82 FR 17069 - Daimler Trucks North America, LLC, Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 66 (April 7, 2017)

Page Range		17069-17072
FR Document		2017-06953

Daimler Trucks North America, LLC (DTNA), has determined that certain model year (MY) 2016-2017 Freightliner trucks do not fully comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 101, Controls and Displays. DTNA filed a noncompliance report dated January 19, 2017, and amended on January 25, 2017. DTNA also petitioned NHTSA on January 20, 2017, for a decision that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety.

Federal Register, Volume 82 Issue 66 (Friday, April 7, 2017)

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 66 (Friday, April 7, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17069-17072]
From the Federal Register Online [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-06953]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2017-0011; Notice 1]

Daimler Trucks North America, LLC, 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: Daimler Trucks North America, LLC (DTNA), has determined

[[Page 17070]]

that certain model year (MY) 2016-2017 Freightliner trucks do not fully
comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 101,
Controls and Displays. DTNA filed a noncompliance report dated January
19, 2017, and amended on January 25, 2017. DTNA also petitioned NHTSA
on January 20, 2017, 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 May 8, 2017.

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 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: Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA), has determined
that certain model year (MY) 2016-2017 Freightliner trucks do not fully
comply with Table 2 of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
No. 101, Controls and Displays. DTNA filed a noncompliance report dated
January 19, 2017, and amended on January 25, 2017, pursuant to 49 CFR
part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports. DTNA
also petitioned NHTSA on January 20, 2017, pursuant to 49 U.S.C.
30118(d) and 30120(h) and 49 CFR part 556, 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 DTNA'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. Vehicles Involved: Affected are approximately 81,641 MY 2016-
2017 versions of the following trucks, manufactured between March 2,
2015 and September 8, 2016:

Freightliner 108SD
Freightliner Business Class M2
Freightliner Cascadia
Freightliner 114SD

III. Noncompliance: DTNA explains that the noncompliance is that
the Low Brake Air Pressure telltale for air brake systems displays the
word ``BRAKE'' and a message on an adjacent display screen says ``LOW
AIR'', rather than the words ``BRAKE AIR,'' as specified in Table 2 of
FMVSS No. 101. DTNA states that the telltale is accompanied by an
audible alert and pressure gauges.
IV. Rule Text: Paragraph S5 of FMVSS No. 101 provides: ``Each
passenger car, multipurpose passenger vehicle, truck and bus that is
fitted with a control, a telltale, or an indicator listed in Table 1 or
Table 2 must meet the requirements of this standard for the location,
identification, color, and illumination of that control, telltale or
indicator.''
Paragraph S5.2.1 of FMVSS No. 101 provides, in pertinent part: ``.
. . each control, telltale and indicator that is listed in column 1 of
Table 1 or Table 2 must be identified by the symbol specified for it in
column 2 or the word or abbreviation specified for it in column 3 of
Table 1 or Table 2.''
Table 2 appears as follows:
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[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN07AP17.002

BILLING CODE 4910-59-P
V. Summary of DTNA's Petition: DTNA 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, DTNA submitted the following reasoning:
(a) DTNA notes that the purpose of the low brake air pressure
telltale is to alert the driver to a low air condition, consistent with
the requirements of FMVSS No. 121, S5.1.5 (warning signal). The word
``BRAKE'' instead of ``BRAKE AIR,'' together with a message on the
display screen saying ``LOW AIR!'' and an audible alert that occurs in
the subject vehicles would alert the driver to an air issue with the
brake system. Once alerted, the driver can check the actual air
pressure by reading the primary and secondary air gauges and seeing the
contrasting color on the gauges indicating low pressure.
(b) NHTSA stated in a 2005 FMVSS No. 101 rulemaking that the reason
for including vehicles over 10,000 pounds in the requirements of FMVSS
No. 101 is that there is a need for drivers of heavier vehicles to see
and identify their displays, just as there is for drivers of lighter
vehicles. See 70 FR 48295, 48298 (Aug. 17, 2005). The telltale in the
subject vehicles saying ``BRAKE'' and the message on the display screen
that says ``LOW AIR!'' would allow the driver to see and identify the
improper functioning system as was the intent of the rule, thus serving
the purpose of the FMVSS No. 101 requirement.
(c) Drivers of commercial vehicles would conduct daily pre-trip
inspections of their vehicles paying particular attention to the
warning signs and gauges to ensure correct functionality of their
vehicles braking system, before driving the vehicle. Drivers therefore
would be very familiar with the telltales and other warnings, and their
meaning, in the event a low air warning was to occur while the vehicle
was driven.
(d) There are two scenarios when a low brake air pressure condition
would exist: A parked vehicle and a moving vehicle. Each of these are
discussed separately below; in each scenario, there is ample warning
provided to the driver of low brake air pressure.

