[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 158 (Wednesday, August 16, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 42496-42497]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-20344]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
49 CFR Part 575
[Docket No. 94-30, Notice 5]
RIN 2127-AF17
Consumer Information Regulations: Uniform Tire Quality Grading
Standards
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Extension of comment period.
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SUMMARY: This notice grants a request to extend the comment period on
an agency proposal to amend the Uniform
[[Page 42497]]
Tire Quality Grading Standards to change the treadwear grading
procedures, add an additional traction grade, and to substitute a fuel
economy grade for the current temperature resistance grade. Subsequent
to the publication of the proposal, NHTSA extended the comment period
to August 14, 1995 and held a public meeting on the proposals at the
request of several tire manufacturers. In response to a petition, the
agency is further extending the comment period from August 14, 1995 to
September 1, 1995.
DATES: Comments on the May 24, 1995 proposal must be received by the
agency on or before close of business, September 1, 1995.
ADDRESSES: Comments should refer to Docket No. 94-30, Notice 2, and be
submitted to the Docket Section, NHTSA, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Room
5109, Washington, DC 20590. Docket hours are from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00
p.m., Monday through Friday. Telephone (202) 366-4949.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Orron Kee, Office of Market
Incentives, Office of the Associate Administrator for Safety
Performance Standards, NHTSA, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Room 5313,
Washington, DC 20590, telephone (202) 366-4936.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 24, 1995, NHTSA published a Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to amend the Uniform Tire Quality Grading
Standards (UTQGS), 49 CFR 575.104. The amendments would change the
treadwear grading procedures, add an ``AA'' rating to the traction
grade, and substitute a fuel economy rating for the current temperature
resistance rating. The agency believed that the proposed fuel economy
rating, based on reduced tire rolling resistance, would be more
meaningful to consumers than the temperature resistance rating.
The NPRM specified a comment closing date of July 10, 1995.
However, the agency subsequently received several requests to extend
the comment period and to hold a public hearing on the issues involved
in the proposed rulemaking. In order to provide ample opportunity for
interested parties to express their views on the UTQGS proposals, NHTSA
extended the comment period until August 14, 1995 and granted the
requests for a public meeting (60 FR 34961, July 5, 1995). The agency
held the public meeting on July 28, 1995 at the DOT headquarters
building, 400 Seventh Street, Washington, DC 20590. Twenty-nine persons
testified and additional written testimony was submitted for inclusion
in the record. At the meeting, Multinational Business Services, Inc.
(MBS), among others, requested an additional extension of the comment
period to provide participants an opportunity to review the record of
the proceedings and submit additional comments, if desired.
On August 3, 1995, the National Tire Dealers & Retreaders
Association (NTDRA) petitioned the agency to extend the comment period
an additional 2 weeks from the present closing date of August 14, 1995.
NTDRA stated that the public meeting revealed ``considerable
disagreement * * * within the tire industry on a wide range of issues''
and, like MBS and the others, asserted that the meeting participants
needed an opportunity to review the data presented by the other
attendees.
After thorough review of the NTDRA petition and the other requests
for an extension of the comment period, NHTSA agrees that additional
time for commenting on the May 24, 1995 NPRM is desirable. Such
extension will provide interested parties the opportunity to review the
record of the public meeting and submit additional matters for the
agency's consideration in this rulemaking action. Accordingly, the
agency believes that there is good cause for the further extension of
the comment period and that this extension is consistent with the
public interest. Based on the above considerations, the agency is
extending the comment closing date on the May 24, 1995, NPRM until
September 1, 1995.
Issued on: August 11, 1995.
Barry Felrice,
Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
[FR Doc. 95-20344 Filed 8-11-95; 4:54 pm]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P
