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###### Department of Transportation

###### National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 

# AGENCY:

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, DOT. 

# ACTION:

Notice. 

# SUMMARY:

                        In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501*et seq.*), this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below has been forwarded to the Office                               ( print page 5890)                            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 November 3, 2008 (73 FR 65444).                     

This document describes a collection of information on eight Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSSs) and one regulation, for which NHTSA intends to seek OMB approval. The information collection pertains to requirements that specify certain safety precautions regarding items of motor vehicle equipment must appear in the vehicle owner's manual. 

# DATES:

Comments must be submitted on or before March 4, 2009. 

# FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Lori Summers, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Office of Rulemaking (NVS-112), (202) 366-4917, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., W43-314, Washington, DC 20590. 

# SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

## National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 

*Title:*                     Consolidated Vehicle Owner's Manual Requirements for Motor Vehicles and Motor Vehicle Equipment.                 

*OMB Number:*                     2127-0541.                 

*Type of Request:*                     Extension of a currently approved collection.                 

*Abstract:*                     In order to ensure that manufacturers are complying with the FMVSS and regulations, NHTSA requires a number of information collections in FMVSS Nos. 108, 110, 138, 202, 205, 208, 210, and 213, and Part 575 Sections 103 and 105.                 

FMVSS No.108, “Lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment.” This standard requires that certain lamps and reflective devices with certain performance levels be installed on motor vehicles to assure that the roadway is properly illuminated, that vehicles can be readily seen, and the signals can be transmitted to other drivers sharing the road, during day, night and inclement weather. Since the specific manner in which headlamp aim is to be performed is not regulated (only the performance of the device is), aiming devices manufactured or installed by different vehicle and headlamp manufacturers may work in significantly different ways. As a consequence, to assure that headlamps can be correctly aimed, instructions for proper use must be part of the vehicle as a label, or optionally, in the vehicle owner's manual. 

FMVSS No. 110, “Tire selection and rims.” This standard specifies requirements for tire selection to prevent tire overloading. The vehicle's normal load and maximum load on the tire shall not be greater than applicable specified limits. The standard requires a permanently affixed vehicle placard specifying vehicle capacity weight, designated seating capacity, manufacturer recommended cold tire inflation pressure, and manufacturer's recommended tire size. The standard further specifies rim construction requirements, load limits of nonpneumatic spare tires, and labeling requirements for non-pneumatic spare tires, including a required placard. Owner's manual information is required for “Use of Spare Tire.” FMVSS No. 110 will require additional owner's manual information on the revised vehicle placard and tire information label, on revised tire labeling, and on tire safety and load limits and terminology. 

                    FMVSS No. 138, “Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems.” This standard specifies requirements for a tire pressure monitoring system to warn the driver of an under-inflated tire condition. Its purpose is to reduce the likelihood of a vehicle crash resulting from tire failure due to operation in an under-inflated condition. The standard requires the Owner's Manual to include specific information on the low pressure warning telltale and the malfunction indicator telltale. In a final rule published April 8, 2005, most vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 kg or less (                    *e.g.,*                     excluding motorcycles) were required to be equipped with a tire pressure monitoring system by September 1, 2008 and include related safety information in the Owner's Manual.                 

FMVSS No. 202, “Head restraints.” This standard specifies requirements for head restraints. The standard, which seeks to reduce whiplash injuries in rear collisions, currently requires head restraints for front outboard designated seating positions in passenger cars and in light multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks and buses. In a final rule published on December 14, 2004 (69 FR 74880), the standard requires that vehicle manufacturers include information in owner's manuals for vehicles manufactured on or after September 1, 2008. The owner's manual must clearly identify which seats are equipped with head restraints. If the head restraints are removable, the owner's manual must provide instructions on how to remove the head restraint by a deliberate action distinct from any act necessary for adjustment, and how to reinstall head restraints. The owner's manual must warn that all head restraints must be reinstalled to properly protect vehicle occupants. Finally, the owner's manual must describe, in an easily understandable format, the adjustment of the head restraints and/or seat back to achieve appropriate head restraint position relative to the occupant's head. 

FMVSS No. 205, “Glazing materials.” This standard specifies requirements for all glazing material used in windshields, windows, and interior partitions of motor vehicles. Its purpose is to reduce the likelihood of lacerations and to minimize the possibility of occupants penetrating the windshield in a crash. More detailed information regarding the care and maintenance of such glazing items, as the glass-plastic windshield, is required to be placed in the vehicle owner's manual. 

FMVSS No. 208, “Occupant crash protection.” This standard specifies requirements for both active and passive occupant crash protection systems for passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks and small buses. Certain safety features, such as air bags, or the care and maintenance of air bag systems, are required to be explained to the owner by means of the owner's manual. For example, the owner's manual must describe the vehicle's air bag system and provide precautionary information about the proper positioning of the occupants, including children. The owner's manual must also warn that no objects, such as shotguns carried in police cars, should be placed over or near the air bag covers. 

FMVSS No. 210, “Seat belt assembly anchorages.” This standard specifies requirements for seat belt assembly anchorages to ensure effective occupant restraint and to reduce the likelihood of failure in a crash. The standard requires that manufacturers place the following information in the vehicle owner's manual: 

a. An explanation that child restraints are designed to be secured by means of the vehicle's seat belts, and, 

b. A statement alerting vehicle owners that children are always safer in the rear seat. 

FMVSS No. 213, “Child restraint systems.” This standard specifies requirements for child restraint systems and requires that manufacturers provide consumers with detailed information relating to child safety in air bag-equipped vehicles. The vehicle owner's manual must include information about the operation and do's and don'ts of built-in child seats. 

                    Part 575 Section 103, “Camper loading.” This standard requires that manufacturers of slide-in campers designed to fit into the cargo bed of pickup trucks affix a label to each camper that contains information                           ( print page 5891)                        relating to certification, identification and proper loading, and to provide more detailed loading information in the owner's manual of the truck.                 

Part 575 Section 105, “Utility vehicles.” This regulation requires manufacturers of utility vehicles to alert drivers that the particular handling and maneuvering characteristics of utility vehicles require special driving practices when these vehicles are operated on paved roads. For example, the vehicle owner's manual is required to contain a discussion of vehicle design features that cause this type of vehicle to be more likely to roll over, and to include a discussion of driving practices that can reduce the risk of roll over. A statement is provided in the regulation that manufacturers shall include, in its entirety or equivalent form, in the vehicle owner's manual. 

*Affected Public:*                     Individuals, households, business, other for-profit, not-for-profit, farms, Federal Government and State, Local or Tribal Government.                 

*Estimated Total Annual Burden:*                     3,051 hours.                 

Send comments, within 30 days, to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503, Attention NHTSA Desk Officer. 

*Comments are invited on:*                     Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Department, including whether the information will have practical utility; the accuracy of the Department's estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection; ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. A comment to OMB is most effective if OMB receives it within 30 days of publication.                 

 Authority:44 U.S.C. 3506(c); delegation of authority at 49 CFR 1.50. 

Issued on: January 26, 2009. 

Stephen R. Kratzke, 

Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.

 [FR Doc. E9-2110 Filed 1-30-09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910-59-P