81_FR_70465 81 FR 70269 - Reports, Forms, and Record Keeping Requirements

81 FR 70269 - Reports, Forms, and Record Keeping Requirements

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 196 (October 11, 2016)

Page Range70269-70273
FR Document2016-24505

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICR describes the nature of the information collections and their expected burden. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period was published on June 27, 2016 (81 FR 41644).

Federal Register, Volume 81 Issue 196 (Tuesday, October 11, 2016)
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 196 (Tuesday, October 11, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70269-70273]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-24505]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[U.S. DOT Docket Number NHTSA-2016-0065]


Reports, Forms, and Record Keeping Requirements

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 
notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) 
abstracted below has been forwarded to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICR describes the nature of 
the information collections and their expected burden. The Federal 
Register Notice with a 60-day comment period was published on June 27, 
2016 (81 FR 41644).

DATES: Comments must be submitted to OMB on or before November 10, 
2016.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to the Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, OMB, 725 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20503, Attention: 
Desk Officer.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alex Ansley, Recall Management 
Division (NVS-215), Room W48-301, NHTSA, 1200 New Jersey Ave., 
Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: (202) 493-0481.

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: Extension of a currently approved information 
collection.
    OMB Control Number: 2127-0004.
    Affected Public: Businesses or individuals.
    Abstract: The 60-day notice for this information collection 
received one (1) comment submitted by Nissan North America, Inc. 
(Nissan). Nissan agreed with many of the estimates presented in the 60-
day notice but did offer substantive comments on six different 
estimates related to safety recall reporting and owner notification 
obligations. A summary of Nissan's comments are found below in the 
corresponding burden estimate along with the Agency's response.
    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.
    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

[[Page 70270]]

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.
    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). They also 
require the reporting to NHTSA of intentional and knowing sales or 
leases of defective or noncompliant tires.
    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.
    Estimated Burden: The approved information collection associated 
with 49 CFR part 573 and portions of 49 CFR part 577 presently holds an 
estimated annual burden of 46,138 hours associated with an estimated 
280 respondents per year. For information concerning how we calculated 
these estimates please see the Federal Register Notices 78 FR 51381 
(August 20, 2013).
    Our prior estimates of the number of manufacturers each year that 
would be required to provide information under 49 CFR part 573, the 
number of recalls for which 49 CFR part 573 information collection 
requirements would need to be met, and the number of burden hours 
associated with the requirements currently covered by this information 
collection require adjustment as explained below.
    Based on current information, we now estimate 275 distinct 
manufacturers filing an average of 854 Part 573 Safety Recall Reports 
each year. This is a change from our previous estimate of 680 Part 573 
Safety Recall Reports filed by 280 manufacturers each year.
    We originally estimated that it takes a manufacturer an average of 
4 hours to complete each notification report to NHTSA and that 
maintenance of the required owner, purchaser, dealer, and distributors 
lists requires 8 hours a year per manufacturer. Nissan commented that, 
in its experience, it spends ``. . . two (2) to (3) days (16-24 hours) 
to complete each Defect Information Report (DIR), based on an eight (8) 
hour day. This varies based on the size and complexity of the recall.'' 
We thank Nissan for its comment and do not disagree with its estimated 
burden for filing a Part 573 Recall Report (or ``DIR'' as referenced in 
Nissan's comment). However, most manufacturers who conduct safety 
recalls are not major, passenger vehicle manufacturers. And, generally, 
most other manufacturers include very few products in the average 
safety recall. We presume that, like Nissan, other major, passenger 
vehicle manufacturers require similar time and burden to prepare and 
file their reports due to the size and complexity of passenger vehicle 
recalls. As such, we estimate that major, passenger vehicle 
manufacturers will require 20 burden hours, the average of Nissan's 
estimate, to prepare and file their Part 573 Recall Reports.
    By utilizing the metric associated with NHTSA's VIN Look-up Tool 
regulation (See 49 CFR 573.15), we will associate a higher burden hour 
estimate for the major, passenger vehicle manufacturers who produce 
more than 25,000 vehicles annually. The seventeen (17) manufacturers 
that fit this annual production criterion recall many more products, on 
average, than other manufacturers. Between 2013 and 2015, the recalls 
for these major, passenger vehicle manufacturers (including Nissan) 
affected an average of 153,000 vehicles per recall. However, the 
recalls for all other manufacturers (including manufacturers for other 
vehicles and motor vehicle equipment such as tires, child seats, etc.), 
affected an average of 32,000 products per recall. Between 2013 and 
2015 the major, passenger vehicle manufacturers conducted an average of 
45 recalls annually.
    We estimate the annual burden hours related to the reporting to 
NHTSA of a safety defect or noncompliance for the seventeen major, 
passenger vehicle manufacturers to be 900 hours annually (45 notices x 
20 hours/report). We estimate all other manufacturers to require a 
total of 3,236 hours annually to file their notices (809 notices x 4 
hours/report). Accordingly, the estimated annual burden hours related 
to the reporting to NHTSA of a safety defect or noncompliance is 6,336 
hours (900 hours + 3,236 hours) + (275 MFRs x 8 hours to maintain 
purchaser lists).
    We also estimated an additional 2 hours would be needed to add to a 
manufacturer's Part 573 Safety Recall Report details relating to the 
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. Nissan commented that, in its 
experience and depending on the complexity of the recall, it 
``typically works up to five (5) business days/forty (40) hours to 
craft the Dealer announcement with the appropriate repair protocol and 
other essential information to provide to dealers. The announcement 
creation includes coordinating with multiple departments in order to 
notify and instruct the dealers/retailers on how to execute the 
remedy.'' Similar to the burden hour estimate for readying the Part 573 
Recall Report, we believe Nissan's estimate is realistic and should 
apply to the burden hour calculation for the major, passenger vehicle 
manufacturers. We believe, however, that most other manufacturers would 
require up to two hours readying this notification. This burden is now 
estimated at 3,418 hours annually (809 notices x 2 hours/notification + 
45 notices x 40 hours/notification).
    49 U.S.C. 30166(f) requires vehicle manufacturers to provide to the 
Agency copies of all communications regarding defects and 
noncompliances sent to owners, purchasers, and dealerships. 
Manufactures must index these communications by the year, make, and 
model of the vehicle as well as provide a concise summary of the 
subject of the communication. We estimate this burden requires 30 
minutes for each vehicle recall. This would total to an estimated 380 
hours annually (760 vehicle recalls x .5 hours). Nissan commented that 
they agreed with the Agency's estimate for this burden.

