[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 230 (Tuesday, December 1, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Page 66232]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-31928]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-98-3869; Notice 02]
Western Star Trucks, Inc.; Grant of Application for Decisions of
Inconsequential Noncompliance
Western Star Trucks Inc. (Western Star) of Kelowna, British
Columbia, Canada, has determined that some of its vehicles fail to
comply with the labeling requirements of 49 CFR 571.205, Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 205, ``Glazing Materials,'' and has
filed an appropriate report pursuant to 49 CFR Part 573 ``Defect and
Noncompliance Reports.'' Western Star has also applied to be exempted
from the notification and remedy requirements of 49 U.S.C. Chapter
301--``Motor Vehicle Safety'' on the basis that the noncompliance is
inconsequential to motor vehicle safety.
Notice of receipt of the application was published with a 30-day
comment period, on June 12, 1998, in the Federal Register (63 FR
33434). NHTSA received no comments on this application.
FMVSS 205, paragraph S6 Certification and marking, requires that
each piece of glazing material shall be marked in accordance to section
6 of the American National Standard ``Safety Code for Safety Glazing
Materials for Glazing Motor Vehicles Operating on Land Highways'' Z-
26.1-1977, January 26, 1977, as supplemented by Z26.1a July 3, 1980
(ANS Z26). This specifies all safety glazing materials shall be legibly
and permanently marked in letters and numerals at least 0.070 inch
(1.78 mm) in height, with the words ``American National Standard'' or
the characters ``AS'' and, in addition, with a model number that will
identify the type of construction of the glazing material. They shall
also be marked with the manufacturer's distinctive designation or
trademark. In addition, FMVSS 205, paragraph S6.2 requires that each
piece of glazing material be marked with the symbol ``DOT.''
From January 17, 1996, to February 3, 1998, Western Star Trucks
manufactured approximately 891 Western Star Constellation series truck/
tractors equipped with 58 inches or 72 inches sleeper windows which
were not marked per the requirements of S6 of FMVSS 205.
Western Star supports its application for inconsequential
noncompliance with the following:
1. All performance requirements of FMVSS 205 are met or exceeded.
2. The sleeper window is located out of the truck/tractor driver's
compartment in an area not requisite for driver visibility.
NHTSA has reviewed Western Star's application and, for the reasons
discussed below, concludes that the noncompliance of the Western Star
windows is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. Western Star has
provided documentation that the windows do comply with all other safety
performance requirements of the standard, except the labeling. This
documentation is a surrogate for the certification labeling. NHTSA
believes that the lack of labeling would not result in inadvertent
replacement of the windows with the wrong glazing. Broken tempered
glass can readily be identified as tempered glass, rather than plastic
or laminated glass. Anyone who intended to replace the window with an
identical tempered glass window would have to contact Western Star for
the proper part, since tempered glass windows cannot be easily
manufactured by small field facilities. At that point, Western Star, or
their representative, would be able to provide the correct replacement
window by use of their parts system.
In consideration of the foregoing, NHTSA has decided that the
applicant has met its burden of persuasion that the noncompliance it
describes is inconsequential to safety.
Accordingly, its application is granted, and the applicant is
exempted from providing the notification of the noncompliance that is
required by 49 U.S.C. 30118, and from remedying the noncompliance, as
required by 49 U.S.C. 30120.
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30118, delegations of authority at 49 CFR
1.50 and 501.8.
Issued: November 24, 1998.
L. Robert Shelton,
Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
[FR Doc. 98-31928 Filed 11-30-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P
