[Federal Register: November 23, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 225)]
[Notices]
[Page 70914]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr23no05-158]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2005-22970; Notice 1]
Les Entreprises Michel Corbeil Inc., Receipt of Petition for
Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance
Les Entreprises Michel Corbeil Inc. (Corbeil) has determined that
certain school buses that it produced in 2004 do not comply with S5.1
of 49 CFR 571.221, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No.
221, ``School bus body joint strength.'' Corbeil has filed an
appropriate report pursuant to 49 CFR Part 573, ``Defect and
Noncompliance Reports.''
Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h), Corbeil has petitioned
for an exemption from the notification and remedy requirements of 49
U.S.C. Chapter 301 on the basis that this noncompliance is
inconsequential to motor vehicle safety.
This notice of receipt of Corbeil'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.
Affected are a total of approximately 295 school buses produced
between May 3, 2004 and June 4, 2004. S5.1 of FMVSS No. 221 requires
that,
* * * each body panel joint * * * when tested in accordance with
the procedure of S6, shall hold the body panel to the member to
which it is joined when subjected to a force of 60 percent of the
tensile strength of the weakest joined body panel determined
pursuant to S6.2.
The longitudinal roof joint on some of the subject school buses
fails when tested according to the requirements of S5.1.
Corbeil believes that the noncompliance is inconsequential to motor
vehicle safety and that no corrective action is warranted. Corbeil
states that during the period of production of the subject school
buses, ``the production used expired glue.'' Corbeil estimates that 61
of the 295 buses could be affected, based on the number of expired glue
cartridges that were used.
Corbeil further states,
* * * repairs could affect the structural integrity of these
buses' roofs. If we proceed with repairs, we must remove the actual
MS polymer strips on the roof to reach the joints. This operation
requires us to preheat (300-600 [deg]F) the MS polymer strip (will
soften the MS polymer) but at the same time will cause a significant
urethane chemical modification and will affect the actual joint
strength. The roof joint is composed of urethane glue and this glue
will be affected if the temperature is higher than 194 [deg]F * * *
If our educated estimate is that only 61 buses on (sic) the 295
buses involved in this recall are affected, however they cannot be
individually identified. Also, during the test, the transverse joint
succeeded at 116% of the requirement and the longitudinal joint
failed only by 9% with 91% of the requirement. The objective of this
recall is to increase the strength of the joint. We presently
suspect that a retrofit could affect/damage the roof rather to (sic)
reinforce the joint.
Corbeil states that no accidents or injuries have occurred as a
result of this noncompliance.
Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and
arguments on the petition described above. Comments must refer to the
docket and notice number cited at the beginning of this notice and be
submitted by any of the following methods. Mail: Docket Management
Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, Nassif Building, Room PL-
401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, 20590-0001. Hand
Delivery: Room PL-401 on the plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400
Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC. It is requested, but not required,
that two copies of the comments be provided. The Docket Section is open
on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. except Federal Holidays. Comments
may be submitted electronically by logging onto the Docket Management
System Web site at http://dms.dot.gov. Click on ``Help'' to obtain
instructions for filing the document electronically. Comments may be
faxed to 1-202-493-2251, or may be submitted to the Federal eRulemaking
Portal: go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments.
The petition, supporting materials, and all comments received
before the close of business on the closing date indicated below will
be filed and will be considered. All comments and supporting materials
received after the closing date will also be filed and will be
considered to the extent possible. When the petition is granted or
denied, notice of the decision will be published in the Federal
Register pursuant to the authority indicated below.
Comment closing date: December 23, 2005.
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120: delegations of authority at
CFR 1.50 and 501.8.
Issued on: November 17, 2005.
Daniel C. Smith,
Associate Administrator for Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 05-23138 Filed 11-22-05; 8:45 am]
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