Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 248 / Monday, December 28, 2020 / Notices 84463 

in writing, before the end of the 

comment period and specify the basis 

for their request. 

All communications concerning these 

proceedings should identify the 

appropriate docket number and may be 

submitted by any of the following 

methods: 

• website: http://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Fax: 202–493–2251. 

• Mail: Docket Operations Facility, 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

(DOT), 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, W12– 

140, Washington, DC 20590. 

• Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey 

Ave. SE, Room W12–140, Washington, 

DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., 

Monday through Friday, except Federal 

Holidays. 

Communications received by 

February 11, 2021 will be considered by 

FRA before final action is taken. 

Comments received after that date will 

be considered if practicable. Anyone 

can search the electronic form of any 

written communications and comments 

received into any of our dockets by the 

name of the individual submitting the 

comment (or signing the document, if 

submitted on behalf of an association, 

business, labor union, etc.). Under 5 

U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits comments 

from the public to better inform its 

processes. DOT posts these comments, 

without edit, including any personal 

information the commenter provides, to 

www.regulations.gov, as described in 

the system of records notice (DOT/ALL– 

14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at 

https://www.transportation.gov/privacy. 

See also https://www.regulations.gov/ 

privacyNotice for the privacy notice of 

regulations.gov. 

Issued in Washington, DC. 

John Karl Alexy, 

Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety, 

Chief Safety Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2020–28556 Filed 12–23–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. NHTSA–2020–0030; Notice 1] 

Collins Bus Corporation, Receipt of 

Petition for Decision of 

Inconsequential Noncompliance 

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration (NHTSA), 

Department of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Receipt of petition. 

SUMMARY: Collins Bus Corporation 

(Collins) has determined that certain 

model year (MY) 2012–2020 Ford and 

Chevrolet school buses do not fully 

comply with Federal Motor Vehicle 

Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 217, Bus 

Emergency Exits and Window Retention 

and Release. Collins filed a 

noncompliance report dated April 15, 

2020. Collins subsequently petitioned 

NHTSA on April 30, 2020, for a 

decision that the subject noncompliance 

is inconsequential as it relates to motor 

vehicle safety. This notice announces 

receipt of Collins’s petition. 

DATES: Send comments on or before 

January 27, 2021. 

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 the 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 the 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 for Federal 

holidays. 

• Electronically: Submit comments 

electronically by logging onto the 

Federal Docket Management System 

(FDMS) website 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 

docket. 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: Collins has determined 

that certain MY 2012–2020 Ford and 

Chevrolet school buses do not fully 

comply with the requirements of 

paragraph S5.5.3(b) of FMVSS No. 217, 

Bus Emergency Exits and Window 

Retention and Release (49 CFR 571.217). 

Collins filed a noncompliance report 

dated April 15, 2020, pursuant to 49 

CFR part 573, Defect and 

Noncompliance Responsibility and 

Reports. Collins subsequently petitioned 

NHTSA on April 30, 2020, 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, pursuant 

to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) and 

49 CFR part 556, Exemption for 

Inconsequential Defect or 

Noncompliance. 

This notice of receipt of Collins’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. Buses Involved: Approximately 

11,079 MY 2012-2012;2020 Ford and 

Chevrolet school buses manufactured 

between February 2, 2012, and April 3, 

2020, are potentially involved: 

• Ford TH 400 

• Ford Sh416, models SL, SH, DH, DE, 

TH, and TL 

• Chevrolet DE516 

• Chevrolet DH516 

• Chevrolet DH500 

• Ford TL 400 

• Ford T24 

• Chevrolet DH400 

III. Noncompliance: Collins explains 

that the noncompliance is that the letter 


tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with NOTICES
84464 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 248 / Monday, December 28, 2020 / Notices 

height for the operating instructions 

describing the motions necessary to 

unlatch and open the emergency exits in 

the subject school buses does not fully 

comply with the requirements set forth 

in paragraph S5.5.3(b) of FMVSS No. 

217. Specifically, the operating 

instructions describing the motions 

necessary to unlatch and open the 

emergency window exits are only eight 

(8) millimeters in height rather than the 

required one (1) centimeter. 

IV. Rule Requirements: Paragraph 

S5.5.3(b) of FMVSS No. 217 includes 

the requirements relevant to this 

petition. Paragraph S5.5.3(b) requires 

that concise operating instructions 

describing the motions necessary to 

unlatch and open the emergency exit 

shall be located within 15 centimeters of 

the release mechanism on the inside 

surface of the bus. These instructions 

shall be in letters at least 1 centimeter 

high and of a color that contrasts with 

its background. 

V. Summary of Collins’s Petition: The 

following views and arguments 

presented in this section, ‘‘V. Summary 

of Collins’s Petition,’’ are the views and 

arguments provided by Collins. They 

have not been evaluated by the Agency 

and do not reflect the views of the 

Agency. Collins describes the subject 

noncompliance and contends that the 

noncompliance is inconsequential as it 

relates to motor vehicle safety. 