1. Parked Vehicle

The driver of an air-braked vehicle must ensure that the vehicle
has enough brake air pressure to operate safely. At startup, the
vehicle will likely be in a low air condition. When in a low air

[[Page 17072]]

condition the following warnings would occur, conditioning the driver
over time as to the purpose of the telltale, message and audible alerts
and under what conditions they are activated.

Red contrasting color of the telltale saying ``BRAKE''
Message on the display screen that says ``LOW AIR!''
Audible alert to the driver as long as the vehicle has low air
Air gauges for the primary and secondary air tanks clearly
showing the air pressure in the system
Red contrasting color on the air gauges indicating when the
pressure is low
Difficulty/inability of releasing the parking brakes with low
air
Reduced drivability if the driver attempts to drive with the
parking brakes applied

2. Moving Vehicle

If a low brake air pressure situation occurs while driving, the
function of the service brakes may be reduced or lost and, eventually
if the pressure gets low enough, the parking brakes will engage. The
driver must pull to the side of the road and apply the parking brakes
as soon as possible. A loss of brake air pressure while driving
represents a malfunctioning brake system and requires immediate action
from the driver. Drivers recognize that a telltale illuminated in red
represents a malfunction which needs to be remedied.
The following warning would occur if a low air condition occurred
while driving.

(e) The functionality of both the parking brake system and the
service brake system remains unaffected by the ``BRAKE'' telltale used
in the subject vehicles.
(f) NHTSA Precedents--DTNA notes that NHTSA has previously granted
petitions for decisions of inconsequential noncompliance for similar
brake telltale issues. See Docket No. NHTSA-2012-0004, 78 FR 69931
(November 21, 2013) (grant of petition for Ford Motor Company) and
Docket No. NHTSA-2014-0046, 79 FR 78559 (December 30, 2014 (grant of
petition for Chrysler Group, LLC). In both of these instances, the
vehicles at issue did not have the exact wording as required under
FMVSS No. 101. The available warnings were deemed sufficient to provide
the necessary driver warning. DTNA respectfully suggest that the same
is true for the subject vehicles: The red ``BRAKE'' telltale and the
``LOW AIR!'' pop-up message, together with other warnings and alerts,
are fully sufficient to warn the driver of a low brake air pressure
situation.
DTNA 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 vehicles that DTNA no longer
controlled at the time it determined that the noncompliance existed.
However, any decision on this petition does not relieve vehicle
distributors and dealers of the prohibitions on the sale, offer for
sale, or introduction or delivery for introduction into interstate
commerce of the noncompliant vehicles under their control after DTNA
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. 2017-06953 Filed 4-6-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P

17072 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 66 / Friday, April 7, 2017 / Notices

