96-3606. Denial of Motor Vehicle Defect Petition

[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 33 (Friday, February 16, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6290-6291]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-3606]



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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)


Denial of Motor Vehicle Defect Petition

    This notice sets forth the reasons for the denial of a petition 
submitted to NHTSA under section 30162 of Title 49 of the United States 
Code.
    On December 27, 1995, Mr. John Chevedden of Redondo Beach, 
California, submitted a petition asking NHTSA to require all 1973 
through 1978 Chevrolet and GMC C/K pickup trucks to be retrofitted with 
a low cost gas tank guard. The agency previously investigated alleged 
safety-related defects in the fuel tanks of these General Motors 
Corporation C/K pickup trucks. This investigation was among the most 
complex, costly, and comprehensive ever undertaken by NHTSA. On 
December 2, 1994, Secretary of Transportation Federico Pena announced 
the settlement of NHTSA's 

[[Page 6291]]
investigation into alleged post-impact fuel-fed fires in these 
vehicles. Under the terms of the settlement, General Motors provided 
$51,355,000 to support safety programs that will prevent thousands of 
deaths and injuries. In return, the agency closed the investigation.
    The petition did not provide any new information that reasonably 
could lead to reopening the settlement agreement. The central issue is 
whether the petition has presented new evidence that bears on the issue 
of whether a safety defect exists. No new information was presented on 
this issue. The only ``new'' information presented in the petition was 
the suggestion of a particular repair for these vehicles. However, even 
in vehicles found to be defective, NHTSA has no statutory authority to 
require a manufacturer to provide a particular repair. See 49 U.S.C. 
30120.
    For these reasons, and because there is no reasonable possibility 
that the action requested by the petition would be undertaken, the 
agency denied the petition.

    Authority: Section 124, Pub. L. 93-492; 88 Stat. 1470 (49 U.S.C. 
30162); delegations of authority at 49 CFR 1.50 and 501.8.

    Issued on: February 12, 1996.
Michael B. Brownlee,
Associate Administrator for Safety Assurance.
[FR Doc. 96-3606 Filed 2-15-96; 8:45 am]
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