[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 233 (Wednesday, December 6, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 84872-84874]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-26733]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2023-0055; Notice 1]


Blue Bird Body 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: Blue Bird Body Company (Blue Bird) has determined that certain 
model year (MY) 2019-2024 Blue Bird Vision and MY 2020-2024 Blue Bird 
All American school buses do not fully comply with Federal Motor 
Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 217, Bus Emergency Exits and Window 
Retention and Release. Blue Bird filed two noncompliance reports, both 
dated August 9, 2023, and subsequently petitioned NHTSA (the 
``Agency'') on September 13, 2023, for a decision that the subject 
noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety. 
This document announces receipt of Blue Bird's petition.

DATES: Send comments on or before January 5, 2024.

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 84873]]

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).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daniel Lind, General Engineer, NHTSA, 
Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance, (202) 366-7235.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    I. Overview: Blue Bird determined that certain MY 2019-2024 Blue 
Bird Vision and MY 2020-2024 Blue Bird All American school buses do not 
fully comply with paragraph S5.5.3(b) of FMVSS No. 217, Bus Emergency 
Exits and Window Retention and Release (49 CFR 571.217).
    Blue Bird filed two noncompliance reports, both dated August 9, 
2023, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance 
Responsibility and Reports. Blue Bird petitioned NHTSA on September 13, 
2023, 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, pursuant to 49 
U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) and 49 CFR part 556, Exemption for 
Inconsequential Defect or Noncompliance.
    This notice of receipt of Blue Bird's petition is published under 
49 U.S.C. 30118 and 30120 and does not represent any agency decision or 
another exercise of judgment concerning the merits of the petition.
    II. Vehicles Involved: Approximately 28,765 and 403 MY 2019-2024 
Blue Bird Vision and MY 2020-2024 Blue Bird All American school buses, 
manufactured between July 1, 2019, and August 3, 2023, were reported by 
the manufacturer.
    III. Noncompliance: Blue Bird explains that the Emergency Exit 
Label in the subject vehicles contains lettering that does not meet the 
height required by paragraph S5.5.3(b) of FMVSS No. 217. Specifically, 
the lettering height was 0.88 cm and therefore does not meet the 
minimum lettering height requirement of 1 cm.
    IV. Rule Requirements: Paragraph S5.5.3(b) of FMVSS No. 217 
includes the requirements relevant to this petition. Concise operating 
instructions describing the motions necessary to unlatch and open the 
emergency exit shall be located within 15 centimeters of the release 
mechanism on the inside surface of the bus. These instructions shall be 
in letters at least 1 centimeter high and of a color that contrasts 
with its background.
    V. Summary of Blue Bird's Petition: The following views and 
arguments presented in this section, ``V. Summary of Blue Bird's 
Petition,'' are the views and arguments provided by Blue Bird. They 
have not been evaluated by the Agency and do not reflect the views of 
the Agency. Blue Bird describes the subject noncompliance and contends 
that the noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor 
vehicle safety.
    Blue Bird contends that the subject noncompliance is 
inconsequential to motor vehicle safety because the difference between 
1 centimeter and 0.882 centimeters would be difficult to differentiate 
without the use of precise measuring equipment. A 0.118 cm difference 
is less than 3/64ths of an inch or 0.047 inches, which Blue Bird argues 
would be unrecognizable and would not cause the instructions to be 
unclear to passengers or impact their ability to open the door in an 
emergency.
    In 2022, NHTSA denied a petition by Collins Bus Corporation 
(Collins) in which the lettering height on the affected buses was 2 mm 
less than 1 cm. Collins contended that some of the lettering in the 
labeled message exceeds the requirement by 1mm. Therefore, the 
difference of the noncompliant lettering being 2 mm smaller than 
required should be deemed inconsequential. However, NHTSA was not 
persuaded by Collins's assertion that a 2 mm measurement is not any 
less significant than a 1 mm measurement. Blue Bird says that NHTSA's 
decision in this case implies that a 0.118 cm variation from the 
required lettering height at a single location can be considered 
inconsequential.
    Moreover, Blue Bird believes that Vernier caliper jaws, when used 
for the official measurement of letter height can introduce 
inaccuracies, particularly in discerning small variations from the 
required height. Blue Bird says manual error in the repeatability of 
both the measurement device and the user could lead to discrepancies 
that exceed the difference between the Blue Bird text size from the 
requirement. Blue Bird contends that the photo provided of the 
measurement in this case illustrates the potential for human error in 
identifying a small variation. According to Blue Bird, ``the caliper is 
not positioned flat against the decal, and only one location on the 
decal was measured.'' Therefore, Blue Bird believes that a discrepancy 
of 0.118 cm could be attributed to a slight angle of the calipers or 
measurements conducted at various points on the signage.
    According to Blue Bird, its lettering meets all other FMVSS No. 217 
labeling requirements, specifically, (1) operating instructions must be 
``concise'' and describe ``the motions necessary to unlatch and open 
the emergency exit,'' (2) operating instructions must ``be located 
within 15 centimeters of the release mechanism on the inside surface of 
the bus,'' and (3) operating instructions must be ``of a color that 
contrasts with [their] background.''
    Blue Bird asserts NHTSA has not put forth any claim or reasoning 
indicating that a 0.118 cm variation from the 1 cm lettering height 
requirement ``compromises a passenger's ability to safely view or 
understand the lettering.'' Furthermore, Blue Bird contends that 
NHTSA's prior determination on the Collins petitions notes the 
substantial difference between a 1 mm and a 2 mm variation from the 
requirement. Additionally, Blue Bird believes it has effectively 
demonstrated that the manual use of Vernier calipers can introduce 
``discrepancies and variations when distinguishing variations as small 
as .118 cm.''
    Blue Bird concludes by stating its belief that the subject 
noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety 
and its petition to be exempted from providing notification of the 
noncompliance, as required by 49

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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 Blue Bird 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 Blue 
Bird 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. 2023-26733 Filed 12-5-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P