[[Page 70271]]

    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 
577.7(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. We believe our previous estimate of roughly 
80 equipment recalls per year needs to be adjusted to 95 equipment 
recalls per year to better reflect recent recall figures. 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 1,425 hours per year (95 recalls x 3 distributors x 5 
hours). We received no comments on this particular burden estimate.
    As for the burden linked with a manufacturer's preparation of and 
notification concerning its reimbursement for pre-notification 
remedies, we estimated that the preparation of a reimbursement plan 
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.
    Nissan commented that this requirement actually requires additional 
burden hours from various departments within the company. Nissan 
estimates that its Consumer Affairs department must maintain and update 
a reimbursement Web site which requires $24,000 annually. Further, 
updates to this Web site take approximately four (4) hours to complete, 
presumably per recall (but this is not clarified). Another twelve (12) 
annual hours are required to ``. . . . disseminate internal documents 
to Consumer Affairs staff . . .'' Nissan's Field Quality Assurance and 
Technical Compliance departments also spend a combined four and a half 
(4.5) hours, per recall, creating the reimbursement plan and adding 
specific language to the owner notification letter.
    We thank Nissan for its detailed burden estimate for this 
requirement. Regarding the Web site that Nissan operates for managing 
reimbursement submissions, this is not a current burden imposed by the 
regulation in 49 CFR 577.11. Manufacturers must disseminate 
reimbursement information to owners through the owner notification 
letter and provide owners a physical mailing address to submit any 
claims in writing. Manufacturers are not required to create or maintain 
a Web site for facilitating this pre-notification remedy requirement. 
As such, we will not include the $24,000 annual maintenance costs 
related to Nissan's Web site or the four (4) hours spent on updating 
the Web site.
    However, we do agree with Nissan regarding the four and a half 
(4.5) hours required to create the reimbursement plan and tailor the 
plan to each specific recall. We previously estimated a combined total 
of 10 hours for these items but we will use Nissan's estimate going 
forward. Also, we will add an additional 12 hours annually, as Nissan 
estimates, for each manufacturer to disseminate pre-notification 
reimbursement to their company staff.
    In sum, these required activities total 4,827 annual burden hours 
((275 MFRs x 4 hours to prepare plan) + (854 recalls x .5 hours 
tailoring plan for each recall) + (275 MFRs x 12 hours to disseminate 
plan information)).
    The Safety Act and 49 CFR part 573 also contain numerous 
information collection requirements specific to tire recall and remedy 
campaigns, as well as a statutory and regulatory reporting requirement 
that anyone who knowingly and intentionally sells or leases a defective 
or noncompliant tire notify NHTSA of that activity.
    Manufacturers are required to include specific information related 
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 they issue to their dealers or 
other tire outlets participating in the recall campaign. See 49 CFR 
573.6(c)(9). We now estimate that the Agency administers 12 tire 
recalls each year, on average, revised down from our previous estimate 
of 15 tire recall each year. We estimate that the 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 24 burden hours 
(12 tire recalls a year x 2 hours per recall).
    Manufacturer owned or controlled dealers are required to notify the 
manufacturer and provide certain information should they deviate from 
the manufacturer's disposal plan. Consistent with our 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 24 burden hours a year will be spent 
complying with the tire recall campaign requirements found in 49 CFR 
573.6(c)(9).
    Additionally, because the agency has yet to receive a single report 
of a defective or noncompliant tire being intentionally sold or leased, 
our previous estimate of zero burden hours remains unchanged with this 
notice. We received no comments regarding the burden estimates for tire 
disposal requirements or tire recall campaign requirements.
    The previous clearance for this information collection allowed for 
start-up costs for the Agency's VIN Look-up system and a new regulation 
that required manufacturers to create a VIN Look-up service on their 
respective Web sites. As these systems were launched successfully in 
August 2014, the start-up estimates for costs and burden will now be 
removed. The estimated costs to industry for one-time infrastructure 
expenses to create a VIN-based recalls lookup service consisting of 108 
hours, and costing a total of $45,000, will now be removed from this 
information collection.
    Each manufacturer was also required to establish requirements, 
analysis, and designs for their new recalls look-up tools. These 
additional burdens stemmed from: The creation of the VIN search 
interface; database setup to host the recall information; data refresh 
procedures to populate recall information; server side VIN code lookup 
and recall status retrieval; integration with existing manufacturer Web 
site; and application testing. We estimated these burdens to total 
1,332 hours and $130,005 and these costs will now be removed from this 
information collection.
    We continue to believe nine vehicle manufacturers, who did not 
operate

[[Page 70272]]

VIN-based recalls lookup systems prior to August 2013, incur certain 
recurring burdens on an annual basis. We estimate that 100 burden hours 
will be spent on system and database administrator support. These 100 
burden hours include: Backup data management and monitoring; database 
management, updates, and log management; and data transfer, archiving, 
quality assurance, and cleanup procedures. We estimate another 100 
burden hours will be incurred on web/application developer support. 
These burdens include: Operating system and security patch management; 
application/web server management; and application server system and 
log files management. We estimate these burdens will total 1,800 hours 
each year (9 MFRs x 200 hours). We estimate the recurring costs of 
these burden hours will be $30,000 per manufacturer.\1\ We continue to 
estimate that the total cost to the industry from these recurring 
expenses will total $270,000, on an annual basis (9 MFRs x $30,000). 
Nissan commented that they agreed with this estimate.
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    \1\ $8,000 (for data center hosting for the physical server) + 
$12,000 (for system and database administrator support) + $10,000 
(for web/application developer support) = $30,000.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Agency previously estimated one-time startup costs that 
manufacturers would assume in order to meet certain technical access 
requirements to provide recall information to NHTSA's Web site. We 
estimated that the total one-time costs to the industry from these 
technical access requirements would require 1,914 burden hours (27 MFRs 
x 72 hours) and total $189,270 (27 MFRs x $7,010) and we now remove 
these costs from this information collection.
    The Agency previously estimated one-time startup costs 
manufacturers incurred to create a VIN list for 15 years of recall 
information. We estimated that the total one-time costs to the industry 
from this VIN list creation would require 1,620 hours (27 MFRs x 60 
hours). We remove these costs from this information collection.
    Changes to 49 CFR part 573 in 2013 required 27 manufacturers to 
update each recalled vehicle's repair status no less than every 7 days, 
for 15 years from the date the VIN is known to be included in the 
recall. This ongoing requirement to update the status of a VIN for 15 
years continues to add a recurring burden on top of the one-time burden 
to implement and operate these online search tools. We calculate that 8 
affected motorcycle manufacturers will make recalled VINs available for 
an average of 2 recalls each year and 19 affected passenger vehicle 
manufacturers will make recalled VINs available for an average of 8 
recalls each year. We believe it will take no more than 1 hour, and 
potentially much less with automated systems, to update the VIN status 
of vehicles that have been remedied under the manufacturer's remedy 
program. We continue to estimate this will require 8,736 burden hours 
per year (1 hour x 2 recalls x 52 weeks x 8 MFRs + 1 hour x 8 recalls x 
52 weeks x 19 MFRs) to support the requirement to update the recalls 
completion status of each VIN in a recall at least weekly for 15 years. 
We received no comments on this estimate.
    As the number of Part 573 Recall Reports has increased in recent 
years, so has the number of quarterly reports which track the 
completion of safety recalls. Our previous estimate of 3,000 quarterly 
reports received annually is now revised up to an average of 3,800 
reports annually. Nissan commented that they spend an average of ten 
(10) minutes per quarterly report where we previously estimated 4 hours 
per report. We believe Nissan's estimate of 10 minutes is much more 
realistic as this process is likely automated through electronic 
reporting. As such, we will adopt Nissan's estimate of 10 minutes 
burden to gather the pertinent information for each quarterly report.
    Nissan further estimated that it requires one (1) additional hour 
each quarter to electronically submit all quarterly reports (for up to 
30 recalls in a given quarter) totaling another four (4) burden hours 
annually. As noted before, the major, passenger vehicle manufacturers 
often conduct more recalls affecting more vehicles and this can 
increase the quarterly reporting burden for those manufacturers. We 
will include an additional four (4) burden hours for the seventeen 
major, passenger vehicle manufacturers. The quarterly reporting burden 
now totals 701 hours ((3,800 quarterly reports x 10 minutes/report) + 
(17 MFRs x 4 hours for electronic submission)).
    NHTSA's last update to this information collection established a 
new online recalls portal for the submission of recall documents. We 
continue to estimate a small burden of 2 hours annually in order to set 
up a manufacturer's online recalls portal account with the pertinent 
contact information and maintaining/updating their account information 
as needed. We estimate this will require a total of 550 hours annually 
(2 hours x 275 MFRs). Nissan commented that they agree with this 
estimate.
    Also updated in the last revision to this information collection, 
NHTSA established a requirement that manufactures change or update 
recall components in their Part 573 Safety Recall Report. We continue 
to estimate that 20 percent of Part 573 reports will involve a change 
or addition. We originally estimated that this burden would require an 
additional 30 minutes per amended report. Nissan commented that this 
task requires up to one (1) hour per amended report. We believe 
Nissan's estimate of one hour is reasonable and we will adopt this 
estimated burden calculation. At one hour per amended report, this 
totals 171 burden hours per year (854 recalls x .20 = 171 recalls; 171 
x 1 = 171 hours).
    As to the requirement that manufacturers notify NHTSA in the event 
of a bankruptcy, we expect this notification to take an estimated 2 
hours to draft and submit to NHTSA. We continue to estimate that only 
10 manufacturers might submit such a notice to NHTSA each year, so we 
calculate the total burden at 20 hours (10 MFRs x 2 hours). We received 
no comments on this particular estimate.
    We continue to estimate that it takes manufacturers an average of 8 
hours to draft their notification letters, submit them to NHTSA for 
review, and then finalize them for mailing to their affected owners and 
purchasers. We estimate that the 49 CFR part 577 requirements result in 
6,832 burden hours annually (8 hours per recall x 854 recalls per 
year). Nissan commented that they agree with the Agency's estimate for 
this burden calculation.
    The estimate associated with the regulation which requires owner 
notifications within 60 days of filing a Part 573 Safety Recall Report 
remains must similarly be revised with an increase in recalls. We 
previously calculated that about 25 percent of past recalls did not 
include an owner notification mailing within 60 days of the filing of 
the Part 573 Safety Recall Report. However, recent trends show that 
only about 10 percent of recalls require an interim owner notification 
mailing. Under the regulation, manufacturers must send two letters in 
these cases: An interim notification of the defect or noncompliance 
within 60 days and a supplemental letter notifying owners and 
purchasers of the available remedy.
    We originally estimated these interim letters would require 8 
burden hours per recall (similar to the standard owner notification 
letters). However, Nissan commented that preparation of the interim 
letter can require up to ten (10) hours if the letter is complex in 
nature.

