[Federal Register: March 28, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 61)]
[Notices]
[Page 16740-16743]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr28mr08-153]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[U.S. DOT Docket Number NHTSA-2008-0057]
Reports, Forms, and Recordkeeping Requirements
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), U.S.
Department of Transportation.
ACTION: Request for public comment on revision to a currently approved
collection of information.
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SUMMARY: Before a Federal agency can collect certain information from
the public, it must receive approval from the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB). Under procedures established by the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995, before seeking OMB approval, Federal agencies must solicit
public comment on proposed collections of information, including
extensions and reinstatement of previously approved collections.
This document describes a collection of information for which NHTSA
intends to seek OMB approval.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 27, 2008.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments using any of the following methods.
All comments must have the applicable DOT docket number (e.g., NHTSA-
2008-0057) noted conspicuously on them.
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting
comments.
Mail: Docket Management Facility: U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., West Building Ground
Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
Hand Delivery or Courier: West Building Ground Floor, Room
W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET,
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. Telephone: 1-800-647-
5527.
Fax: 202-493-2251.
Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and
docket number for this proposed collection of information. Note that
all comments received will be posted without change to http://
www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided.
Please see the Privacy Act heading below.
Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all
comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's
complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on
April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-78) or you may visit http://
DocketInfo.dot.gov.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov or the street
address listed above. Follow the online instructions for accessing the
dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Timian, Recall Management
Division (NVS-215), Room W46-324, NHTSA, 1200 New Jersey Ave.,
Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: (202) 366-0209.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,
before an agency submits a proposed collection of information to OMB
for approval, it must first publish a document in the Federal Register
providing a 60-day comment period and otherwise consult with members of
the public and affected agencies concerning each proposed collection of
information. The OMB has promulgated regulations describing what must
be included in such a document. Under OMB's regulation, see 5 CFR
1320.8(d), an agency must ask for public comment on the following:
(i) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for
the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including
whether the information will have practical utility;
(ii) The accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used;
(iii) How to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and
(iv) How to minimize the burden of the collection of information on
those who are to respond, including the use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology, e.g. permitting electronic
submission of responses
In compliance with these requirements, NHTSA asks for public
comments on the following collection of information:
Title: Defect and Noncompliance Reporting and Notification.
Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved information
collection.
OMB Control Number: 2127-0004.
Affected Public: Businesses or individuals.
Abstract: This notice requests comment on NHTSA's proposed revision
to approved collection of information OMB No. 2127-0004. Broadly
speaking, this collection covers the information collection
requirements found within various statutory sections in the Motor
Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 (Act), 49 U.S.C. 30101, et seq., that
address and require manufacturer notifications to NHTSA of safety-
related defects and failures to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standards (FMVSS) in motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment,
as well as the provision of particular information related to the
ensuing owner and dealers notifications and free remedy campaigns that
follow those notifications. The sections of the Act imposing these
requirements include 49 U.S.C. 30118, 30119, 30120, and 30166. Many of
these requirements are implemented through, and addressed with more
specificity in, 49 CFR Part 573, Defect and Noncompliance
Responsibility and Reports (Part 573) and 49 CFR 577, Defect and
Noncompliance Notification.
For ease of reference and comment, we have broken the information
collection requirements that OMB No. 2127-0004 covers into three
categories. The first two categories summarize requirements already
included in OMB No. 2127-0004; the first discussing requirements of
defect and noncompliance reporting and notifications generally, and the
second discussing additional requirements that pertain specifically to
tire recalls and the proper disposal of tires. The third category
summarizes our proposal to include another collection requirement
related to tire recall campaigns, but in the past treated separately
and given a different OMB information collection approval number (2127-
0610).
[[Page 16741]]
A. Information Collection Requirements Applicable to Defect and
Noncompliance Reporting and Notification Generally
Pursuant to the Act, motor vehicle and motor vehicle equipment
manufacturers are obligated to notify, and then provide various
information and documents to, NHTSA in the event a safety defect or
noncompliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) is
identified in products they manufactured. See 49 U.S.C. 30118(b) and 49
CFR 573.6 (requiring manufacturers to notify NHTSA, and provide certain
information, when they learn of a safety defect or noncompliance).
Manufacturers are further required to notify owners, purchasers,
dealers and distributors about the safety defect or noncompliance. See
49 U.S.C. 30118(b), 30120(a), and 49 CFR 577.7, 577.13. They are
required to provide to NHTSA copies of communications pertaining to
recall campaigns that they issue to owners, purchasers, dealers, and
distributors. See 49 U.S.C. 30166(f) and 49 CFR 573.6(c)(10).
