2011-30391. Reports, Forms, and Recordkeeping Requirements

AGENCY:

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

ACTION:

Request for public comment on proposed collection of information.

SUMMARY:

This notice solicits public comments on continuation of the requirements for the collection of information on safety standards. Before a Federal agency can collect certain information from the public, it must receive approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Under procedures established by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, before seeking OMB approval, Federal agencies must solicit public comment on proposed collections of information, including extensions and reinstatement of previously approved collections.

This document describes a collection of information on nine Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSSs) and two regulations, for which NHTSA intends to seek OMB approval. The information collection pertains to requirements that specify certain description, instructions and safety precautions regarding items of motor vehicle equipment must appear in the vehicle owner's manual.

DATES:

Comments must be received on or before January 24, 2012.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments to the docket number identified in the heading of this document by any of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
• Mail: Docket Management Facility, M-30, U.S. Department of Transportation, West Building, Ground Floor, Rm. W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590.
• Hand Delivery or Courier: West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
• Fax: [phone].

You may call the Docket Management Facility at [phone].

Regardless of how you submit your comments, you should mention the docket number of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Complete copies of each request for collection of information may be obtained at no charge from Mr. Lou Molino, NHTSA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Room W43-311, NVS-112, Washington, DC 20590.

Mr. Lou Molino's telephone number is [phone]. Please identify the relevant collection of information by referring to its OMB Control Number.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, before an agency submits a proposed collection of information to OMB for approval, it must first publish a document in the Federal Register providing a 60-day comment period and otherwise consult with members of the public and affected agencies concerning each proposed collection of information. The OMB has promulgated regulations describing what must be included in such a document. Under OMB's regulation (at 5 CFR 1320.8(d)), an agency must ask for public comment on the following:

(i) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility;

(ii) The accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;

(iii) How to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected;

(iv) How to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g. permitting electronic submission of responses.

In compliance with these requirements, NHTSA asks for public comments on the following proposed collections of information:

(1) Title: Consolidated Vehicle Owner's Manual Requirements for Motor Vehicles and Motor Vehicle Equipment.

OMB Control Number: 2127-0541.

Form Number: This collection of information uses no standard form.

Requested Expiration Date of Approval: Three years from the approval date.

Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Affected Public: Individuals, households, business, other for-profit, not-for-profit, farms, Federal Government and state, local or Tribal government.

Abstract: 49 U.S.C. 30111 authorizes the issuance of Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS) and regulations. The agency, in prescribing a FMVSS or regulation, considers available relevant motor vehicle safety data, and consults with other agencies, as it deems appropriate. Further, the statute mandates that in issuing any FMVSS or regulation, the agency considers whether the standard or regulation is “reasonable, practicable and appropriate for the particular type of motor vehicle or item of motor vehicle equipment for which it is prescribed,” and whether such a standard will contribute to carrying out the purpose of the Act. The Secretary is authorized to invoke such rules and regulations as deemed necessary to carry out these requirements. Using this authority, the agency issued the following FMVSS and regulations, specifying that certain safety precautions regarding items of motor vehicle equipment appear in the vehicle owner's manual to aid the agency in achieving many of its safety goals: FMVSS No. 108, “Lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment,” FMVSS No. 110, “Tire selection and rims,” FMVSS No. 138, “Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems,” FMVSS No. 202, “Head restraints,” FMVSS No. 205, “Glazing materials,” FMVSS No. 208, “Occupant crash protection,” FMVSS No. 210, “Seat belt assembly anchorages,” FMVSS No. 226, “Ejection mitigation,” FMVSS No. 213, “Child restraint systems,” Part 575 Section 103, “Camper loading,” and Part 575 Section 105, “Utility vehicles.” This notice requests comments on the information collections of these FMVSS and regulations.

Description of the need for the information and proposed use of the information: In order to ensure that manufacturers are complying with the FMVSS and regulations, NHTSA requires a number of information collections in FMVSS No. 108, 110, 138, 202, 205, 208, 210, 213 and 226, and Part 575 Sections 103 and 105.