[[Page 70273]]

We believe Nissan's estimate of 10 hours is reasonable and we will 
adopt this estimate burden calculation. Accordingly, we estimate that 
850 burden hours are associated with this 60-day interim notification 
requirement (854 recalls x .10 = 85 recalls; 85 recalls times 10 hours 
per recall = 850 hours).
    As for costs associated with notifying owners and purchasers of 
recalls, we continue to estimate this costs $1.50 per first class mail 
notification, on average. This cost estimate includes the costs of 
printing, mailing, as well as the costs vehicle manufacturers may pay 
to third-party vendors to acquire the names and addresses of the 
current registered owners from state and territory departments of motor 
vehicles. In reviewing recent recall figures, we determined that an 
estimated 58.4 million letters are mailed yearly totaling $87,600,000 
($1.50 per letter x 58,400,000 letters). The requirement in 49 CFR part 
577 for a manufacturer to notify their affected customers within 60 
days would add an additional $8,760,000 (58,400,000 letters x .10 
requiring interim owner notifications = 5,840,000 letters; 5,840,000 x 
$1.50 = $8,760,000). In total we estimate that the current 49 CFR part 
577 requirements cost manufacturers a total of $96,360,000 annually 
($87,600,000 owner notification letters + $8,760,000 interim 
notification letters = $96,360,000). Nissan commented that they agree 
with the Agency's estimate for this cost estimate.
    Due to the past burdens associated with the requirement that 
certain vehicle manufacturers setup VIN Look-up systems for their 
recalled vehicles, many estimates have been removed from this 
information collection as these burdens and costs have already 
occurred. The 49 CFR part 573 and 49 CFR part 577 requirements found in 
today's notice will require 36,070 hours each year for OMB Control 
Number 2127-0004, a decrease of 10,068 burden hours from the previously 
approved collection of 46,138 hours. Additionally, manufacturers 
impacted by 49 CFR part 573 and 49 CFR part 577 requirements will incur 
a recurring annual cost estimated at $96,630,000 total.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: NHTSA receives reports of defect 
or noncompliance from roughly 275 manufacturers per year. Accordingly, 
we estimate that there will be approximately 275 manufacturers per year 
filing defect or noncompliance reports and completing the other 
information collection responsibilities associated with those filings.
    In summary, we estimate that there will be a total of 275 
respondents per year associated with OMB No. 2127-0004.

    Issued on: October 4, 2016.
Michael L. Brown,
Acting Director, Office of Defects Investigation.
[FR Doc. 2016-24505 Filed 10-7-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P



                                                                                 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 196 / Tuesday, October 11, 2016 / Notices                                         70269