Manufacturers are also required to file with NHTSA a plan
explaining how they intend to reimburse owners and purchasers who paid
to have their products remedied before being notified of the safety
defect or noncompliance, and explain that plan in the notifications
they issue to owners and purchasers about the safety defect or
noncompliance. See 49 U.S.C. 30120(d) and 49 CFR 573.13. They are
further required to keep lists of the respective owners, purchasers,
dealers, distributors, lessors, and lessees of the products determined
to be defective or noncompliant and involved in a recall campaign, and
are required to provide NHTSA with a minimum of six quarterly reports
reporting on the progress of their recall campaigns. See 49 CFR 573.8
and 573.7, respectively.
B. Additional Information Collection Requirements Applicable to Tire
Recall Campaigns and Proper Tire Disposal
The Act and Part 573 also contain numerous information collection
requirements specific to tire recall and remedy campaigns. These
requirements relate to the proper disposal of recalled tires, including
a requirement that the manufacturer conducting the tire recall submit a
plan and provide specific instructions to certain persons (such as
dealers and distributors) addressing that disposal, and a requirement
that those persons report back to the manufacturer certain deviations
from the plan. See 49 U.S.C. 30120(d) and 49 CFR 573.6(c)(9). These
requirements are in addition to the general requirements previously
discussed. Due to the length and complexity of these requirements, we
have outlined below those requirements in order to make them more
comprehensible.
I. If there is a tire recall, which parties must provide
information?
A. The tire manufacturer conducting the recall;
B. Any affected tire brand name owners conducting the recall, such
as retail chain stores that sell recalled tires under their own
``private labels'' or house labels;
C. Any vehicle manufacturer that conducts a tire recall;
D. Tire outlets under the control of a manufacturer conducting a
tire recall, such as owned stores, franchised dealers and/or
distributors.
II. To which parties must the information be provided?
A. Each manufacturer, whether a tire manufacturer, tire brand name
owner, or a vehicle manufacturer conducting a recall campaign for a
tire, would have to provide information to three categories of parties:
1. NHTSA;
2. Owned stores, franchised dealers and/or distributors (third
parties);
3. Independent tire outlets authorized to replace tires under the
recall.
B. In the event of a recall, each tire outlet under the control of
a manufacturer must provide information to the manufacturer if the
outlet does not comply with certain requirements. This is referred to
as ``exceptions reporting'' or ``third party reporting,'' and is
discussed below in section IV.
III. What information must each manufacturer provide?
A. In its report to NHTSA:
1. The manufacturer's plan for assuring that the entities replacing
the tires are aware of the legal requirements related to recalls of
tires established by 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301 and its implementing
regulations;
2. An explanation of how the manufacturer will prevent, to the
extent within its control, the recalled tires from being resold for
installation on a motor vehicle;
3. A description of the manufacturer's program for disposing of
recalled tires that are returned to the manufacturer or collected by
the manufacturer from retail outlets, including, at a minimum,
statements that the returned tires will be disposed of in compliance
with applicable state and local laws and regulations regarding disposal
of tires, and will be channeled, insofar as possible, into an
``alternative beneficial non-vehicular use'' rather than being disposed
of in landfills; and
4. A draft of the notification(s) to be sent to stores, dealers,
etc. that is described in section III.B, below.
B. In its reports to owned stores, franchised dealers and/or
distributors, and independent outlets that are authorized to replace
the recalled tires:
1. A description of the legal requirements related to recalls of
tires established by the Act and its implementing regulations,
including the prohibitions on the sale of new and used defective and
noncompliant tires, the right to reimbursement of the costs of certain
pre-notification remedies, and the duty to notify NHTSA of a knowing or
willful sale or lease of a new or used recalled tire that is intended
for use on a motor vehicle;
2. Directions to manufacturer-owned and other manufacturer-
controlled outlets, and guidance to all other outlets that are
authorized to replace the recalled tires, on how and when to alter the
recalled tires permanently so they cannot be used on vehicles; and
3. Directions to manufacturer-owned and other manufacturer-
controlled outlets, and guidance to all other outlets that are
authorized to replace the recalled tires, either:
(a) To ship all recalled tires to one or more locations designated
by the manufacturer as part of the manufacturer's recall program or to
allow the manufacturer to collect and dispose of the recalled tires; or
(b) To ship recalled tires to a location of their own choosing,
provided that they comply with applicable state and local laws
regarding disposal of tires, along with directions and guidance on how
to limit the disposal of recalled tires into landfills and instead,
channel them to an ``alternative beneficial non-vehicular use.''
Under Option (a), if the manufacturer establishes a testing program
for recalled tires, the directions and guidance shall also include
criteria for selecting recalled tires for the testing program and
instructions for labeling those tires and returning them to the
manufacturer.