FMVSS No. 108, “Lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment.” This standard requires that certain lamps and reflective devices with certain performance levels be installed on motor vehicles to assure that the roadway is properly illuminated, that vehicles can be readily seen, and the signals can be transmitted to other drivers sharing the road, during day, night and inclement weather. Since the specific manner in which headlamp aim is to be performed is not regulated (only the performance of the device is), aiming devices manufactured or installed by different vehicle and headlamp manufacturers may work in significantly different ways. As a consequence, to assure that headlamps can be correctly aimed, instructions for proper use must be part of the vehicle as a label, or optionally, in the vehicle owner's manual.

FMVSS No. 110, “Tire selection and rims.” This standard specifies requirements for tire selection to prevent tire overloading. The vehicle's normal load and maximum load on the tire shall not be greater than applicable specified limits. The standard requires a permanently affixed vehicle placard specifying vehicle capacity weight, designated seating capacity, manufacturer recommended cold tire inflation pressure and manufacturer's recommended tire size. The standard further specifies rim construction requirements, load limits of non-pneumatic spare tires, and labeling requirements for non-pneumatic spare tires, including a required placard. Owner's manual information is required for “Use of Spare Tire.” FMVSS No. 110 requires additional owner's manual information on the revised vehicle placard and tire information label, on revised tire labeling, and on tire safety and load limits and terminology.

FMVSS No. 138, “Tire pressure monitoring systems.” This standard specifies requirements for a tire pressure monitoring system to warn the driver of an under-inflated tire condition. Its purpose is to reduce the likelihood of a vehicle crash resulting from tire failure due to operation in an under-inflated condition. The standard requires the Owner's Manual to include specific information on the low pressure warning telltale and the malfunction indicator telltale.

FMVSS No. 202, “Head restraints.” This standard specifies requirements for head restraints. The standard, which seeks to reduce whiplash injuries in rear collisions, currently requires head restraints for front outboard designated seating positions in passenger cars and in light multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks and buses. In a final rule published on December 14, 2004 (69 FR 74880), the standard requires that vehicle manufacturers include information in owner's manuals for vehicles manufactured on or after September 1, 2008. The owner's manual must clearly identify which seats are equipped with head restraints. If the head restraints are removable, the owner's manual must provide instructions on how to remove the head restraint by a deliberate action distinct from any act necessary for adjustment, and how to reinstall head restraints. The owner's manual must warn that all head restraints must be reinstalled to properly protect vehicle occupants. Finally, the owner's manual must describe, in an easily understandable format, the adjustment of the head restraints and/or seat back to achieve appropriate head restraint position relative to the occupant's head.

FMVSS No. 205, “Glazing materials.” This standard specifies requirement for all glazing material used in windshields, windows, and interior partitions of motor vehicles. Its purpose is to reduce the likelihood of lacerations and to minimize the possibility of occupants penetrating the windshield in a crash. More detailed information regarding the care and maintenance of such glazing items, as the glass-plastic windshield, is required to be placed in the vehicle owner's manual.

FMVSS No. 208, “Occupant crash protection.” This standard specifies requirements for both active and passive occupant crash protection systems for passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks and small buses. Certain safety features, such as air bags, or the care and maintenance of air bag systems, are required to be explained to the owner by means of the owner's manual. For example, the owner's manual must describe the vehicle's air bag system and provide precautionary information about the proper positioning of the occupants, including children. The owner's manual must also warn that no objects, such as shotguns carried in police cars, should be placed over or near the air bag covers.

FMVSS No. 210, “Seat belt assembly anchorages.” This standard specifies requirements for seat belt assembly anchorages to ensure effective occupant restraint and to reduce the likelihood of failure in a crash. The standard requires that manufacturers place the following information in the vehicle owner's manual: a. An explanation that child restraints are designed to be secured by means of the vehicle's seat belts, and, b. A statement alerting vehicle owners that children are always safer in the rear seat.

FMVSS No. 213, “Child restraint systems.” This standard specifies requirements for child restraint systems and requires that manufacturers provide consumers with detailed information relating to child safety in air bag equipped vehicles. The vehicle owner's manual must include information about the operation and do's and don'ts of built-in child seats.

