16892 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 56 / Thursday, March 22, 2012 / Notices 

1BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is a vehicle 

manufacturer incorporated under the laws of the 

state of New Jersey. 

2Refer to the BMW petition for specific details on 

the availability of BMW AssistTM. 

3BMW’s petition, which was filed under 49 CFR 

part 556, requests an agency decision to exempt 

BMW as a manufacturer from the notification and 

recall responsibilities of 49 CFR part 573 for 54,200 

Issued in Fort Worth, Texas, on March 9, 

2012. 

Joseph G. Washington, 

Acting Manager, Airports Division Office. 

[FR Doc. 2012–6833 Filed 3–21–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. NHTSA–2010–0180; Notice 2] 

BMW of North America, LLC, Grant of 

Petition for Decision of 

Inconsequential Noncompliance 

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration, DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of Petition Grant. 

SUMMARY: BMW of North America, LLC 

(BMW) 1 a subsidiary of BMW AG, 

Munich, Germany, has determined that 

certain BMW vehicles equipped with 

‘‘run-flat’’ tires do not fully comply with 

paragraphs S4.3(c) and S4.3(d) of 49 

CFR 571.110, Federal Motor Vehicle 

Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 110, Tire 

selection and rims and motor home/ 

recreation vehicle trailer load carrying 

capacity information for motor vehicles 

with a GVWR of 4,536 kilograms (10,000 

pounds) or less. BMW filed an 

appropriate report, dated November 2, 

2010, pursuant to 49 CFR Part 573, 

Defect and Noncompliance 

Responsibility and Reports. 

Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 

30120(h) and the rule implementing 

those provisions at 49 CFR part 556, 

BMW has petitioned for an exemption 

from the notification and remedy 

requirements of 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301 

on the basis that this noncompliance is 

inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. 

Notice of receipt of BMW’s petition 

was published with a 30-day public 

comment period, on March 7, 2011, in 

the Federal Register (76 FR 12410). No 

comments were received. To view the 

petition and all supporting documents 

log onto the Federal Docket 

Management System Web site at: http:// 

www.regulations.gov/. Then follow the 

online search instructions to locate 

docket number ‘‘NHTSA–2010–0180.’’ 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information on this decision 

contact Mr. John Finneran, Office of 

Vehicle Safety Compliance, the National 

Highway Traffic Safety Administration 

(NHTSA), telephone (202) 366–0645, 

facsimile (202) 366–5930. 

Summary of BMW’s Petition: BMW 

estimates that approximately 54,200 

vehicles equipped with ‘‘run flat’’ tires 

are affected. The affected vehicle 

models are certain: Model Year 2008– 

2011 BMW X5 SAV multipurpose 

passenger vehicles, manufactured from 

February 2, 2008 through October 26, 

2010; Model Year 2008–2011 BMW X6 

SAC multipurpose passenger vehicles, 

manufactured from September 19, 2008 

through October 26, 2010; and 2011 

BMW 5–Series, BMW 5–Series Gran 

Turismo, and BMW 7–Series passenger 

cars, manufactured from September 1, 

2010 through October 26, 2010. 

BMW explains that the 

noncompliance is that the tire and 

loading information placards on the 

affected vehicles incorrectly include a 

recommended cold tire inflation 

pressure and size designation for a spare 

tire. Because the vehicles are equipped 

with ‘‘run-flat’’ tires and have no spare 

tire, the word ‘‘none,’’ as required by 

paragraphs S4.3(c) and S4.3(d) is 

required in place of the spare tire size 

and the associated recommended cold 

tire inflation pressure. 

BMW argues that this noncompliance 

is inconsequential to motor vehicle 

safety for the following reasons: 

1. Vehicle owner’s are informed via 

the vehicle Owner’s Manual that if 

‘‘RSC’’ is stamped on the sidewall of the 

tire, then the tire is a ‘‘run-flat’’ tire. 