                                                      Removed Burdens— Our previous                         DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION                             (iv) how to minimize the burden of
                                                    renewal of this collection included one-                                                                      the collection of information on those
                                                    time cost estimates associated with                     National Highway Traffic Safety                       who are to respond, including the use
                                                    adding a new vehicle type, fuel and/or                  Administration                                        of appropriate automated, electronic,
                                                    propulsion system type, and four new                    [U.S. DOT Docket Number NHTSA–2016–                   mechanical, or other technological
                                                    components (stability control, forward                  0065]                                                 collection techniques or other forms of
                                                    collision avoidance, lane departure                                                                           information technology, e.g. permitting
                                                    prevention, and backover prevention) to                 Reports, Forms, and Record Keeping                    electronic submission of responses.
                                                                                                            Requirements                                             In compliance with these
                                                    vehicle EWR reporting. These one-time
                                                                                                                                                                  requirements, NHTSA asks for public
                                                    costs were estimated for manufacturers                  AGENCY: National Highway Traffic                      comments on the following collection of
                                                    to amend their reporting templates and                  Safety Administration (NHTSA), U.S.                   information:
                                                    revise their software system to support                 Department of Transportation.                            Title: Defect and Noncompliance
                                                    the new reporting requirements. See 78                  ACTION: Notice.                                       Reporting and Notification.
                                                    FR 51415. Manufacturers were required                                                                            Type of Request: Extension of a
                                                    to make these changes to their vehicle                  SUMMARY:    In compliance with the                    currently approved information
                                                    EWR reporting by January 1, 2015. See                   Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this                 collection.
                                                    79 FR 47591. As these one-time costs                    notice announces that the Information                    OMB Control Number: 2127–0004.
                                                    have already been incurred and                          Collection Request (ICR) abstracted                      Affected Public: Businesses or
                                                    manufacturers have already made the                     below has been forwarded to the Office                individuals.
                                                    necessary modifications to their                        of Management and Budget (OMB) for                       Abstract: The 60-day notice for this
                                                    systems, a total of 39,296 burden hours                 review and comment. The ICR describes                 information collection received one (1)
                                                                                                            the nature of the information collections             comment submitted by Nissan North
                                                    and $4.57 million dollars will be
                                                                                                            and their expected burden. The Federal                America, Inc. (Nissan). Nissan agreed
                                                    removed from this collection.
                                                                                                            Register Notice with a 60-day comment                 with many of the estimates presented in
                                                      Summary of Burden Estimate—Based                      period was published on June 27, 2016                 the 60-day notice but did offer
                                                    on the foregoing, we estimate the                       (81 FR 41644).                                        substantive comments on six different
                                                    burden hours for industry to comply                     DATES: Comments must be submitted to                  estimates related to safety recall
                                                    with the current EWR requirements,                      OMB on or before November 10, 2016.                   reporting and owner notification
                                                    foreign campaign requirements and Part                                                                        obligations. A summary of Nissan’s
                                                                                                            ADDRESSES: Send comments to the
                                                    579.5 requirements total 49,243 burden                                                                        comments are found below in the
                                                                                                            Office of Information and Regulatory
                                                    hours (47,514 for EWR requirements +                                                                          corresponding burden estimate along
                                                                                                            Affairs, OMB, 725 17th Street NW.,
                                                    1,146 hours for foreign campaign                                                                              with the Agency’s response.
                                                                                                            Washington, DC 20503, Attention: Desk                    This collection covers the information
                                                    requirements + 583 hours for Part                       Officer.
                                                    579.5). This is a decrease of 35,950                                                                          collection requirements found within
                                                                                                            FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alex                 various statutory sections in the Motor
                                                    hours from the currently approved                       Ansley, Recall Management Division
                                                    collection, mostly due to the one-time                                                                        Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 (Act), 49
                                                                                                            (NVS–215), Room W48–301, NHTSA,                       U.S.C. 30101, et seq., that address and
                                                    costs we previously estimated and have                  1200 New Jersey Ave., Washington, DC                  require manufacturer notifications to
                                                    now removed from this collection. We                    20590. Telephone: (202) 493–0481.                     NHTSA of safety-related defects and
                                                    now estimate the cost burden for current
                                                                                                            SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the                  failures to comply with Federal Motor
                                                    EWR requirements, foreign campaign                      Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,                      Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) in
                                                    requirements, and Part 579.5                            before an agency submits a proposed                   motor vehicles and motor vehicle
                                                    requirements to total $6,784,092                        collection of information to OMB for                  equipment, as well as the provision of
                                                    annually.                                               approval, it must first publish a                     particular information related to the
                                                      Estimated Number of Respondents—                      document in the Federal Register                      ensuing owner and dealers notifications
                                                    NHTSA receives EWR submissions,                         providing a 60-day comment period and                 and free remedy campaigns that follow
                                                    foreign campaigns, and Part 579.5                       otherwise consult with members of the                 those notifications.
                                                    submissions from roughly 292                            public and affected agencies concerning                  Pursuant to the Act, motor vehicle
                                                    manufacturers per year.                                 each proposed collection of information.              and motor vehicle equipment
                                                                                                            The OMB has promulgated regulations                   manufacturers are obligated to notify,
                                                      In summary, we estimate that there
                                                                                                            describing what must be included in                   and then provide various information
                                                    will be a total of 292 respondents per                  such a document. Under OMB’s                          and documents, to NHTSA in the event
                                                    year associated with OMB No. 2127–                      regulation, see 5 CFR 1320.8(d), an                   a safety defect or noncompliance with
                                                    0616.                                                   agency must ask for public comment on                 Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards
                                                      Issued on: October 4, 2016.                           the following:                                        (FMVSS) is identified in products they
                                                    Michael L. Brown,                                         (i) Whether the proposed collection of              manufactured. See 49 U.S.C. 30118(b)
                                                    Acting Director, Office of Defects                      information is necessary for the proper               and 49 CFR 573.6 (requiring
                                                    Investigation.                                          performance of the functions of the                   manufacturers to notify NHTSA, and
                                                    [FR Doc. 2016–24526 Filed 10–7–16; 8:45 am]
                                                                                                            agency, including whether the                         provide certain information, when they
                                                                                                            information will have practical utility;              learn of a safety defect or
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                                                    BILLING CODE 4910–59–P
                                                                                                              (ii) the accuracy of the agency’s                   noncompliance). Manufacturers are
                                                                                                            estimate of the burden of the proposed                further required to notify owners,
                                                                                                            collection of information, including the              purchasers, dealers and distributors
                                                                                                            validity of the methodology and                       about the safety defect or
                                                                                                            assumptions used;                                     noncompliance. See 49 U.S.C. 30118(b),
                                                                                                              (iii) how to enhance the quality,                   30120(a), and 49 CFR 577.7, 577.13.
                                                                                                            utility, and clarity of the information to            They are required to provide to NHTSA
                                                                                                            be collected; and                                     copies of communications pertaining to


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                                                    70270                        Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 196 / Tuesday, October 11, 2016 / Notices