4. Directions to manufacturer-owned and other manufacturer-
controlled outlets to report to the manufacturer on a monthly basis the
number of recalled tires removed from vehicles by the outlet that have
not been rendered unsuitable for resale for installation on a motor
vehicle within the specified time frame and to describe any such
failure to comply with the manufacturer's plan.
IV. What information must tire outlets under the control of the
manufacturer provide to the manufacturer (third party reporting)?
[[Page 16742]]
A. Monthly (or within 30 days of the deviation) reports on the
number of recalled tires, if any, removed from vehicles by the outlet
that have not been rendered unsuitable for resale or installation on a
motor vehicle within the specified time frame (other than those
returned for testing) and that describe any such failure to act in
accordance with the manufacturer's plan;
B. Monthly (or within 30 days of the deviation) reports on the
number of recalled tires disposed of in violation of applicable state
and local laws and regulations that describe any such failure to act in
accordance with the manufacturer's plan.
V. Manufacturers' Quarterly Reports to NHTSA pursuant to 49 CFR
573.7 for recalls involving the replacement of tires must include the
following information:
A. The aggregate number of recalled tires that the manufacturer
becomes aware have not been rendered unsuitable for resale for
installation on a motor vehicle in accordance with the manufacturer's
plan;
B. The aggregate number of recalled tires that the manufacturer
becomes aware have been disposed of in violation of applicable state
and local laws and regulations; and
C. A description of any failure of a tire outlet to act in
accordance with the directions in the manufacturer's plan, including an
identification of the outlet in question.
VI. Recordkeeping Requirements
No recordkeeping requirements are imposed by these requirements.
C. Addition of New Information Collection Requirement: Reporting of
Sale or Lease of Defective or Noncompliant Tires to NHTSA
The Act contains an additional information collection requirement
not previously included in this approved collection. 49 U.S.C.
30166(n), and its implementing regulation found at 49 CFR 573.10,
mandates that anyone who knowingly and willfully sells or leases for
use on a motor vehicle a defective tire or a tire that is not compliant
with FMVSS, and with actual knowledge that the tire manufacturer has
notified its dealers of the defect or noncompliance as required under
the Act, is required to report that sale or lease to NHTSA no more than
five working days after the person to whom the tire was sold or leased
takes possession of it.
NHTSA had, in the past, sought and received approval for this
collection of information, and it had been assigned the approval number
OMB No. 2127-0610. Given this collection's similarity in purpose and
subject matter to the other collection requirements found in the Act
and in Part 573, the agency believes it more appropriate and is
proposing to include it in this information collection rather than keep
it separate. Comments are welcome on this consolidation.
Estimated Burden: This collection has a present estimated burden of
19,974 hours per year. Our review of recent annual recall figures
demonstrates to us that this figure could be adjusted to more precisely
reflect recent experience. Accordingly, we calculate that figure should
be revised to 21,370 burden hours per year. An explanation of how we
reach this total annual figure follows.
A. Estimated Burden Associated With Defect and Noncompliance Reporting
and Notification Requirements Generally
Over the past 3 years, there has been an average of 650
noncompliance or safety defect notifications to NHTSA filed each year
by approximately 175 distinct manufacturers, with an estimated 750
quarterly reports filed per quarter (or 3,000 reports per year).
We estimate that it takes a manufacturer an average of 4 hours to
complete each notification report to NHTSA, that it takes another 4
hours to complete each quarterly report, and that maintenance of the
required owner, purchaser, dealer and distributors lists requires 8
hours. Accordingly, the subtotal estimate of annual burden hours
related to the reporting to NHTSA of a safety defect or noncompliance,
completion of quarterly reports on the progress of recall campaigns,
and maintenance of owner and purchaser lists is 16,000 hours annually
((650 notices x 4 hours/report) + (3,000 quarterly reports x 4 hours/
report) + (175 manufacturers x 8 hours)).
In addition, we estimate an additional 2 hours will be needed to
add to a manufacturer's information report details relating to the
manufacturer's intended schedule for notifying its dealers and
distributors, and tailoring its notifications to dealers and
distributors in accordance with the requirements of 49 CFR 577.13. This
would total to an estimated 1,300 hours annually (650 notices x 2
hours/report).
In the event a manufacturer supplied the defect or noncompliant
product to independent dealers through independent distributors, that
manufacturer is required to include in its notifications to those
distributors an instruction that the distributors are to then provide
copies of the manufacturer's notification of the defect or
noncompliance to all known distributors or retail outlets further down
the distribution chain within five working days. See 49 CFR
577.8(c)(2)(iv). As a practical matter, this requirement would only
apply to equipment manufacturers since vehicle manufacturers generally
sell and lease vehicles through a dealer network, and not through
independent distributors. In recent years, there have been roughly 90
equipment recalls per year. Although the distributors are not
technically under any regulatory requirement to follow that
instruction, we expect that they will, and have estimated the burden
associated with these notifications (identifying retail outlets, making
copies of the manufacturer's notice, and mailing) to be 5 hours per
recall campaign. Assuming an average of 3 distributors per equipment
item, (which is a liberal estimate given that many equipment
manufacturers do not use independent distributors) the total number of
burden hours associated with this third party notification burden is
approximately 1,350 hours per year (90 recalls x 3 distributors x 5
hours).