FMVSS No. 226, “Ejection mitigation.” This standard establishes vehicle requirements intended to reduce the partial and complete ejection of vehicle occupants through side windows in crashes, particularly rollover crashes. The standard applies to vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 kg or less. Written information must be provided with every vehicle describing any ejection mitigation countermeasure that deploys in the event of a rollover and a discussion of the readiness indicator specifying a list of the elements of the system being monitored by the indicator, a discussion of the purpose and location of the telltale, and instructions to the consumer on the steps to take if the telltale is illuminated.

Part 575 Section 103, “Camper loading.” This regulation requires manufacturers of slide-in campers to affix to each camper a label that contains information relating to identification and proper loading of the camper and to provide more detailed loading information in the owner's manual. This regulation also requires manufacturers of trucks that would accommodate slide-in campers to specify the cargo weight ratings and the longitudinal limits within which the center of gravity for the cargo weight rating should be located.

Part 575 Section 105, “Vehicle rollover.” This regulation requires manufacturers of utility vehicles to alert utility vehicle drivers of the higher possibility of rollover compared to other vehicle types and to advise them of steps that can be taken to reduce the possibility of rollover and/or to reduce the likelihood of injury in a rollover. A statement is provided in the regulation, which manufacturers shall include in its entirety or equivalent form, in the Owner's Manual.

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 3,724 hours.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 22.

Instructions: For detailed instructions on submitting comments and additional information on the rulemaking process, see the Public Participation heading of the Supplementary Information section of this document. Note that all comments received will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov,, including any personal information provided.

Comments are invited on:

Whether the proposed collections of information are necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Department, including whether the information will have practical utility; the accuracy of the Department's estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection; ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Public Participation

How do I prepare and submit comments?

Your comments must be written and in English. To ensure that your comments are correctly filed in the Docket, please include the docket number of this document in your comments. Your comments must not be more than 15 pages long.^[1] We established this limit to encourage you to write your primary comments in a concise fashion. However, you may attach necessary additional documents to your comments. There is no limit on the length of the attachments.

If you are submitting comments electronically as a PDF (Adobe) file, we ask that the documents submitted be scanned using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) process, thus allowing the agency to search and copy certain portions of your submissions.^[2]

Please note that pursuant to the Data Quality Act, in order for substantive data to be relied upon and used by the agency, it must meet the information quality standards set forth in the OMB and DOT Data Quality Act guidelines. Accordingly, we encourage you to consult the guidelines in preparing your comments. OMB's guidelines may be accessed at http://www.whitehouse.gov/​omb/​fedreg/​reproducible.html. DOT's guidelines may be accessed at http://dmses.dot.gov/​submit/​DataQualityGuidelines.pdf.

How can I be sure that my comments were received?

If you submit your comments by mail and wish Docket Management to notify you upon its receipt of your comments, enclose a self-addressed, stamped postcard in the envelope containing your comments. Upon receiving your comments, Docket Management will return the postcard by mail.

How do I submit confidential business information?

If you wish to submit any information under a claim of confidentiality, you should submit three copies of your complete submission, including the information you claim to be confidential business information, to the Chief Counsel, NHTSA, at the address given above under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. When you send a comment containing information claimed to be confidential business information, you should include a cover letter setting forth the information specified in our confidential business information regulation.^[3]

In addition, you should submit a copy, from which you have deleted the claimed confidential business information, to the Docket by one of the methods set forth above.

Will the agency consider late comments?

We will consider all comments received before the close of business on the comment closing date indicated above under DATES. To the extent possible, we will also consider comments received after that date.

How can I read the comments submitted by other people?

You may read the materials placed in the docket for this document (e.g., the comments submitted in response to this document by other interested persons) at any time by going to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for accessing the dockets. You may also read the materials at the Docket Management Facility by going to the street address given above under ADDRESSES. The Docket Management Facility is open between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3506(c); delegation of authority at 49 CFR 1.50.

Issued on: November 18, 2011.

Lori K. Summers,

Acting Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.

Footnotes

1.  See 49 CFR 553.21.

2.  Optical character recognition (OCR) is the process of converting an image of text, such as a scanned paper document or electronic fax file, into computer-editable text.

3.  See 49 CFR 512.