94-5918. General Tire, Inc.; Grant of Petition for Determination of Inconsequential Noncompliance

[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 50 (Tuesday, March 15, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-5918]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: March 15, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. 93-86; Notice 2]

 

General Tire, Inc.; Grant of Petition for Determination of 
Inconsequential Noncompliance

    General Tire, Inc., (General Tire) of Akron, Ohio, determined that 
some of its tires failed to comply with 49 CFR 571.119, Federal Motor 
Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 119, ``New Pneumatic Tires for 
Vehicles other Than Passenger Cars,'' and filed an appropriate report 
pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, ``Defect and Noncompliance Reports.'' 
General Tire has also petitioned to be exempted from the notification 
and remedy requirements of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle 
Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 1381  et seq.) on the basis that the 
noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety.
    Notice of receipt of the petition was published on December 9, 
1993, (58 FR 64793), and an opportunity afforded for comment.
    Section S6.5 of FMVSS No. 119 specifies that each tire be labeled 
with the name of the manufacturer or brand name, and number assigned to 
the manufacturer in the manner specified in part 574. In addition, if 
the tire is manufactured for a brand name owner, a code must be 
included for this brand name owner.
    During the week of August 8 to August 14, 1993, General Tire 
manufactured approximately 420 285/75R24.5 M101Z Toyo truck tires that 
bear incorrect serial numbers. These tires were produced with the GTY 
code for Yokohama (6B) and the brand name owner code for Yokohama 
(9LA). These tires should have been produced with the GTY plant code 
for Toyo (3C) and the brand name owner code for Toyo (9LB). The 
remaining nomenclature in the serial number is correct. The full serial 
number on the tires was labeled as 6B4K9LA323. Instead, the serial 
number should have been 3C4K9LB323.
    General Tire supported its petition for inconsequential 
noncompliance with the following:

    The tires can still be identified as to the GTY Tire Company and 
the appropriate plant of manufacture, size and date of manufacture. 
The tires are branded with the correct brand owner name ``Toyo.''

    This is the type of labeling failure that may be said to have a 
consequential effect upon safety if it were of such a nature that it 
would affect the ability of its manufacturer to notify and remedy in 
the event that it was noncompliant or contained a safety-related 
defect. After review of their petition and a telephone call to the 
petitioner. NHTSA has concluded that the recall process should not 
suffer because of the noncompliance. Both the 6B and 3C plant codes 
allow the tires to be identified as being produced by the GTY Tire 
Company. General Tire has confirmed to NHTSA that both codes also allow 
the tires to be traced back to General Tire in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. 
These facts and the manufacturer's data base should be sufficient for 
the manufacturer to notify dealers and consumers in the event of a 
recall, and for the dealers and consumers to identify whether their 
tires are the subject of the campaign.
    In consideration of the foregoing, it is hereby found that the 
petitioner has met its burden of persuasion that the noncompliance with 
FMVSS No. 119 described herein is inconsequential as it relates to 
motor vehicle safety, and its petition is granted.

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 1417; delegations of authority at 49 CFR 
1.50 anmd 501.8.

    Issued on: March 9, 1994.
Barry Felrice,
Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 94-5918 Filed 3-14-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-M