In support of its petition, Collins 

offers the following reasoning: 

1. The Noncompliance is 

Inconsequential to Motor Vehicle Safety: 

Collins states that the 2-millimeter 

deficiency in the letter height is 

inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. 

The actual height of the emergency 

window exit operating instructions 

letters—eight (8) millimeters—is 80 

percent of the height required by 

FMVSS No. 217 (ten (10) millimeters). 

NHTSA has previously granted 

inconsequential noncompliance 

petitions for labeling defects across 

various motor vehicle safety standards, 

including for more significant lettering 

height deficiencies: 

• Notice Granting Petition by Kia 

Motors: Letters as little as 53.1 percent 

of the minimum height requirement. See 

69 FR 41333 (July 8, 2004) (Docket No. 

NHTSA–2004–17439). 

• Notice Granting Petition by General 

Motors: Lettering height 76.3 percent of 

the minimum height requirement. See 

81 FR 92963 (Docket No. NHTSA–2016– 

0093). 

• Notice Granting Petition by 

Hyundai: Letters as little as 78.1 percent 

of the minimum height requirement. See 

69 FR 41568 (Docket No. NHTSA–2004– 

17439). 

• Notice Granting Petition by 

Mercedes-Benz: Letters ‘‘about 78 

percent of the minimum height required 

for such letters.’’ See 67 FR 72026 

(Docket No. NHTSA–2002–12544). 

2. Further, the instruction label 

includes the words ‘‘Emergency Exit’’ in 

letters with a height of 11 millimeters, 

which not only meets but substantially 

exceeds the 1-centimeter requirement. 

See 67 FR 72026 (noting that some of 

the letters did meet the minimum height 

requirements in finding that insufficient 

height of other letters did not have an 

adverse effect on vehicle safety). 

3. Collins claims that the height 

discrepancy does not affect the 

readability of the instructions. See 67 

FR 72026 (finding that letters which 

were roughly 78 percent of the required 

size (which required size was nearly 

one-third of the relevant one-centimeter 

letter height requirement at issue here) 

would not ‘‘degrade the legibility’’ of 

the words); 81 FR 92964 (finding ‘‘the 

lettering height for the park brake 

applied indicator ‘Park’ at 2.44 mm 

versus the FMVSS No. 135 requirement 

of 3.2 mm poses little if any risk to 

motor vehicle safety’’). 

4. Further, Collins says the 

discrepancy does not compromise the 

conspicuity of the instructions. The 

instructions are not only in a color that 

sharply contrasts with their background 

(red) as required by FMVSS No. 217, the 

letters are additionally in bold and 

block capital letters, which is not 

required by the standard but which 

preserves the 8-millimeter height across 

the width of the words and increases the 

visibility of the instructions. See 81 FR 

92964 (finding the use of all capitalized 

letters, where not required, provided ‘‘a 

more pronounced indicator’’). And as 

noted above, some of the words in the 

label (i.e., ‘‘Emergency Exit’’) not only 

meet but exceed the minimum height 

requirement, thereby increasing the 

visibility of the instructions. 

5. Collins states that NHTSA has 

previously granted petitions for 

inconsequential noncompliance under 

FMVSS No. 217 for conditions that 

present a more direct safety risk than 

the potential safety risk (if any) created 

here. See New Flyer of America, Inc.; 

Grant of Application for Decision of 

Inconsequential Noncompliance, 63 FR 

32694 (granting petition for 

inconsequential noncompliance where 

buses were manufactured with only one 

emergency exit instead of two); IC 

Corporation, Grant of Petition for 

Decision of Inconsequential 

Noncompliance, 70 FR 24464 (granting 

petition for inconsequential 

noncompliance where school buses 

were manufactured with two emergency 

doors under the same post and roof bow 

panel space). 

6. Finally, Collins states that the 

emergency window exit instructions on 

the affected vehicles meet all other 

labeling requirements of FMVSS No. 

217 and do not affect the actual 

operation of the emergency window 

exit, and Collins has not received any 

complaints regarding the size or 

visibility of the instructions and is not 

aware of any injuries associated with 

the size or visibility of the instructions. 

Collins has corrected the 

noncompliance in all buses remaining 

within its possession. 

Collins concludes by again 

contending 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. 

Collins’s complete petition and all 

supporting documents are available by 

logging onto the Federal Docket 

Management System (FDMS) website at 

https://www.regulations.gov and by 

following the online search instructions 

to locate the docket number as listed in 

the title of this notice. 

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 buses that Collins 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 buses under their 

control after Collins 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) 

Otto G. Matheke III, 

Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance. 

[FR Doc. 2020–28542 Filed 12–23–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P 


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