                                                    recall campaigns that they issue to                        Our prior estimates of the number of               child seats, etc.), affected an average of
                                                    owners, purchasers, dealers, and                        manufacturers each year that would be                 32,000 products per recall. Between
                                                    distributors. See 49 U.S.C. 30166(f) and                required to provide information under                 2013 and 2015 the major, passenger
                                                    49 CFR 573.6(c)(10).                                    49 CFR part 573, the number of recalls                vehicle manufacturers conducted an
                                                       Manufacturers are also required to file              for which 49 CFR part 573 information                 average of 45 recalls annually.
                                                    with NHTSA a plan explaining how                        collection requirements would need to                   We estimate the annual burden hours
                                                    they intend to reimburse owners and                     be met, and the number of burden hours                related to the reporting to NHTSA of a
                                                    purchasers who paid to have their                       associated with the requirements                      safety defect or noncompliance for the
                                                    products remedied before being notified                 currently covered by this information                 seventeen major, passenger vehicle
                                                    of the safety defect or noncompliance,                  collection require adjustment as                      manufacturers to be 900 hours annually
                                                    and explain that plan in the                            explained below.                                      (45 notices × 20 hours/report). We
                                                    notifications they issue to owners and                     Based on current information, we now               estimate all other manufacturers to
                                                    purchasers about the safety defect or                   estimate 275 distinct manufacturers                   require a total of 3,236 hours annually
                                                    noncompliance. See 49 U.S.C. 30120(d)                   filing an average of 854 Part 573 Safety              to file their notices (809 notices × 4
                                                    and 49 CFR 573.13. They are further                     Recall Reports each year. This is a                   hours/report). Accordingly, the
                                                    required to keep lists of the respective                change from our previous estimate of                  estimated annual burden hours related
                                                    owners, purchasers, dealers,                            680 Part 573 Safety Recall Reports filed              to the reporting to NHTSA of a safety
                                                    distributors, lessors, and lessees of the               by 280 manufacturers each year.                       defect or noncompliance is 6,336 hours
                                                    products determined to be defective or                     We originally estimated that it takes a            (900 hours + 3,236 hours) + (275 MFRs
                                                    noncompliant and involved in a recall                   manufacturer an average of 4 hours to                 × 8 hours to maintain purchaser lists).
                                                    campaign, and are required to provide                   complete each notification report to                    We also estimated an additional 2
                                                    NHTSA with a minimum of six                             NHTSA and that maintenance of the                     hours would be needed to add to a
                                                    quarterly reports reporting on the                      required owner, purchaser, dealer, and                manufacturer’s Part 573 Safety Recall
                                                    progress of their recall campaigns. See                 distributors lists requires 8 hours a year            Report details relating to the intended
                                                    49 CFR 573.8 and 573.7, respectively.                   per manufacturer. Nissan commented                    schedule for notifying its dealers and
                                                                                                            that, in its experience, it spends ‘‘. . .            distributors, and tailoring its
                                                       The Act and Part 573 also contain
                                                                                                            two (2) to (3) days (16–24 hours) to                  notifications to dealers and distributors
                                                    numerous information collection
                                                                                                            complete each Defect Information                      in accordance with the requirements of
                                                    requirements specific to tire recall and
                                                                                                            Report (DIR), based on an eight (8) hour              49 CFR 577.13. Nissan commented that,
                                                    remedy campaigns. These requirements
                                                                                                            day. This varies based on the size and                in its experience and depending on the
                                                    relate to the proper disposal of recalled
                                                                                                            complexity of the recall.’’ We thank                  complexity of the recall, it ‘‘typically
                                                    tires, including a requirement that the                 Nissan for its comment and do not                     works up to five (5) business days/forty
                                                    manufacturer conducting the tire recall                 disagree with its estimated burden for                (40) hours to craft the Dealer
                                                    submit a plan and provide specific                      filing a Part 573 Recall Report (or ‘‘DIR’’           announcement with the appropriate
                                                    instructions to certain persons (such as                as referenced in Nissan’s comment).                   repair protocol and other essential
                                                    dealers and distributors) addressing that               However, most manufacturers who                       information to provide to dealers. The
                                                    disposal, and a requirement that those                  conduct safety recalls are not major,                 announcement creation includes
                                                    persons report back to the manufacturer                 passenger vehicle manufacturers. And,                 coordinating with multiple departments
                                                    certain deviations from the plan. See 49                generally, most other manufacturers                   in order to notify and instruct the
                                                    U.S.C. 30120(d) and 49 CFR 573.6(c)(9).                 include very few products in the                      dealers/retailers on how to execute the
                                                    They also require the reporting to                      average safety recall. We presume that,               remedy.’’ Similar to the burden hour
                                                    NHTSA of intentional and knowing                        like Nissan, other major, passenger                   estimate for readying the Part 573 Recall
                                                    sales or leases of defective or                         vehicle manufacturers require similar                 Report, we believe Nissan’s estimate is
                                                    noncompliant tires.                                     time and burden to prepare and file                   realistic and should apply to the burden
                                                       49 U.S.C. 30166(n), and its                          their reports due to the size and                     hour calculation for the major,
                                                    implementing regulation found at 49                     complexity of passenger vehicle recalls.              passenger vehicle manufacturers. We
                                                    CFR 573.10, mandates that anyone who                    As such, we estimate that major,                      believe, however, that most other
                                                    knowingly and willfully sells or leases                 passenger vehicle manufacturers will                  manufacturers would require up to two
                                                    for use on a motor vehicle a defective                  require 20 burden hours, the average of               hours readying this notification. This
                                                    tire or a tire that is not compliant with               Nissan’s estimate, to prepare and file                burden is now estimated at 3,418 hours
                                                    FMVSS, and with actual knowledge that                   their Part 573 Recall Reports.                        annually (809 notices × 2 hours/
                                                    the tire manufacturer has notified its                     By utilizing the metric associated                 notification + 45 notices × 40 hours/
                                                    dealers of the defect or noncompliance                  with NHTSA’s VIN Look-up Tool                         notification).
                                                    as required under the Act, is required to               regulation (See 49 CFR 573.15), we will                 49 U.S.C. 30166(f) requires vehicle
                                                    report that sale or lease to NHTSA no                   associate a higher burden hour estimate               manufacturers to provide to the Agency
                                                    more than five working days after the                   for the major, passenger vehicle                      copies of all communications regarding
                                                    person to whom the tire was sold or                     manufacturers who produce more than                   defects and noncompliances sent to
                                                    leased takes possession of it.                          25,000 vehicles annually. The seventeen               owners, purchasers, and dealerships.
                                                       Estimated Burden: The approved                       (17) manufacturers that fit this annual               Manufactures must index these
                                                    information collection associated with                  production criterion recall many more                 communications by the year, make, and
                                                    49 CFR part 573 and portions of 49 CFR                  products, on average, than other                      model of the vehicle as well as provide
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                                                    part 577 presently holds an estimated                   manufacturers. Between 2013 and 2015,                 a concise summary of the subject of the
                                                    annual burden of 46,138 hours                           the recalls for these major, passenger                communication. We estimate this
                                                    associated with an estimated 280                        vehicle manufacturers (including                      burden requires 30 minutes for each
                                                    respondents per year. For information                   Nissan) affected an average of 153,000                vehicle recall. This would total to an
                                                    concerning how we calculated these                      vehicles per recall. However, the recalls             estimated 380 hours annually (760
                                                    estimates please see the Federal                        for all other manufacturers (including                vehicle recalls × .5 hours). Nissan
                                                    Register Notices 78 FR 51381 (August                    manufacturers for other vehicles and                  commented that they agreed with the
                                                    20, 2013).                                              motor vehicle equipment such as tires,                Agency’s estimate for this burden.


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                                                                                 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 196 / Tuesday, October 11, 2016 / Notices                                         70271