condition the following warnings would (December 30, 2014 (grant of petition for DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
occur, conditioning the driver over time Chrysler Group, LLC). In both of these
as to the purpose of the telltale, message instances, the vehicles at issue did not National Highway Traffic Safety
and audible alerts and under what have the exact wording as required Administration
conditions they are activated. under FMVSS No. 101. The available [Docket No. NHTSA–2016–0142; Notice 1]
• Red contrasting color of the telltale warnings were deemed sufficient to
saying ‘‘BRAKE’’ provide the necessary driver warning. Hyundai Motor America, Receipt of
• Message on the display screen that DTNA respectfully suggest that the same Petition for Decision of
says ‘‘LOW AIR!’’ is true for the subject vehicles: The red Inconsequential Noncompliance
• Audible alert to the driver as long as ‘‘BRAKE’’ telltale and the ‘‘LOW AIR!’’
the vehicle has low air AGENCY: National Highway Traffic
pop-up message, together with other
• Air gauges for the primary and Safety Administration (NHTSA),
warnings and alerts, are fully sufficient Department of Transportation (DOT).
secondary air tanks clearly showing to warn the driver of a low brake air
the air pressure in the system ACTION: Receipt of petition.
pressure situation.
• Red contrasting color on the air
gauges indicating when the pressure DTNA concluded by expressing the SUMMARY: Hyundai Motor America
is low belief that the subject noncompliance is (Hyundai) has determined that certain
• Difficulty/inability of releasing the inconsequential as it relates to motor model year (MY) 2012–2016 Hyundai
parking brakes with low air vehicle safety, and that its petition to be Accent motor vehicles do not fully
• Reduced drivability if the driver exempted from providing notification of comply with Federal Motor Vehicle
attempts to drive with the parking the noncompliance, as required by 49 Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 208,
brakes applied U.S.C. 30118, and a remedy for the Occupant Crash Protection. Hyundai
noncompliance, as required by 49 filed a noncompliance information
2. Moving Vehicle report dated December 12, 2016.
U.S.C. 30120, should be granted.
If a low brake air pressure situation Hyundai also petitioned NHTSA on
NHTSA notes that the statutory December 16, 2016, for a decision that
occurs while driving, the function of the
service brakes may be reduced or lost provisions (49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and the subject noncompliance is
and, eventually if the pressure gets low 30120(h)) that permit manufacturers to inconsequential as it relates to motor
enough, the parking brakes will engage. file petitions for a determination of vehicle safety.
The driver must pull to the side of the inconsequentiality allow NHTSA to DATES: The closing date for comments
road and apply the parking brakes as exempt manufacturers only from the on the petition is May 8, 2017.
soon as possible. A loss of brake air duties found in sections 30118 and
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are
pressure while driving represents a 30120, respectively, to notify owners, invited to submit written data, views,
malfunctioning brake system and purchasers, and dealers of a defect or and arguments on this petition.
requires immediate action from the noncompliance and to remedy the Comments must refer to the docket and
driver. Drivers recognize that a telltale defect or noncompliance. Therefore, any notice number cited in the title of this
illuminated in red represents a decision on this petition only applies to notice and submitted by any of the
malfunction which needs to be the subject vehicles that DTNA no following methods:
remedied. longer controlled at the time it • Mail: Send comments by mail
The following warning would occur if determined that the noncompliance addressed to U.S. Department of
a low air condition occurred while existed. However, any decision on this Transportation, Docket Operations, M–
driving. petition does not relieve vehicle 30, West Building Ground Floor, Room
• Red contrasting color of the telltale distributors and dealers of the W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE.,
saying ‘‘BRAKE’’ prohibitions on the sale, offer for sale, Washington, DC 20590.
• Message on the display screen that or introduction or delivery for • Hand Delivery: Deliver comments
says ‘‘LOW AIR!’’ introduction into interstate commerce of by hand to U.S. Department of
• Audible alert to the driver as long as the noncompliant vehicles under their Transportation, Docket Operations, M–
the vehicle has low air control after DTNA notified them that 30, West Building Ground Floor, Room
• Air gauges for the primary and the subject noncompliance existed. W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE.,
secondary air tanks clearly showing Washington, DC 20590. The Docket
the air pressure in the system Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120:
Section is open on weekdays from 10
• Red contrasting color on the air delegations of authority at 49 CFR 1.95 and
a.m. to 5 p.m. except Federal Holidays.
501.8.
gauges indicating when the pressure • Electronically: Submit comments
is low. Jeffrey M. Giuseppe, electronically by logging onto the
(e) The functionality of both the Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance. Federal Docket Management System
parking brake system and the service [FR Doc. 2017–06953 Filed 4–6–17; 8:45 am]
(FDMS) Web site at https://
brake system remains unaffected by the www.regulations.gov/. Follow the online
BILLING CODE 4910–59–P
‘‘BRAKE’’ telltale used in the subject instructions for submitting comments.
vehicles. • Comments may also be faxed to
(f) NHTSA Precedents—DTNA notes (202) 493–2251.
that NHTSA has previously granted Comments must be written in the
nlaroche on DSK30NT082PROD with NOTICES

petitions for decisions of English language, and be no greater than
inconsequential noncompliance for 15 pages in length, although there is no
similar brake telltale issues. See Docket limit to the length of necessary
No. NHTSA–2012–0004, 78 FR 69931 attachments to the comments. If
(November 21, 2013) (grant of petition comments are submitted in hard copy
for Ford Motor Company) and Docket form, please ensure that two copies are
No. NHTSA–2014–0046, 79 FR 78559 provided. If you wish to receive

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Document Created: 2017-04-06 23:49:42
Document Modified: 2017-04-06 23:49:42

Category		Regulatory Information
Collection		Federal Register
sudoc Class		AE 2.7: GS 4.107: AE 2.106:
Publisher		Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration
Section		Notices
Action		Receipt of petition.
Dates		The closing date for comments on the petition is May 8, 2017.
FR Citation		82 FR 17069

82 FR 17069 - Daimler Trucks North America, LLC, Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATIONNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 66 (April 7, 2017)

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration