[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 2 (Friday, January 3, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 413-414]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-28373]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2018-0108; Notice 1]


Great Dane Trailers, 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: Great Dane Trailers, LLC (Great Dane), has determined that 
certain model year (MY) 2002-2006 Great Dane Dry Freight Trailers do 
not comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) No. 223, 
Rear Impact Guards, and FMVSS No. 224, Rear Impact Protection. Great 
Dane filed a noncompliance report dated November 12, 2018 and 
subsequently amended it on December 5, 2018 and June 11, 2019. Great 
Dane also petitioned NHTSA on December 6, 2018 for a decision that the 
subject noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle 
safety. This document announces receipt of Great Dane's petition.

DATES: The closing date for comments on the petition is February 3, 
2020.

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 may be 
submitted by any of the following methods:
     Mail: Send comments by mail addressed to the 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 the 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 for Federal Holidays.
     Electronically: Submit comments electronically by logging 
onto the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) website 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

[[Page 414]]

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: Great Dane has determined that certain MY 2002-2006 
Great Dane Dry Freight Trailers do not fully comply with paragraphs 
S5.3(b) of FMVSS No. 223, Rear Impact Guards (49 CFR 571.223), and S5.1 
of FMVSS No. 224, Rear Impact Protection (49 CFR 571.224). Great Dane 
filed a noncompliance report pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and 
Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports dated November 12, 2018 and 
subsequently amended it on December 5, 2018 and June 11, 2019. Great 
Dane also petitioned NHTSA on December 6, 2018 pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 
30118(d) and 30120(h) and 49 CFR part 556, Exemption for 
Inconsequential Defect or Noncompliance 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 Great Dane'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. Trailers Involved: Approximately 15,535 MY 2002-2006 Great Dane 
Dry Freight Trailers, manufactured between July 1, 2002, and December 
31, 2005, are potentially involved.
    III. Noncompliance: Great Dane explained that the noncompliance is 
that the rear impact certification plate on the rear impact guard of 
the subject trailers does not contain the date of manufacture as 
required by paragraphs S5.3(b) of FMVSS No. 223 and S5.1 of FMVSS 224.
    IV. Rule Text: Paragraphs S5.3(b) of FMVSS 223 and S5.1 of FMVSS 
No. 224 include the requirements relevant to this petition. Each 
vehicle shall be equipped with a rear impact guard certified as meeting 
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 223.
    Each guard shall be permanently labeled with the information 
specified in paragraphs S5.3 (a) through (c) of FMVSS No. 223. The 
information shall be in English and in letters that are at least 2.5mm 
high. The label shall be placed on the forward or rearward facing 
surface of the horizontal member of the guard, provided that the label 
does not interfere with the retroreflective sheeting required by 
paragraph S5.7.1.4.1(c) of FMVSS No. 108 (49 CFR 571.108), and is 
readily accessible for visual inspection. The label is required to 
containthe statement: ``Manufactured in _'' (inserting the month and 
year of guard manufacture.)
    V. Summary of Great Dane's Petition: The following views and 
arguments are the views and arguments provided by Great Dane. They have 
not been evaluated by the agency and do not reflect the views of the 
agency.
    Accordingly, Great Dane described the subject noncompliance and 
stated that the noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor 
vehicle safety as follows:
    1. This particular group of trailers has rear impact guard 
certification plates installed that include the name of the 
manufacturer, as well as the letters DOT. Great Dane believes that the 
omission of the date of manufacture to be an inconsequential type of 
noncompliance as it relates to vehicle safety.
    2. Every trailer that Great Dane builds requiring a rear impact 
guard has, in addition, a certification plate (on the front of the 
trailer) that ensures the rear impact guard meets the Federal 
Standards. Therefore, the subject trailers have affixed to them 
certification plates certifying that the entire trailer, including the 
rear impact guard, meet and/or exceed all the Federal Motor Vehicle 
Safety Standards in effect on the date of manufacture as indicated.
    3. Great Dane states that they believe the extra certification 
plate required on the rear impact guard is redundant, further stating 
that the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) filed a petition to 
both NHTSA and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to 
remove the requirement for the certification plate on the rear impact 
guard.
    4. Great Dane has never installed a third-party produced rear 
impact guard on any of its trailers.
    5. Due to the extreme age of the trailers in this group (13-16 
years old), Great Dane believes that the notification and remedy 
process would not be very effective, as most of these trailers are 
probably no longer in service.
    6. Great Dane states that in the long period that these trailers 
have been in service, they have only recently been given notice that 
the date of manufacture was omitted on the rear impact guard. The fact 
that this omission went unnoticed over a period of 13-16 years provides 
another reason Great Dane believes that this instance of noncompliance 
should be deemed inconsequential.
    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 trailers that Great Dane 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 trailers under their control after Great 
Dane 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)

Otto G. Matheke III,
Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2019-28373 Filed 1-2-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P