Receipt of Petition for Decision of 
Inconsequential Noncompliance

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

ACTION: Receipt of petition.

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SUMMARY: Ford Motor Company (Ford) has determined that certain model 
year (MY) 2010-2014 Transit Connect vehicles do not fully comply with 
paragraph S5.1 of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 
205, Glazing Materials. Ford has filed an appropriate report dated 
March 31, 2014, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance 
Responsibility and Reports.

DATES: The closing date for comments on the petition is July 21, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written data, 
views,

[[Page 35225]]

and arguments on this petition. Comments must refer to the docket and 
notice number cited at the beginning of this notice and be submitted by 
any of the following methods:
     Mail: Send comments by mail addressed to: U.S. Department 
of Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, 
Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590.
     Hand Deliver: Deliver comments by hand to: U.S. Department 
of Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, 
Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. The 
Docket Section is open on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. except 
Federal Holidays.
     Electronically: Submit comments electronically by: Logging 
onto the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) Web site at http://www.regulations.gov/. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments. Comments may also be faxed to (202) 493-2251.
    Comments must be written in the English language, and be no greater 
than 15 pages in length, although there is no limit to the length of 
necessary attachments to the comments. If comments are submitted in 
hard copy form, please ensure that two copies are provided. If you wish 
to receive confirmation that your comments were received, please 
enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard with the comments. Note that 
all comments received will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided.
    Documents submitted to a docket may be viewed by anyone at the 
address and times given above. The documents may also be viewed on the 
Internet at http://www.regulations.gov by following the online 
instructions for accessing the dockets. DOT's complete Privacy Act 
Statement is available for review in the Federal Register published on 
April 11, 2000, (65 FR 19477-78).
    The petition, supporting materials, and all comments received 
before the close of business on the closing date indicated below will 
be filed and will be considered. All comments and supporting materials 
received after the closing date will also be filed and will be 
considered to the extent possible. When the petition is granted or 
denied, notice of the decision will be published in the Federal 
Register pursuant to the authority indicated below.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    I. Ford's Petition: Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) 
(see implementing rule at 49 CFR part 556), Ford submitted a petition 
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.
    This notice of receipt of Ford's petition is published under 49 
U.S.C. 30118 and 30120 and does not represent any agency decision or 
other exercise of judgment concerning the merits of the petition.
    II. Vehicles Involved: Affected are approximately 174,453 Transit 
Connect vehicles built from March 20, 2009 through September 2, 2013 at 
the plant in Kocaeli, Turkey as well those built from August 1, 2013 
through February 28, 2014 at the plant in Valencia, Spain.
    III. Noncompliance: Ford explains that the noncompliance is that 
subject vehicles do not fully meet the requirements of paragraph S5.1 
of FMVSS No. 205 because the windshields installed in the vehicles do 
not include the ``A[darr]S1'' upper boundary markings specified in 
Section 7 of ANSI/SAE Z 26.1-1996 Marking of Safety Glazing Materials 
which is incorporated by reference in FMVSS No. 205.
    IV. Rule Requirements: FMVSS No. 205 incorporates ANSI Z26.1-1996 
and other industry standards in paragraph S.5.1 by reference. Paragraph 
S6 of FMVSS No. 205 specifically requires manufacturers to mark the 
glazing material in accordance with Section 7 of ANSI Z26.1-1996 and to 
add other markings required by NHTSA. With respect to the subject 
noncompliance, Section 7 of ANSI Z26.1-1996 specifies that in addition 
to the item of glazing number and other required markings, the 
manufacturer shall include the ``A[darr]S1'' upper boundary which will 
identify the item of glazing, and the area that meets Test 2 of ANSI 
Z26.1 (1996). The direction of the arrow will point to the direction of 
the area that complies with Test 2 of ANSI Z26.1 (1996).
    V. Summary of Ford's Analyses: Ford stated its belief that the 
subject noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety for 
the following reasons:
    (A) The windshield glazing of the affected vehicles otherwise meets 
all marking and performance requirements of FMVSS No. 205 and ANSI 
Z26.1-1996. Because all transparent sections of the affected glazing 
fully meet all of the applicable performance requirements, Ford does 
not believe the absence of the ``A[darr]S1'' upper boundary markings 
impact the ability of the glazing to satisfy the stated purpose or 
affect the performance of the glazing intended by FMVSS No. 205.
    (B) No other related FMVSSs are affected. The vision zones used for 
all other related FMVSSs are all in clear areas of the glazing and the 
vehicles are fully compliant to FMVSS No. 103 Windshield Defrosting and 
Defogging Systems and FMVSS No. 104 Windshield Wiping and Washing 
Systems.
    (C) The windshields are appropriately marked with the AS1 marking 
adjacent to the Manufacturer's Trademark, as required by ANSI/SAE 
Z26.1-1996.
    (D) Ford made reference to a previous petition for inconsequential 
noncompliance that addressed labeling issues that NHTSA granted.
    Ford also stated that it is not aware of any field or owner 
complaints, accidents, or injuries attributed to this condition.
    Ford has additionally informed NHTSA that it has corrected the 
noncompliance so that all future production vehicles will comply with 
FMVSS No. 205.
    In summation, Ford believes that the described noncompliance of the 
subject vehicles is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety, and that 
its petition, to exempt Ford 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 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, any decision on 
this petition only applies to the subject vehicles that Ford no longer 
controlled at the time it determined that the noncompliance existed. 
However, any decision on this petition does not relieve vehicle 
distributors and dealers of the prohibitions on the sale, offer for 
sale, or introduction or delivery for introduction into interstate 
commerce of the noncompliant vehicles under their control after Ford 
notified them that the subject noncompliance existed.

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

Jeffrey M. Giuseppe,
Acting Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2014-14286 Filed 6-18-14; 8:45 am]
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