2014-27588. JLG Industries, Inc., Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance

AGENCY:

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

ACTION:

Receipt of petition.

SUMMARY:

JLG Industries, Inc. (JLG) has determined that certain JLG Triple-L utility trailers do not fully comply with paragraph S4.3.5 of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 110, Tire Selection and Rims and Motor Home/Recreation Vehicle Trailer Load Carrying Capacity Information for Motor Vehicles with a GVWR of 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds) or Less. JLG has filed an appropriate report dated July 16, 2014, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports.

DATES:

The closing date for comments on the petition is December 22, 2014.

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 [phone].

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 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. JLG's Petition: Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) (see implementing rule at 49 CFR part 556), JLG 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 JLG'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: Affected are approximately 2,940 JLG Triple-L utility trailers with a GVWR of less than 10,000 lbs. that were manufactured between August 2005 and July 2014.

III. Noncompliance: JLG explains that the noncompliance is that the tire and loading information placard does not contain the words “The weight of the cargo should never exceed XXX kilograms or XXX pounds” as required by paragraph S4.3.5 of FMVSS No. 110.

V. Rule Text: Paragraph S4.3.5 of FMVSS No. 110 requires in pertinent part:

S6.5 Requirements for trailers. Each trailer, except for an incomplete vehicle, must show the information specified in S4.3 (c) through (g), and may show the information specified in S4.3 (h) and (i), on a placard permanently affixed proximate to the certification label specified in 49 CFR Part 567. Additionally, each trailer must on its placard contain a cargo capacity statement expressed as “The weight of cargo should never exceed XXX kilograms or XXX pounds” in the same location on the placard specified for the “vehicle capacity weight” statement required by the standard . . .

V. Summary of JLG's Analyses: JLG stated its belief that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety for the following reasons:

(A) With regard to trailers JLG states that there is no need to account for passenger weight when considering cargo weight because there are no designated seating positions on the trailer and all of the weight capacity is designated towards cargo. JLG also believes that providing the maximum load capacity for the trailer therefore provides the same information as providing the maximum weight of the cargo.

(B) Although the Tire and Loading Information label on the subject trailers do not contain the statement set forth in S4.3.5, the same information is provided on a separate label in the vicinity of the Tire and Loading Information label. That label states that the “Max Load Capacity xxxx lbs” and further instructs the operator to “center load on deck.” It also draws attention to the maximum carrying load of the trailer and ensures that drivers loading the trailer are aware of the maximum load capacity the trailer can carry—the precise information the regulatory text intends to be conveyed.

JLG has additionally informed NHTSA that it has corrected the noncompliance so that all future production trailer Tire and Loading Information labels will comply with FMVSS No. 110.

In summation, JLG believes that the described noncompliance of the subject trailers is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety, and that its petition, to exempt JLG 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 trailers that JLG no longer controlled at the time it determined that the noncompliance existed. However, any decision on this petition does not relieve tire 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 JLG 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,

Acting Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.