As for the burden linked with a manufacturer's preparation of and
notification concerning its reimbursement for pre-notification
remedies, consistent with previous estimates (see 69 FR 11477 (March
10, 2004)), we estimate that preparing a plan for reimbursement takes
approximately 8 hours annually, and that an additional 2 hours per year
is spent tailoring the plan to particular defect and noncompliance
notifications to NHTSA and adding tailored language about the plan to a
particular safety recall's owner notification letters. In sum, these
required activities add an additional 2,700 annual burden hours ((175
manufacturers x 8 hours) + (650 recalls x 2 hours)).
In summary, the total burden associated with the defect and
noncompliant information collection and reporting requirements
described in this section is 21,350 hours per year.
B. Estimated Burden Associated With Tire Recall Campaigns
As explained earlier, manufacturers are required to include
specific information relative to tire disposal in the notifications
they provide NHTSA concerning identification of a safety defect or
noncompliance with FMVSS in their tires, as well as in the
notifications with they issue to their dealers or other tire outlets
participating in the recall campaign. See 49 CFR 573.6(c)(9).
Consistent with prior projections, see 69 FR 21883 (April 22, 2004),
and current experience, we
[[Page 16743]]
estimate that there will be about 10 tire recall campaigns per year,
and that inclusion of this additional information will require an
additional two hours of effort beyond the subtotal above associated
with non-tire recall campaigns. This additional effort consists of one
hour for the NHTSA notification and one hour for the dealer
notification for a total of 20 burden hours (10 tire recalls a year x 2
hours per recall).
Also discussed earlier was the requirement that manufacturer owned
or controlled dealers notify and provide certain information should
they deviate from the manufacturer's disposal plan. Consistent with
previous analysis, we continue to ascribe zero burden hours to this
requirement since to date no such reports have been provided and our
original expectation that dealers would comply with manufacturers'
plans has proven true.
Accordingly, we estimate 20 burden hours a year will be spent
complying with the tire recall campaign requirements found in 49 CFR
573.6(c)(9).
C. Estimated Burden Associated With the Addition of the Requirement
That Intentional Sales and Leases of Defective or Noncompliant Tires Be
Reported to NHTSA, to This Information Collection
We have proposed and plan to incorporate into this information
collection (OMB No. 2127-0004) the requirement that those persons that
sell or lease defective or noncompliant tires knowing that the
manufacturer has determined them to be defective or noncompliant with
FMVSS report those sales or leases to NHTSA. We explained that we are
proposing and planning this inclusion for the simple reason of
consolidation. The requirement is found in Part 573, and given that
today's information collection concerns information collections found
within that Part, we do not see a basis for keeping this requirement
separate from all of the rest.
In the original Federal Register notice we published announcing
this requirement and calculating its burden, we estimated that roughly
9 persons a year would report such sales or leases, and that the
reporting would require a maximum of one-half of one hour to
accomplish. See 65 FR 81409 (December 26, 2000). In reviewing this
collection requirement, we found that in the seven years since this
requirement has been in place we have yet to receive a single report of
a sale or lease of a defective or noncompliant tire pursuant to this
information collection requirement. Consequently, we are revising our
initial estimate of the burden associated with this requirement to zero
burden hours.
Estimated Number of Respondents
Over the past several years NHTSA has received reports of defect or
noncompliance from roughly 175 manufacturers per year. We have no
reason at this juncture to suspect this annual figure will change in
any significant manner in the coming years. Accordingly, we estimate
that there will continue to be approximately 175 manufacturers per year
filing defect or noncompliance reports and completing the other
information collection responsibilities associated with those filings.
We discussed above that we have yet to receive a single report
filed pursuant to 49 CFR 573.10. This information collection
requirement, to reiterate, requires anyone who sells or leases a
defective or noncompliant tire, with knowledge of that tire's
defectiveness or noncompliance, to report that sale or lease to NHTSA.
Given the lack of filing history over many years, we estimate that
there will continue to be zero reports filed and therefore zero
respondents as to this requirement.
In summary, we estimate that there will be a total of 175
respondents per year associated with OMB No. 2127-0004.
Issued on: March 25, 2008.
Kathleen C. DeMeter,
Director, Office of Defects Investigation.
[FR Doc. E8-6455 Filed 3-27-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P