81 FR 85323 - Reflex & Allen USA, Incorporated, Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 227 (November 25, 2016)

Reflex & Allen USA, Incorporated (RAUS), has determined that certain Reflex & Allen air brake tubing products do not fully comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 106, Brake Hoses. RAUS filed a defect report dated September 1, 2016, and amended it on September 13, 2016. RAUS also petitioned NHTSA on September 30, 2016, for a decision that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 227 (Friday, November 25, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 85323-85325]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-28119]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2016-0108; Notice 1]


Reflex & Allen USA, Incorporated, Receipt of Petition for 
Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance

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

ACTION: Receipt of petition.

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SUMMARY: Reflex & Allen USA, Incorporated (RAUS), has determined that 
certain Reflex & Allen air brake tubing products do not fully comply 
with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 106, Brake 
Hoses. RAUS filed a defect report dated September 1, 2016, and amended 
it on September 13, 2016. RAUS also petitioned NHTSA on September 30, 
2016, for a decision that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential 
as it relates to motor vehicle safety.

DATES: The closing date for comments on the petition is December 27, 
2016.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written data, 
views, and arguments on this petition. Comments must refer to the 
docket and notice number cited in the title of this notice and 
submitted by any of the following methods:
     Mail: Send comments by mail addressed to U.S. Department 
of Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, 
Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590.
     Hand Delivery: Deliver comments by hand to U.S. Department 
of Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, 
Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. The 
Docket

[[Page 85324]]

Section is open on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. except Federal 
Holidays.
     Electronically: Submit comments electronically by logging 
onto the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) Web site at https://www.regulations.gov/. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
     Comments may also be faxed to (202) 493-2251.
    Comments must be written in the English language, and be no greater 
than 15 pages in length, although there is no limit to the length of 
necessary attachments to the comments. If comments are submitted in 
hard copy form, please ensure that two copies are provided. If you wish 
to receive confirmation that comments you have submitted by mail were 
received, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard with the 
comments. Note that all comments received will be posted without change 
to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided.
    All comments and supporting materials received before the close of 
business on the closing date indicated above will be filed in the 
docket and will be considered. All comments and supporting materials 
received after the closing date will also be filed and will be 
considered to the fullest extent possible.
    When the petition is granted or denied, notice of the decision will 
also be published in the Federal Register pursuant to the authority 
indicated at the end of this notice.
    All comments, background documentation, and supporting materials 
submitted to the docket may be viewed by anyone at the address and 
times given above. The documents may also be viewed on the Internet at 
https://www.regulations.gov by following the online instructions for 
accessing the dockets. The docket ID number for this petition is shown 
in the heading of this notice.
    DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement is available for review in a 
Federal Register notice published on April 11, 2000, (65 FR 19477-78).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Overview

    Reflex & Allen USA, Incorporated (RAUS), has determined that 
certain Reflex & Allen air brake tubing products do not fully comply 
with paragraph S7.2.1 of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 
No. 106, Brake Hoses. RAUS filed a report dated September 1, 2016, and 
amended it on September 13, 2016, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect 
and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports. RAUS also petitioned 
NHTSA on September 30, 2016, under 49 CFR part 556 for a decision that 
the subject noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor 
vehicle safety.
    Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) and 49 CFR part 556, 
RAUS submitted a petition for an exemption from the notification and 
remedy requirements of 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301 on the basis that this 
noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety.
    This notice of receipt of RAUS's petition is published under 49 
U.S.C. 30118 and 30120 and does not represent any agency decision or 
other exercise of judgment concerning the merits of the petition.

II. Hoses Involved

    Approximately 4,500 Reflex & Allen air brake tubing products 
manufactured between October 16, 2015 and August 30, 2016 are 
potentially involved.

III. Noncompliance

    RAUS explains that the noncompliance is that the subject brake 
hoses are labeled at intervals ranging from 6.5 inches to 11.5 inches, 
thereby exceeding 6-inch maximum spacing required by paragraph S7.2.1 
of FMVSS No. 106.

