[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 112 (Thursday, June 11, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33332-33333]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-14254]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2015-0040; Notice 1]


BMW of North America, LLC, 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: BMW of North America, LLC, (BMW) a subsidiary of BMW AG in 
Munich, Germany, has determined that certain model year (MY) 2013 BMW 5 
Series sedan passenger vehicles do not fully comply with paragraph 
S8.1.11 of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 108, 
Lamps, Reflective Devices and Associated Equipment. BMW has filed an 
appropriate report dated March 26, 2015, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, 
Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports.

DATES: The closing date for comments on the petition is July 13, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written data, 
views, and arguments on this petition. Comments must refer to the 
docket and notice number cited at the beginning of this notice and 
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

[[Page 33333]]

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. BMW's Petition

    Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) (see implementing rule 
at 49 CFR part 556), BMW 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 BMW'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 13,899 MY 2013 BMW 5 Series sedan 
passenger cars manufactured between January 30, 2013 and June 28, 2013.

III. Noncompliance

    BMW explains that the noncompliance is that some of the rear reflex 
reflectors on the affected vehicles do not fully conform to the minimum 
photometry performance required by paragraph S8.1.11 of FMVSS No. 108.

IV. Rule Text

    Paragraph S8.1.11 of FMVSS No. 108 requires in pertinent part:

    S8.1.11 Photometry. Each reflex reflector must be designed to 
conform to the photometry requirements of Table XVI-a when tested 
according to the procedure of S14.2.3 for the reflex reflector color 
as specified by this section.

V. Summary of BMW's Analyses

    BMW used Ricco's Law to determine a minimum required reflection 
coefficient in its analysis. BMW chose Ricco's Law because they believe 
it best corresponds to the human physiological condition in which a 
light source of a given size and intensity is minimally capable (i.e. 
illumination threshold) of producing visual perception.
    As such, BMW created a graph whereby the y-axis represented the 
reflection coefficient in units consistent with FMVSS No. 108. While 
the x-axis represented the distance between two vehicles in order to 
simulate the condition of an approaching vehicle and a parked or 
stopped vehicle.
    BMW provided the graph to illustrate that even with parameters 
representing a ``worst-case scenario,'' sufficient visibility of the 
rear reflex reflectors of the affected vehicles exists.
    BMW stated that it has not received any contacts from vehicle 
owners or other road users regarding issues related to the subject 
noncompliance and is also not aware of any accidents or injuries that 
have occurred as a result of this issue.
    BMW has additionally informed NHTSA that it has corrected the 
noncompliance so that subsequent vehicle production will conform to 
paragraph 8.1.11 of FMVSS No. 108.
    In summation, BMW believes that the described noncompliance of the 
subject vehicles is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety, and that 
its petition, to exempt BMW 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 BMW 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 BMW 
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 Giuseppe,
Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2015-14254 Filed 6-10-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-59-P