                                                       In the event a manufacturer supplied                 to Consumer Affairs staff . . .’’ Nissan’s            two hours of effort beyond the subtotal
                                                    the defect or noncompliant product to                   Field Quality Assurance and Technical                 above associated with non-tire recall
                                                    independent dealers through                             Compliance departments also spend a                   campaigns. This additional effort
                                                    independent distributors, that                          combined four and a half (4.5) hours,                 consists of one hour for the NHTSA
                                                    manufacturer is required to include in                  per recall, creating the reimbursement                notification and one hour for the dealer
                                                    its notifications to those distributors an              plan and adding specific language to the              notification for a total of 24 burden
                                                    instruction that the distributors are to                owner notification letter.                            hours (12 tire recalls a year × 2 hours
                                                    then provide copies of the                                 We thank Nissan for its detailed                   per recall).
                                                    manufacturer’s notification of the defect               burden estimate for this requirement.                    Manufacturer owned or controlled
                                                    or noncompliance to all known                           Regarding the Web site that Nissan                    dealers are required to notify the
                                                    distributors or retail outlets further                  operates for managing reimbursement                   manufacturer and provide certain
                                                    down the distribution chain within five                 submissions, this is not a current                    information should they deviate from
                                                    working days. See 49 CFR                                burden imposed by the regulation in 49                the manufacturer’s disposal plan.
                                                    577.7(c)(2)(iv). As a practical matter,                 CFR 577.11. Manufacturers must                        Consistent with our previous analysis,
                                                    this requirement would only apply to                    disseminate reimbursement information                 we continue to ascribe zero burden
                                                    equipment manufacturers since vehicle                   to owners through the owner                           hours to this requirement since to date
                                                    manufacturers generally sell and lease                  notification letter and provide owners a              no such reports have been provided and
                                                    vehicles through a dealer network, and                  physical mailing address to submit any                our original expectation that dealers
                                                    not through independent distributors.                   claims in writing. Manufacturers are not              would comply with manufacturers’
                                                    We believe our previous estimate of                     required to create or maintain a Web site             plans has proven true.
                                                    roughly 80 equipment recalls per year                   for facilitating this pre-notification                   Accordingly, we estimate 24 burden
                                                    needs to be adjusted to 95 equipment                    remedy requirement. As such, we will                  hours a year will be spent complying
                                                    recalls per year to better reflect recent               not include the $24,000 annual                        with the tire recall campaign
                                                    recall figures. Although the distributors               maintenance costs related to Nissan’s                 requirements found in 49 CFR
                                                    are not technically under any regulatory                Web site or the four (4) hours spent on               573.6(c)(9).
                                                    requirement to follow that instruction,                 updating the Web site.                                   Additionally, because the agency has
                                                    we expect that they will, and have                         However, we do agree with Nissan                   yet to receive a single report of a
                                                    estimated the burden associated with                    regarding the four and a half (4.5) hours             defective or noncompliant tire being
                                                    these notifications (identifying retail                 required to create the reimbursement                  intentionally sold or leased, our
                                                    outlets, making copies of the                           plan and tailor the plan to each specific             previous estimate of zero burden hours
                                                    manufacturer’s notice, and mailing) to                  recall. We previously estimated a                     remains unchanged with this notice. We
                                                    be 5 hours per recall campaign.                         combined total of 10 hours for these                  received no comments regarding the
                                                    Assuming an average of 3 distributors                   items but we will use Nissan’s estimate               burden estimates for tire disposal
                                                    per equipment item, (which is a liberal                 going forward. Also, we will add an                   requirements or tire recall campaign
                                                    estimate given that many equipment                      additional 12 hours annually, as Nissan               requirements.
                                                    manufacturers do not use independent                    estimates, for each manufacturer to                      The previous clearance for this
                                                    distributors) the total number of burden                disseminate pre-notification                          information collection allowed for start-
                                                    hours associated with this third party                  reimbursement to their company staff.                 up costs for the Agency’s VIN Look-up
                                                    notification burden is approximately                       In sum, these required activities total            system and a new regulation that
                                                    1,425 hours per year (95 recalls × 3                    4,827 annual burden hours ((275 MFRs                  required manufacturers to create a VIN
                                                    distributors × 5 hours). We received no                 × 4 hours to prepare plan) + (854 recalls             Look-up service on their respective Web
                                                    comments on this particular burden                      × .5 hours tailoring plan for each recall)            sites. As these systems were launched
                                                    estimate.                                               + (275 MFRs × 12 hours to disseminate                 successfully in August 2014, the start-
                                                       As for the burden linked with a                      plan information)).                                   up estimates for costs and burden will
                                                    manufacturer’s preparation of and                          The Safety Act and 49 CFR part 573                 now be removed. The estimated costs to
                                                    notification concerning its                             also contain numerous information                     industry for one-time infrastructure
                                                    reimbursement for pre-notification                      collection requirements specific to tire              expenses to create a VIN-based recalls
                                                    remedies, we estimated that the                         recall and remedy campaigns, as well as               lookup service consisting of 108 hours,
                                                    preparation of a reimbursement plan                     a statutory and regulatory reporting                  and costing a total of $45,000, will now
                                                    takes approximately 8 hours annually,                   requirement that anyone who                           be removed from this information
                                                    and that an additional 2 hours per year                 knowingly and intentionally sells or                  collection.
                                                    is spent tailoring the plan to particular               leases a defective or noncompliant tire                  Each manufacturer was also required
                                                    defect and noncompliance notifications                  notify NHTSA of that activity.                        to establish requirements, analysis, and
                                                    to NHTSA and adding tailored language                      Manufacturers are required to include              designs for their new recalls look-up
                                                    about the plan to a particular safety                   specific information related to tire                  tools. These additional burdens
                                                    recall’s owner notification letters.                    disposal in the notifications they                    stemmed from: The creation of the VIN
                                                       Nissan commented that this                           provide NHTSA concerning                              search interface; database setup to host
                                                    requirement actually requires additional                identification of a safety defect or                  the recall information; data refresh
                                                    burden hours from various departments                   noncompliance with FMVSS in their                     procedures to populate recall
                                                    within the company. Nissan estimates                    tires, as well as in the notifications they           information; server side VIN code
                                                    that its Consumer Affairs department                    issue to their dealers or other tire outlets          lookup and recall status retrieval;
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                                                    must maintain and update a                              participating in the recall campaign. See             integration with existing manufacturer
                                                    reimbursement Web site which requires                   49 CFR 573.6(c)(9). We now estimate                   Web site; and application testing. We
                                                    $24,000 annually. Further, updates to                   that the Agency administers 12 tire                   estimated these burdens to total 1,332
                                                    this Web site take approximately four                   recalls each year, on average, revised                hours and $130,005 and these costs will
                                                    (4) hours to complete, presumably per                   down from our previous estimate of 15                 now be removed from this information
                                                    recall (but this is not clarified). Another             tire recall each year. We estimate that               collection.
                                                    twelve (12) annual hours are required to                the inclusion of this additional                         We continue to believe nine vehicle
                                                    ‘‘. . . . disseminate internal documents                information will require an additional                manufacturers, who did not operate


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                                                    70272                        Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 196 / Tuesday, October 11, 2016 / Notices

