[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 218 (Tuesday, November 10, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71712-71713]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-24825]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2018-0109 and NHTSA-2018-0074; Notice 1]


Consolidated Glass & Mirror, LLC, Receipt of Petitions for 
Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance

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

ACTION: Receipt of petitions.

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SUMMARY: Consolidated Glass & Mirror, LLC (CGM), a subsidiary of 
Guardian Industries Corporation (Guardian), has determined that certain 
laminated glass parts do not fully comply with Federal motor vehicle 
safety standard (FMVSS) No. 205, Glazing Materials. Guardian filed two 
noncompliance reports dated April 15, 2020 and December 14, 2018 CGM 
petitioned NHTSA on May 23, 2018, and December 20, 2018, for a decision 
that the subject noncompliances are inconsequential as they relate to 
motor vehicle safety. This document announces receipt of CGM's 
petitions.

DATES: The closing date for comments on the petition is December 10, 
2020.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written data, 
views, and arguments on this petition. Comments must refer to the 
docket number(s) 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 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 numbers for these petitions are 
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

    CGM has determined that certain laminated glass parts do not fully 
comply with paragraph S6 of FMVSS No. 205, Glazing Materials (49 CFR 
571.205). On May 23, 2018, Guardian petitioned NHTSA for an 
inconsequential safety decision (49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) and 49 
CFR part 556, Exemption for Inconsequential Defect or Noncompliance) 
without initially filing a noncompliance report (49 CFR part 573, 
Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports). Although NHTSA 
could have properly rejected this petition, it did not and prompted 
Guardian to file the required noncompliance report. Guardian finally 
did so on April 15, 2020. Guardian filed another noncompliance report 
dated December 14, 2018 and subsequently filed a second petition on 
December 20, 2018, for a decision that this second noncompliance is 
inconsequential as they relate to motor vehicle safety. Because the two 
petitions address similar issues, this document announces the receipt 
of the two CGM's petitions.
    This notice of receipt of CGM's petitions is published under 49 
U.S.C. 30118 and 30120 and does not represent any Agency decision or 
other exercises of judgment concerning the merits of the petition.

II. Equipment Involved

    Approximately 223 laminated windshields manufactured on March 8, 
2018, and shipped to IC Corp Tulsa Bus Plant for installation into 
Navistar buses are potentially involved.
    Approximately 1,390 bus door window panes, manufactured between 
November 1, 2017 and March 29, 2018 are potentially involved. The 
window panes were sold to Vapor Bus for use in the fabrication of bus 
doors. Vapor Bus subsequently shipped the bus doors to Nova Bus for 
installation in their buses.

III. Noncompliance

    CGM explained that the noncompliance is that the markings on the 
subject laminated glass panes do not fully meet the requirements 
specified in paragraph S6 of FMVSS No. 205. Specifically, the laminated 
glass panes shipped to IC Corp Tulsa Bus Plant were marked AS-2, when 
they should have been marked AS-1 and the bus window panes sold to Nova 
Bus were marked AS-S, when they should have been marked AS-2.

IV. Rule Requirements

    Paragraph S6 of FMVSS No. 205 includes the requirements relevant to 
this petition. A manufacturer or distributor who cuts a section of 
glazing material, to which FMVSS No. 205 applies, for use in a motor 
vehicle or

[[Page 71713]]

camper, must mark that material in accordance with section 7 of ANSI/
SAE Z26.1-1996.

V. Summary of CGM's Petitions

    The following views and arguments presented in this section, V. 
Summary of CGM's Petitions, are the views and arguments provided by 
CGM. They have not been evaluated by the Agency and do not reflect the 
views of the Agency. The petitioner described the subject 
noncompliances and stated their belief that the noncompliance is 
inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety.
    In support of their petitions, CGM submitted the following 
reasoning:
    1. The laminated glass parts are affixed with the CGM trademark and 
the correct DOT number and M number.
    2. Although the laminated glass parts are affixed with the 
misprinted AS number, the glass construction from which the laminated 
glass parts were fabricated is in full compliance with the technical 
requirements that 49 CFR 571.205 as it currently applies to laminated 
glass for use in a motor vehicle. In no way is the actual safety aspect 
of the laminated glass compromised by the misprinted AS number.
    3. Despite the misprinted AS number being affixed to the laminated 
glass parts described herein, the correct parts were sold and shipped 
to Navistar and Nova Bus for use as windscreens and door windows.
    4. CGM asserts that the noncompliance reported herein could not 
result in the wrong part being used in an OEM application, given that 
the part would be ordered by its unique part number and not the ``M 
number'' (which corresponds to the glass construction from which the 
part is fabricated). The parts are also easily traceable back to CGM 
via their unique DOT number.
    CGM concluded by expressing the belief that the subject 
noncompliances are inconsequential as they relate to motor vehicle 
safety, and that their petitions to be 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.
    CGM's complete petitions and all supporting documents are available 
by logging onto the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) website at: 
https://www.regulations.gov and following the online search 
instructions to locate the docket numbers listed in the title of this 
notice.
    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 
these petitions only applies to the subject equipment that CGM no 
longer controlled at the time it determined that the noncompliances 
existed. However, any decision on these petitions does not relieve 
equipment distributors and dealers of the prohibitions on the sale, 
offer for sale, or introduction or delivery for introduction into 
interstate commerce of the noncompliant equipment under their control 
after CGM 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. 2020-24825 Filed 11-9-20; 8:45 am]
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