[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 157 (Wednesday, August 16, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38993-38995]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-17326]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2017-0038; Notice 1]


Ride the Ducks International, 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: Ride the Ducks International, LLC (RTDI), has determined that 
certain model year (MY) 1996-2014 Ride the Ducks International Stretch 
Amphibious passenger vehicles (APVs) do not fully comply with Federal 
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 104, Windshield Wiping and 
Washing Systems. RTDI filed a noncompliance information report dated 
March 15, 2017. RTDI also petitioned NHTSA on April 12, 2017, for a 
decision that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential as it 
relates to motor vehicle safety.

DATES: The closing date for comments on the petition is September 15, 
2017.

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 in the title 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 Delivery: Deliver comments by hand to U.S. Department 
of

[[Page 38994]]

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 https://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 comments you have submitted by mail were 
received, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard with the 
comments. Note that all comments received will be posted without change 
to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided.
    All comments and supporting materials received before the close of 
business on the closing date indicated above will be filed in the 
docket and will be considered. All comments and supporting materials 
received after the closing date will also be filed and will be 
considered to the fullest extent possible.
    When the petition is granted or denied, notice of the decision will 
also be published in the Federal Register pursuant to the authority 
indicated at the end of this notice.
    All comments, background documentation, and supporting materials 
submitted to the docket may be viewed by anyone at the address and 
times given above. The documents may also be viewed on the Internet at 
https://www.regulations.gov by following the online instructions for 
accessing the dockets. The docket ID number for this petition is shown 
in the heading of this notice.
    DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement is available for review in a 
Federal Register notice published on April 11, 2000, (65 FR 19477-78).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    I. Overview: Ride the Ducks International, LLC (RTDI), has 
determined that certain model year (MY) 1996-2014 Ride the Ducks 
International Stretch Amphibious passenger vehicles (APVs) do not fully 
comply with paragraph S4.2.2 of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 
(FMVSS) No. 104, Windshield Wiping and Washing Systems. RTDI filed a 
noncompliance information report dated March 15, 2017, pursuant to 49 
CFR 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports. RTDI also 
petitioned NHTSA on April 12, 2017, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 
30120(h) and 49 CFR part 556, for an exemption from the notification 
and remedy requirements of 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301 on the basis that this 
noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety.
    This notice of receipt of RTDI'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: Approximately 105 MY 1996-2014 Ride the 
Ducks International Stretch APVs, manufactured between January 1, 1996, 
and December 31, 2014, are potentially involved.
    III. Noncompliance: RTDI explained that the noncompliance is that 
the subject vehicles were manufactured without a windshield washing 
system, as required by paragraph S4.2.2 of FMVSS No. 104.
    IV. Rule Text: Paragraph S4.2.2 of FMVSS No. 104 states in 
pertinent part:

    S4.2.2 Each multipurpose passenger vehicle, truck, and bus shall 
have a windshield washing system that meets the requirements of SAE 
Recommended Practice J942 (1965) (incorporated by reference, see 
Sec.  571.5), except that the reference to ``the effective wipe 
pattern defined in SAE J903, paragraph 3.1.2'' in paragraph 3.1 of 
SAE Recommended Practice J942 (1965) shall be deleted and ``the 
pattern designed by the manufacturer for the windshield wiping 
system on the exterior surface of the windshield glazing'' shall be 
inserted in lieu thereof.

    V. Summary of RTDI's Petition: As background, in 1996, RTDI began 
to produce APVs. The original Amphibious Passenger vehicles (APVs) are 
based on military vehicles that were capable of operation over both 
land and water. The ``Stretch'' APVs were refurbished by RTDI in 
accordance with state and U.S. Coast Guard rules and regulations. These 
vehicles have renewed hulls that are ``stretched'' over the original 
chassis frame and original vehicle components that were replaced with 
modern equipment. RTDI manufactured the stretch APVs until 2005, when 
RTDI introduced its ``Truck'' APVs. The truck APVs are based on 
military cargo vehicles. RTDI has not manufactured any vehicles since 
2014.
    RTDI described the subject noncompliance and stated its belief that 
the noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle 
safety.
    In support of its petition, RTDI submitted the following reasoning:

    1. FMVSS No. 104 specifies, in relevant part, that ``each . . . 
[vehicle] shall have a windshield washing system that meets the 
requirements of SAE Recommended Practice J942 (1965)'' 49 CFR 
571.104, S4(a), S4.2.2. This FMVSS is designed to ensure that when 
activated, the windshield washing system is capable of reaching a 
sufficient portion of the exterior surface of the windshield, as 
designed by the manufacturer. The standard establishes minimum 
performance requirements for the windshield wiping and washing 
systems so that the vehicle operator is able to sufficiently see 
through the windshield. The APVs have features installed that are 
designed to achieve the same purpose as the standard. If there is 
debris present on the windshield, the driver is able to engage the 
vehicle's windshield wipers to clear the windshield's exterior 
surface. Further, the windshield of the APVs have a unique design 
that allows the driver to fully lower and raise the windshield 
glass. In the event that the windshield wipers could not clear the 
surface of the windshield, the driver has the option of lowering the 
windshield. Under either option, the visibility of the operator 
would not be compromised.
    2. In the water portion of the vehicles' tours, the APVs are 
required to have the windshield lowered during operation, per U.S. 
Coast Guard regulations. The Coast Guard has recognized that in the 
event of an accident on the water, a raised windshield could impede 
passenger egress. Consequently, the Coast Guard has issued guidance 
which provides that the windshields of APVs be ``designed to fold 
down with minimal force to allow egress.'' U.S. Coast Guard 
Navigation and Inspection Circular (NVIC) 1-01, inspection of 
Amphibious Passenger Carrying Vehicles, p.24. Further, the APV's 
exteriors, including the windshields, are washed after each tour, 
removing any debris that may have accumulated during the last tour.
    3. From its inception, the Safety Act has included a provision 
recognizing that some noncompliances may pose little or no actual 
safety risk. The Safety Act exempts manufacturers from their 
statutory obligation to provide notice and remedy upon a 
determination by NHTSA that a noncompliance is inconsequential to 
motor vehicle safety. See 49 U.S.C. 30118(d). In applying this 
recognition to particular fact situations, the agency considers 
whether the noncompliance gives rise to ``a significantly greater 
risk than . . . in a compliant vehicle.'' 69 FR 19897, 19900 (April 
14, 2000). As described above, the specialized design of the APVs 
and the vehicles' pattern of use does not expose the vehicles to 
conditions that could create an increased safety risk when compared 
to a vehicle that has a windshield washing system installed.

    RTDI concluded by expressing the belief that the subject 
noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety, 
and that its petition to be

[[Page 38995]]

exempted from providing notification of the noncompliance, as required 
by 49 U.S.C. 30118, and a remedy for the 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 RTDI 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 RTDI 
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,
Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2017-17326 Filed 8-15-17; 8:45 am]
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