                                                    VIN-based recalls lookup systems prior                  average of 2 recalls each year and 19                    Also updated in the last revision to
                                                    to August 2013, incur certain recurring                 affected passenger vehicle                            this information collection, NHTSA
                                                    burdens on an annual basis. We                          manufacturers will make recalled VINs                 established a requirement that
                                                    estimate that 100 burden hours will be                  available for an average of 8 recalls each            manufactures change or update recall
                                                    spent on system and database                            year. We believe it will take no more                 components in their Part 573 Safety
                                                    administrator support. These 100                        than 1 hour, and potentially much less                Recall Report. We continue to estimate
                                                    burden hours include: Backup data                       with automated systems, to update the                 that 20 percent of Part 573 reports will
                                                    management and monitoring; database                     VIN status of vehicles that have been                 involve a change or addition. We
                                                    management, updates, and log                            remedied under the manufacturer’s                     originally estimated that this burden
                                                    management; and data transfer,                          remedy program. We continue to                        would require an additional 30 minutes
                                                    archiving, quality assurance, and                       estimate this will require 8,736 burden               per amended report. Nissan commented
                                                    cleanup procedures. We estimate                         hours per year (1 hour × 2 recalls × 52               that this task requires up to one (1) hour
                                                    another 100 burden hours will be                        weeks × 8 MFRs + 1 hour × 8 recalls ×                 per amended report. We believe
                                                    incurred on web/application developer                   52 weeks × 19 MFRs) to support the                    Nissan’s estimate of one hour is
                                                    support. These burdens include:                         requirement to update the recalls                     reasonable and we will adopt this
                                                    Operating system and security patch                     completion status of each VIN in a recall             estimated burden calculation. At one
                                                    management; application/web server                      at least weekly for 15 years. We received             hour per amended report, this totals 171
                                                    management; and application server                      no comments on this estimate.                         burden hours per year (854 recalls × .20
                                                    system and log files management. We                        As the number of Part 573 Recall                   = 171 recalls; 171 × 1 = 171 hours).
                                                    estimate these burdens will total 1,800                 Reports has increased in recent years, so                As to the requirement that
                                                    hours each year (9 MFRs × 200 hours).                   has the number of quarterly reports                   manufacturers notify NHTSA in the
                                                    We estimate the recurring costs of these                which track the completion of safety                  event of a bankruptcy, we expect this
                                                    burden hours will be $30,000 per                        recalls. Our previous estimate of 3,000               notification to take an estimated 2 hours
                                                    manufacturer.1 We continue to estimate                  quarterly reports received annually is                to draft and submit to NHTSA. We
                                                    that the total cost to the industry from                now revised up to an average of 3,800                 continue to estimate that only 10
                                                    these recurring expenses will total                     reports annually. Nissan commented                    manufacturers might submit such a
                                                    $270,000, on an annual basis (9 MFRs                    that they spend an average of ten (10)                notice to NHTSA each year, so we
                                                    × $30,000). Nissan commented that they                  minutes per quarterly report where we                 calculate the total burden at 20 hours
                                                    agreed with this estimate.                              previously estimated 4 hours per report.              (10 MFRs × 2 hours). We received no
                                                      The Agency previously estimated one-                  We believe Nissan’s estimate of 10                    comments on this particular estimate.
                                                    time startup costs that manufacturers                                                                            We continue to estimate that it takes
                                                                                                            minutes is much more realistic as this
                                                    would assume in order to meet certain                                                                         manufacturers an average of 8 hours to
                                                                                                            process is likely automated through
                                                    technical access requirements to                                                                              draft their notification letters, submit
                                                                                                            electronic reporting. As such, we will
                                                    provide recall information to NHTSA’s                                                                         them to NHTSA for review, and then
                                                                                                            adopt Nissan’s estimate of 10 minutes                 finalize them for mailing to their
                                                    Web site. We estimated that the total                   burden to gather the pertinent
                                                    one-time costs to the industry from                                                                           affected owners and purchasers. We
                                                                                                            information for each quarterly report.                estimate that the 49 CFR part 577
                                                    these technical access requirements                        Nissan further estimated that it                   requirements result in 6,832 burden
                                                    would require 1,914 burden hours (27                    requires one (1) additional hour each                 hours annually (8 hours per recall × 854
                                                    MFRs × 72 hours) and total $189,270 (27                 quarter to electronically submit all                  recalls per year). Nissan commented
                                                    MFRs × $7,010) and we now remove                        quarterly reports (for up to 30 recalls in            that they agree with the Agency’s
                                                    these costs from this information                       a given quarter) totaling another four (4)            estimate for this burden calculation.
                                                    collection.                                             burden hours annually. As noted before,                  The estimate associated with the
                                                       The Agency previously estimated one-                 the major, passenger vehicle                          regulation which requires owner
                                                    time startup costs manufacturers                        manufacturers often conduct more                      notifications within 60 days of filing a
                                                    incurred to create a VIN list for 15 years              recalls affecting more vehicles and this              Part 573 Safety Recall Report remains
                                                    of recall information. We estimated that                can increase the quarterly reporting                  must similarly be revised with an
                                                    the total one-time costs to the industry                burden for those manufacturers. We will               increase in recalls. We previously
                                                    from this VIN list creation would                       include an additional four (4) burden                 calculated that about 25 percent of past
                                                    require 1,620 hours (27 MFRs × 60                       hours for the seventeen major, passenger              recalls did not include an owner
                                                    hours). We remove these costs from this                 vehicle manufacturers. The quarterly                  notification mailing within 60 days of
                                                    information collection.                                 reporting burden now totals 701 hours                 the filing of the Part 573 Safety Recall
                                                       Changes to 49 CFR part 573 in 2013                   ((3,800 quarterly reports × 10 minutes/               Report. However, recent trends show
                                                    required 27 manufacturers to update                     report) + (17 MFRs × 4 hours for                      that only about 10 percent of recalls
                                                    each recalled vehicle’s repair status no                electronic submission)).                              require an interim owner notification
                                                    less than every 7 days, for 15 years from                  NHTSA’s last update to this                        mailing. Under the regulation,
                                                    the date the VIN is known to be                         information collection established a                  manufacturers must send two letters in
                                                    included in the recall. This ongoing                    new online recalls portal for the                     these cases: An interim notification of
                                                    requirement to update the status of a                   submission of recall documents. We                    the defect or noncompliance within 60
                                                    VIN for 15 years continues to add a                     continue to estimate a small burden of                days and a supplemental letter notifying
                                                    recurring burden on top of the one-time                 2 hours annually in order to set up a                 owners and purchasers of the available
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                                                    burden to implement and operate these                   manufacturer’s online recalls portal                  remedy.
                                                    online search tools. We calculate that 8                account with the pertinent contact                       We originally estimated these interim
                                                    affected motorcycle manufacturers will                  information and maintaining/updating                  letters would require 8 burden hours per
                                                    make recalled VINs available for an                     their account information as needed. We               recall (similar to the standard owner
                                                      1 $8,000 (for data center hosting for the physical
                                                                                                            estimate this will require a total of 550             notification letters). However, Nissan
                                                    server) + $12,000 (for system and database
                                                                                                            hours annually (2 hours × 275 MFRs).                  commented that preparation of the
                                                    administrator support) + $10,000 (for web/              Nissan commented that they agree with                 interim letter can require up to ten (10)
                                                    application developer support) = $30,000.               this estimate.                                        hours if the letter is complex in nature.