2. BMW vehicle owners can contact 

BMW Roadside AssistanceTM

representatives by telephone 24 hours/ 

day. These representatives can provide 

vehicle owners, on a vehicle model and 

model year basis, with all available tire 

sizes and specifications for the tires 

originally mounted on their vehicle, 

including the installation of ‘‘run-flat’’ 

tires. 

3. For vehicles equipped with BMW 

AssistTM, passengers can contact BMW 

Roadside AssistanceTM representatives 

directly from within the vehicle.2

BMW reported that the 

noncompliance was brought to their 

attention during inspections of vehicles 

equipped with ‘‘run-flat’’ tires. On 

October 26, 2010, BMW realized that the 

affected vehicles do not conform to 

FMVSS No. 110. 

BMW has additionally informed 

NHTSA that it has corrected the 

noncompliance so that all future 

production vehicles will have compliant 

labels. 

In summation, BMW believes that the 

described noncompliance of its vehicles 

to meet the requirements of FMVSS No. 

110 is inconsequential to motor vehicle 

safety, and that its petition, to exempt 

from providing recall notification of 

noncompliance as required by 49 U.S.C. 

30118 and remedying the recall 

noncompliance as required by 49 U.S.C. 

30120, and should be granted. 

NHTSA Decision: The agency agrees 

with BMW that the noncompliance is 

inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. 

The agency believes that the true 

measure of inconsequentiality to motor 

vehicle safety in this case is that there 

is no effect of the noncompliances on 

the operational safety of the subject 

vehicles in which the vehicle tire and 

loading information placards 

erroneously indicated that a spare tire 

was available when, in fact, ‘‘run flat’’ 

tires were installed in lieu of the spare 

tire. 

In the agency’s judgment, this 

noncompliance to FMVSS No. 110 will 

have an inconsequential effect on motor 

vehicle safety because: 

In the event of a flat with a ‘‘run flat’’ 

tire, the vehicle operator can continue to 

operate the vehicle. Instructions 

concerning the safe operation of a 

vehicle with a flat ‘‘run flat’’ tire are 

available from the vehicle owner’s 

manual as well as BMW Roadside TM. 

Additionally, all information required 

for maintaining and/or replacing the 

front and rear tires (i.e., tire size 

designations and their respective cold 

tire inflation pressures), as well as the 

seating capacity and vehicle capacity 

weight are correct on the tire and 

loading information placard on the 

subject vehicles. 

In consideration of the foregoing, 

NHTSA has decided that BMW has met 

its burden of persuasion that the subject 

FMVSS No. 110 labeling noncompliance 

is inconsequential to motor vehicle 

safety. Accordingly, GM’s petition is 

granted and the petitioner is exempted 

from the obligation of providing 

notification of, and a remedy for, the 

subject noncompliance under 49 U.S.C. 

30118 and 30120. 

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, 

these provisions only apply to the 

54,200 3 vehicles that have already 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 56 / Thursday, March 22, 2012 / Notices 16893 

of the affected vehicles. However, granting this 

petition does relieve distributors and dealers of the 

prohibitions on the sale, offer for sale, or 

introduction or delivery for introduction into 

interstate commerce of the noncompliant tires 

under their control after BMW notified them that 

the subject noncompliance existed. 1Supreme Indiana Operations, Inc., is 

manufacturer of motor vehicles and is registered 

under the laws of the state of Delaware. 

passed from the manufacturer to an 

owner, purchaser, or dealer. 

Authority: (49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120: 

delegations of authority at CFR 1.50 and 

501.8) 

Issued on: March 16, 2012. 

Claude H. Harris, 

Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance. 

[FR Doc. 2012–6850 Filed 3–21–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. NHTSA–2012–0024; Notice 1] 

Supreme Indiana Operations, Inc., 

Receipt of Petition for Decision of 

Inconsequential Noncompliance 

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration, DOT. 

ACTION: Receipt of petition. 

