[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 114 (Friday, June 12, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35994-35995]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-12717]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2019-0130; Notice 1]


Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Receipt of Petition for Decision 
of Inconsequential Noncompliance

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

ACTION: Receipt of petition.

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SUMMARY: Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (Goodyear), has determined that 
certain Kelly Armorsteel KDM 1 commercial truck tires do not comply 
with Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS) No. 119, New 
Pneumatic Tires for Motor Vehicles with a GVWR of more than 4,536 
kilograms (10,000 pounds) and Motorcycles. Goodyear filed a 
noncompliance report dated November 26, 2019, and petitioned NHTSA on 
November 25, 2019, for a decision that the subject noncompliance is 
inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety. This document 
announces receipt of Goodyear's petition.

DATES: The closing date for comments on the petition is July 13, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written data, 
views, and arguments on this petition. Comments must refer to the 
docket and notice number cited in the title of this notice and may be 
submitted by any of the following methods:
     Mail: Send comments by mail addressed to the U.S. 
Department of Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, West Building 
Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 
20590.
     Hand Delivery: Deliver comments by hand to the U.S. 
Department of Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, West Building 
Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 
20590. The Docket Section is open on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 
except for Federal Holidays.
     Electronically: Submit comments electronically by logging 
onto the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) website at https://www.regulations.gov/. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
     Comments may also be faxed to (202) 493-2251.
    Comments must be written in the English language, and be no greater 
than 15 pages in length, although there is no limit to the length of 
necessary attachments to the comments. If comments are submitted in 
hard copy form, please ensure that two copies are provided. If you wish 
to receive confirmation that comments you have submitted by mail were 
received, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard with the 
comments. Note that all comments received will be posted without change 
to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided.
    All comments and supporting materials received before the close of 
business on the closing date indicated above will be filed in the 
docket and will be considered. All comments and supporting materials 
received after the closing date will also be filed and will be 
considered to the fullest extent possible.
    When the petition is granted or denied, notice of the decision will 
also be published in the Federal Register pursuant to the authority 
indicated at the end of this notice.
    All comments, background documentation, and supporting materials 
submitted to the docket may be viewed by anyone at the address and 
times given above. The documents may also be viewed on the internet at 
https://www.regulations.gov by following the online instructions for 
accessing the dockets. The docket ID number for this

[[Page 35995]]

petition is shown in the heading of this notice.
    DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement is available for review in a 
Federal Register notice published on April 11, 2000, (65 FR 19477-78).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    I. Overview: Goodyear has determined that certain Kelly Armorsteel 
KDM 1 commercial truck tires do not fully comply with paragraph S6.5 of 
FMVSS No. 119, New Pneumatic Tires for Motor Vehicles with a GVWR of 
More than 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds) and Motorcycles (49 CFR 
571.119). Goodyear filed a noncompliance report dated November 26, 
2019, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance 
Responsibility and Reports, and petitioned NHTSA on November 25, 2019, 
for an exemption from the notification and remedy requirements of 49 
U.S.C. chapter 301 on the basis that this noncompliance is 
inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety, pursuant to 49 
U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) and 49 CFR part 556, Exemption for 
Inconsequential Defect or Noncompliance.
    This notice of receipt of Goodyear's petition is published under 49 
U.S.C. 30118 and 30120 and does not represent any agency decision or 
other exercise of judgment concerning the merits of the petition.
    II. Tires Involved: Approximately 76 Kelly Armorsteel KDM 1 
commercial truck tires, size 11/R22.5 LRH, manufactured between August 
25, 2019, and August 31, 2019, are potentially involved.
    III. Noncompliance: Goodyear explained that the noncompliance is 
that the Tire Identification Number (TIN) on the subject tires contains 
a date code that was engraved less than the required height of 0.51 mm 
(0.020 inches) and, therefore, do not meet the requirements of 
paragraph S6.5 of FMVSS No. 119.
    IV. Rule Requirements: Paragraph S6.5. of FMVSS No. 119 includes 
the requirements relevant to this petition. Each tire shall be marked 
on each sidewall with the information specified in paragraphs (a) 
through (j) of this section. The markings shall be placed between the 
maximum section width (exclusive of sidewall decorations or curb ribs) 
and the bead on at least one sidewall, unless the maximum section width 
of the tire is located in an area which is not more than one-fourth of 
the distance from the bead to the shoulder of the tire. If the maximum 
section width falls within that area, the markings shall appear between 
the bead and a point one-half the distance from the bead to the 
shoulder of the tire, on at least one sidewall. The markings shall be 
in letters and numerals not less than 2 mm (0.078 inch) high and raised 
above or sunk below the tire surface not less than 0.4 mm (0.015 inch), 
except that the marking depth shall be not less than 0.25mm (0.010 
inch) in the case of motorcycle tires.
    V. Summary of Goodyear's Petition: The following views and 
arguments presented in this section are the views and arguments 
provided by Goodyear. They have not been evaluated by the Agency and do 
not reflect the views of the Agency.
    Accordingly, Goodyear described the subject noncompliance and 
stated that the noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor 
vehicle safety.
    1. Goodyear believes this noncompliance is inconsequential to motor 
vehicle safety because these tires were manufactured as designed and 
meet or exceed all applicable FMVSS. All of the sidewall markings 
related to tire service (load capacity, corresponding inflation 
pressure, etc.) are correct. The mislabeling and irregular date code is 
not a safety concern and has no impact on the retreading, repairing, 
and recycling industries. The affected date code stencil has been 
corrected, and all future production will not contain the irregularity 
in the date code.
    2. Goodyear states that the date code portion of the TIN becomes 
important in the event of a safety campaign, so that the consumer may 
properly identify the recalled tire(s). In the unlikely event that a 
safety campaign would ever become necessary for this Kelly Armorsteel 
KDM 1 11/R22.5 LRH commercial truck tire made in the 34th week of 2019, 
Goodyear would include in the listing of recalled TINs the TIN for 
these tires with the date code portion as shown, MJ3TK2BW3419, as well 
as the TIN for these tires with the date code portion shown with the 
date code portion of the TIN below the regulation specified height so 
that the consumer would know that tires with this TIN, MJ3TK2BW, are 
included in the recall even if they have difficulty reading the date 
code portion because it is not raised to the 0.51 mm level.
    Goodyear concluded by expressing the belief that the subject 
noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety, 
and that its petition to be exempted from providing notification of the 
noncompliance, as required by 49 U.S.C. 30118, and a remedy for the 
noncompliance, as required by 49 U.S.C. 30120, should be granted.
    NHTSA notes that the statutory provisions (49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 
30120(h)) that permit manufacturers to file petitions for a 
determination of inconsequentiality allow NHTSA to exempt manufacturers 
only from the duties found in sections 30118 and 30120, respectively, 
to notify owners, purchasers, and dealers of a defect or noncompliance 
and to remedy the defect or noncompliance. Therefore, any decision on 
this petition only applies to the subject tires that Goodyear no longer 
controlled at the time it determined that the noncompliance existed. 
However, any decision on this petition does not relieve equipment 
distributors and dealers of the prohibitions on the sale, offer for 
sale, or introduction or delivery for introduction into interstate 
commerce of the noncompliant tires under their control after Goodyear 
notified them that the subject noncompliance existed.

    Authority: (49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120: delegations of authority at 
49 CFR 1.95 and 501.8)

Otto G. Matheke III,
Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2020-12717 Filed 6-11-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-59-P