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                                                                                 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 196 / Tuesday, October 11, 2016 / Notices                                                70273

                                                    We believe Nissan’s estimate of 10                      year associated with OMB No. 2127–                      Issued in Washington, DC, on October 4,
                                                    hours is reasonable and we will adopt                   0004.                                                 2016, under authority delegated in 49 CFR
                                                    this estimate burden calculation.                                                                             part 107.
                                                                                                              Issued on: October 4, 2016.
                                                    Accordingly, we estimate that 850                                                                             William S. Schoonover,
                                                                                                            Michael L. Brown,
                                                    burden hours are associated with this                                                                         Acting Associate Administrator, Pipeline and
                                                                                                            Acting Director, Office of Defects                    Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
                                                    60-day interim notification requirement                 Investigation.
                                                    (854 recalls × .10 = 85 recalls; 85 recalls                                                                   [FR Doc. 2016–24417 Filed 10–7–16; 8:45 am]
                                                                                                            [FR Doc. 2016–24505 Filed 10–7–16; 8:45 am]
                                                    times 10 hours per recall = 850 hours).                                                                       BILLING CODE 4910–60–P
                                                       As for costs associated with notifying               BILLING CODE 4910–59–P

                                                    owners and purchasers of recalls, we
                                                    continue to estimate this costs $1.50 per                                                                     DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
                                                    first class mail notification, on average.              DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
                                                    This cost estimate includes the costs of                                                                      Office of the Secretary
                                                                                                            Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
                                                    printing, mailing, as well as the costs                 Safety Administration
                                                    vehicle manufacturers may pay to third-                                                                       Port Performance Freight Statistics
                                                    party vendors to acquire the names and                                                                        Working Group
                                                    addresses of the current registered                     [Docket No. PHMSA 2016–0094; Notice No.
                                                                                                            2016–17]                                              AGENCY:   Bureau of Transportation
                                                    owners from state and territory                                                                               Statistics (BTS), Office of the Assistant
                                                    departments of motor vehicles. In                       Hazardous Materials: Proposed                         Secretary for Research and Technology
                                                    reviewing recent recall figures, we                     Termination of EX Classification                      (OST–R), U.S. Department of
                                                    determined that an estimated 58.4                       Approval EX1987030326                                 Transportation (USDOT).
                                                    million letters are mailed yearly totaling
                                                                                                                                                                  ACTION: Port Performance Freight
                                                    $87,600,000 ($1.50 per letter ×                         AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous                        Statistics Working Group: notice of
                                                    58,400,000 letters). The requirement in                 Materials Safety Administration                       public meeting and public comment
                                                    49 CFR part 577 for a manufacturer to                   (PHMSA), DOT.                                         period on draft work plan.
                                                    notify their affected customers within
                                                    60 days would add an additional                         ACTION:   Notice.
                                                                                                                                                                  SUMMARY:   This notice announces an
                                                    $8,760,000 (58,400,000 letters × .10                                                                          upcoming meeting of the Port
                                                    requiring interim owner notifications =                 SUMMARY:    PHMSA proposes to terminate
                                                                                                            EX classification approval                            Performance Freight Statistics Working
                                                    5,840,000 letters; 5,840,000 × $1.50 =                                                                        Group (hereafter, ‘‘Working Group’’).
                                                    $8,760,000). In total we estimate that the              EX1987030326, issued to BHT Products,
                                                                                                            Inc. for a Division 4.1 classification. In            The Working Group will provide advice
                                                    current 49 CFR part 577 requirements                                                                          and recommendations to the BTS
                                                    cost manufacturers a total of                           January and May 2016, PHMSA
                                                                                                            attempted to contact BHT Products, Inc.               Director pursuant to Section 6018 of the
                                                    $96,360,000 annually ($87,600,000                                                                             Fixing America’s Surface
                                                    owner notification letters + $8,760,000                 via letters delivered by certified mail.
                                                                                                            These letters requested that BHT                      Transportation (FAST) Act on matters
                                                    interim notification letters =                                                                                related to port performance measures,
                                                    $96,360,000). Nissan commented that                     Products, Inc. provide PHMSA with
                                                                                                            background information, such as a copy                including: (a) Specifications and data
                                                    they agree with the Agency’s estimate                                                                         measurements to be used in the Port
                                                    for this cost estimate.                                 of the existing lab report and test data
                                                                                                            to support the classification issued                  Performance Freight Statistics Program
                                                       Due to the past burdens associated                                                                         established under subsection 6018(a);
                                                    with the requirement that certain                       under EX1987030326. To date, PHMSA
                                                                                                            has not received any correspondence                   and (b) a process for the Department to
                                                    vehicle manufacturers setup VIN Look-                                                                         collect timely and consistent data,
                                                    up systems for their recalled vehicles,                 from BHT Products, Inc. concerning
                                                                                                            EX1987030326.                                         including identifying safeguards to
                                                    many estimates have been removed                                                                              protect proprietary information
                                                    from this information collection as these               FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:      Mr.             described in subsection 6018(b)(2). The
                                                    burdens and costs have already                          Ryan Paquet, Director, Approvals and                  Working Group will operate in
                                                    occurred. The 49 CFR part 573 and 49                    Permits Division, Office of Hazardous                 accordance with the provisions of the
                                                    CFR part 577 requirements found in
                                                                                                            Materials Safety, (202) 366–4512,                     Federal Advisory Committee Act
                                                    today’s notice will require 36,070 hours
                                                                                                            PHMSA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE.,                    (FACA) and the rules and regulations
                                                    each year for OMB Control Number
                                                                                                            Washington, DC 20590 or at explo@                     issued in implementation of that Act.
                                                    2127–0004, a decrease of 10,068 burden
                                                                                                            dot.gov.                                                 This notice also announces the
                                                    hours from the previously approved
                                                                                                              Correspondence with respect to the                  opening of a 14-day public comment
                                                    collection of 46,138 hours. Additionally,
                                                                                                            EX classification approval                            period for the Working Group’s draft
                                                    manufacturers impacted by 49 CFR part
                                                                                                            EX1987030326 should be sent to explo@                 Work Plan, available at http://
                                                    573 and 49 CFR part 577 requirements
                                                                                                            dot.gov with a subject line ‘‘EX                      www.bts.gov/bts/port_performance.
                                                    will incur a recurring annual cost
                                                                                                            classification approval EX1987030326’’                This draft Work Plan identifies the
                                                    estimated at $96,630,000 total.
                                                       Estimated Number of Respondents:                     and should be in writing; state in detail             schedule, agenda items, and anticipated
                                                    NHTSA receives reports of defect or                     any alleged errors of fact and law;                   follow-up actions for each of the
                                                    noncompliance from roughly 275                          enclose any additional information                    Working Group’s four meetings.
                                                    manufacturers per year. Accordingly,                    needed to support the request; and state              DATES: The Working Group meeting will
asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES




                                                    we estimate that there will be                          in detail the final decision sought.                  be held on November 18, 2016, from
                                                    approximately 275 manufacturers per                       Action: PHMSA will terminate the EX                 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Eastern Standard
                                                    year filing defect or noncompliance                     classification approval EX1987030326                  Time.
                                                    reports and completing the other                        thirty (30) days after this notice is                 ADDRESSES: The meeting will be at the
                                                    information collection responsibilities                 published in the Federal Register,                    U.S. Department of Transportation; 1200
                                                    associated with those filings.                          unless the holder requests                            New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington,
                                                       In summary, we estimate that there                   reconsideration as outlined in 49 CFR                 DC 20590. Any person requiring
                                                    will be a total of 275 respondents per                  107.715.                                              accessibility accommodations should


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Document Created: 2018-02-13 16:34:09
Document Modified: 2018-02-13 16:34:09
CategoryRegulatory Information
CollectionFederal Register
sudoc ClassAE 2.7:
GS 4.107:
AE 2.106:
PublisherOffice of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration
SectionNotices
ActionNotice.
DatesComments must be submitted to OMB on or before November 10, 2016.
ContactAlex Ansley, Recall Management Division (NVS-215), Room W48-301, NHTSA, 1200 New Jersey Ave., Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: (202) 493-0481.
FR Citation81 FR 70269 

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