IV. Rule Text

    Paragraph S7.2.1 of FMVSS No. 106 states:

S7.2.1 Hose. Each air brake hose shall be labeled, or cut from bulk 
hose that is labeled, at intervals of not more than 6 inches, 
measured from the end of one legend to the beginning of the next, in 
block capital letters and numerals at least one-eighth of an inch 
high, with the information listed in paragraphs (a) through (e) of 
this section. The information need not be present on hose that is 
sold as part of a brake hose assembly or a motor vehicle.

V. Summary of RAUS's Petition

    RAUS described the subject noncompliance and stated its belief that 
the noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle 
safety.
    In support of its petition, RAUS submitted the following reasoning:
    (a) RAUS notified NHTSA in a 573 report in early September of 2016 
of a potential noncompliance within a population of air brake tubing 
products. The report was subsequently amended to correct affected part 
numbers. As described in RAUS's noncompliance notification, the subject 
air brake tubing is labeled with the complete and correct identifying 
data, but due to a production error, the labelling appears at intervals 
that exceed the 6-inch maximum spacing required by the standard.
    (b) RAUS noted that all of the affected products are labeled in 
accordance with the requirements of FMVSS No. 106 S7.2.1 with the 
exception of print legend spacing.
    (c) These products are sold only to one Original Equipment 
Manufacturer, Volvo Trucks North America (VTNA), which then paints the 
complete chassis to include painting over the tubing. All of these 
products meet all of the applicable performance requirements of FMVSS 
No. 106. These products perform exactly as designed. The safety of the 
vehicle is uncompromised.
    (d) The noncompliant products were produced between October 16, 
2015 and August 30, 2016. VTNA first notified RAUS of the noncompliance 
on August 30, 2016. Immediately on that date, RAUS recalibrated the 
equipment to ensure compliance on all future tubing products and is 
conducting initial and secondary quality checks to guarantee compliance 
prior to shipment to VTNA. VTNA is the only customer that receives this 
product and is fully aware of the situation. RAUS fully believes that 
these labeling errors are inconsequential to motor vehicle safety 
because the tubing is properly identified with all required identifiers 
and meets the standards in every other way. The only noncompliance is 
the spacing in which the print legends exceed 6 inch intervals in 
various measurements ranging from 6.5 inches to 11.5 inches.
    (e) This noncompliance does not create an unreasonable risk of 
death or injury in an accident, nor does it create any operational 
issues or safety concerns regarding the vehicle. The Safety Act allows 
for exemptions for manufacturers from the Safety Act's notice and 
remedy requirements particularly when the noncompliance does not create 
an unreasonable risk of death or injury in an accident.
    (f) The subject brake tubing was marked correctly with all required 
identifiers yet the print legends fell beyond the maximum 6 inch 
intervals. This error is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. One 
of the main purposes FMVSS No. 106, S7.2.1 is to identify the 
manufacturer of the brake tubing in the event of a product recall. If a 
recall of this air brake tubing were to become necessary in the future, 
the affected products could still be easily identified by the markings 
which are conspicuously printed on all of the tubing.
    (g) There are several examples of NHTSA granting petitions from the 
reporting and notification requirements based on determinations of 
inconsequential noncompliance for similar marking/labeling issues

[[Page 85325]]

including the granting of the Grote Industries LLC petition on January 
23, 2015.
    RAUS concluded by expressing the belief that the subject 
noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety, 
and that its petition to be exempted from providing notification of the 
noncompliance, as required by 49 U.S.C. 30118, and a remedy for the 
noncompliance, as required by 49 U.S.C. 30120, should be granted.
    NHTSA notes that the statutory provisions (49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 
30120(h)) that permit manufacturers to file petitions for a 
determination of inconsequentiality allow NHTSA to exempt manufacturers 
only from the duties found in sections 30118 and 30120, respectively, 
to notify owners, purchasers, and dealers of a defect or noncompliance 
and to remedy the defect or noncompliance. Therefore, any decision on 
this petition only applies to the subject hoses that RAUS no longer 
controlled at the time it determined that the noncompliance existed. 
However, any decision on this petition does not relieve equipment 
distributors and dealers of the prohibitions on the sale, offer for 
sale, or introduction or delivery for introduction into interstate 
commerce of the noncompliant hoses under their control after RAUS 
notified them that the subject noncompliance existed.

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

Jeffrey M. Giuseppe,
Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2016-28119 Filed 11-23-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-59-P