[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 51 (Thursday, March 15, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 15351-15352]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-6269]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

49 CFR Part 571

[Docket No. NHTSA-2011-0174]
RIN 2127-AK88


Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Theft Protection and 
Rollaway Prevention

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

ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: In December 2011, NHTSA published a notice of proposed 
rulemaking (NPRM) that addressed safety issues arising from increasing 
variations of keyless ignition controls, and the operation of those 
controls. We received a petition from the Alliance of Automobile 
Manufacturers requesting an extension of the comment period. The 
petitioner argued that additional time was needed to review information 
that was placed in the docket late in the comment period. After 
considering the petition, we are extending the comment period by 10 
days, from March 12, 2012, to March 22, 2012.

DATES: The comment period for the proposed rule published December 12, 
2011, at 76 FR 77183, is extended. Comments must be received on or 
before March 22, 2012.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments to the docket number identified in 
the heading of this document by any of the following methods:
    <bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
    <bullet> Mail: Docket Management Facility, M-30, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, West Building, Ground Floor, Rm. W12-140, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590.
    <bullet> Hand Delivery or Courier: West Building Ground Floor, Room 
W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern 
Time, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    <bullet> Fax: (202) 493-2251.
    Regardless of how you submit your comments, you should mention the 
docket number of this document.
    You may call the Docket Management Facility at 202-366-9826.
    Note that all comments received will be posted without change to 
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided.

[[Page 15352]]

    Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all 
comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf 
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's 
complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on 
April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-78).
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov or the street 
address listed above. Follow the online instructions for accessing the 
dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
    For technical issues: Ms. Gayle Dalrymple, Office of Crash 
Avoidance Standards, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: (202) 366-
5559.
    For legal issues: Mr. Edward Glancy, Office of the Chief Counsel, 
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue 
SE., Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: (202) 366-2992.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    On December 12, 2011, NHTSA published in the Federal Register (76 
FR 77183) a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to amend Federal Motor 
Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 114, Theft Protection and Rollaway 
Prevention. In the NPRM, the agency addressed safety issues arising 
from increasing variations of keyless ignition controls, and the 
operation of those controls. We provided a 90-day comment period for 
the NPRM.
    On February 29, 2012, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers 
(Alliance) sent a letter to NHTSA requesting that certain information, 
including vehicle owner questionnaires (VOQs) referenced in the NPRM, 
be placed in the docket. NHTSA sent a memorandum to the docket 
containing VOQ and crash information and also sent a copy to the 
Alliance. The memorandum was posted in the docket on March 6, 2012.
    In a petition dated March 6, 2012, the Alliance requested a 30-day 
extension of the comment period. The petitioner argued that it and 
other interested parties seeking to comment need additional time to 
locate the VOQs, analyze the VOQs, and evaluate the other, newly 
docketed information. The Alliance stated that while the requested 
extension of the comment period may result in a slight delay in the 
rulemaking process, it contends that allowing commenters to generate 
comprehensive and responsive comments will significantly assist the 
agency in its decision making process.
    After considering the petition from the Alliance, we have decided 
to extend the comment period by 10 days. We wish to facilitate the 
efforts of the petitioner and other interested persons to provide 
complete comments. We note, however, that since the agency initially 
provided a relatively long comment period, i.e., 90 days, interested 
persons have already had considerable time to evaluate the proposal. 
The VOQs, along with media reports, were cited as examples of the 
safety problems. We believe that a 10-day extension will ensure that 
interested persons have sufficient time to analyze the VOQ and crash 
information. Since the information was posted in the docket on March 6, 
all interested persons will, with the extension considered, have had 
more than two weeks to review the information. The Alliance did not 
provide any detailed information showing why a longer extension, such 
as the 30 days it requested, would be necessary.

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 322, 30111, 30115, 30166 and 30177; 
delegation of authority at 49 CFR 1.50.

    Issued: March 9, 2012.
Christopher J. Bonanti,
Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 2012-6269 Filed 3-12-12; 4:15 pm]
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