SUMMARY: Startrans, a division of 

Supreme Indiana Operations, Inc., 

(Startrans) 1 has determined that certain 

Startrans trucks, buses, and 

multifunction school activity buses 

(MFSAB) manufactured from 2006 

through 2011, do not fully comply with 

paragraph S5.3 of Federal Motor Vehicle 

Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 120, Tire 

selection and rims and motor home/ 

recreation vehicle trailer load carrying 

capacity information for motor vehicles 

with a GVWR of more than 4,536 

kilograms (10,000 pounds). Startrans 

has filed an appropriate report dated 

November 16, 2011, pursuant to 49 CFR 

part 573, Defect and Noncompliance 

Responsibility and Reports. 

Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 

30120(h) (see implementing rule at 49 

CFR part 556), Startrans 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 

to motor vehicle safety. 

This notice of receipt of Startrans’ 

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. 

Vehicles involved: Affected are 

approximately: 97,271 Startrans 2006 

through 2011 model year trucks, 9,543 

Startrans 2007 through 2011 model year 

buses, and 436 model year 2007 through 

2011 MFSAB. 

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, 

these provisions only apply to the 

subject vehicles that Startrans no longer 

controlled at the time it determined that 

the noncompliance existed. 

Noncompliance: Startrans explains 

that the noncompliance is that the 

height of the lettering on the combined 

certification and tire information labels 

attached to the subject vehicles is less 

than that required by paragraph S5.3 of 

FMVSS No. 120. The lettering on the 

noncompliant labels is only 2.12 

millimeters (mm) in height. The height 

required by paragraph S5.3 is 2.4 mm. 

Rule text: Paragraph S5.3 of FMVSS 

No. 120 requires in pertinent part: 

S5.3 Each vehicle shall show the 

information specified in S5.3.1 and S5.3.2 

and, in the case of a vehicle equipped with 

a non-pneumatic spare tire, the information 

specified in S5.3.3, in the English language, 

lettered in block capitals and numerals not 

less than 2.4 millimeters high and in the 

format set forth following this paragraph. 

This information shall appear either— 

(a) After each GAWR listed on the 

certification label required by § 567.4 or 

§ 567.5 of this chapter; or at the option of the 

manufacturer, 

(b) On the tire information label affixed to 

the vehicle in the manner, location, and form 

described in § 567.4(b) through (f) of this 

chapter as appropriate of each GVWR–GAWR 

combination listed on the certification label. 

Summary of Startrans’ Analysis and 

Arguments 

Startrans determined that the subject 

noncompliance existed after being 

notified by the NHTSA’s Office of 

Vehicle Safety Compliance (OVSC) that 

an apparent noncompliance was 

identified during an OVSC FMVSS No. 

120 compliance test of a model year 

2010 Startrans MFSAB. 

Startrans makes the argument that the 

subject noncompliance is not 

performance related and is 

inconsequential to vehicle safety. The 

font height of the text on the 

certification label is just 0.28 mm less 

than the requirement, but the label text 

is clear, legible and meets all the other 

labeling requirements. 

Startrans also states that the number 

of vehicles that potentially require 

remedy is 107,250 and represents 

several concerns. These vehicles are 

already registered and currently 

represent no concern with licensing. To 

perform a remedy on this many vehicles 

invites the possibility of certification 

decals being reinstalled on the wrong 

vehicles. 

Startrans has additionally informed 

NHTSA that it has corrected the 

noncompliance so that all future 

production vehicles will comply with 

FMVSS No. 120. 

In summation, Startrans believes that 

the described noncompliance of its 

vehicles is inconsequential to motor 

vehicle safety, and that its petition, to 

exempt from providing recall 

notification of noncompliance as 

required by 49 U.S.C. 30118 and 

remedying the recall noncompliance as 

required by 49 U.S.C. 30120 should be 

granted. 

Comments: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written data, views, 

and arguments on this petition. 

Comments must refer to the docket and 

notice number cited at the beginning of 

this notice and be submitted by any of 

the following methods: 

a. 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. 

b. By hand delivery 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. 

c. Electronically: by logging onto the 

Federal Docket Management System 

(FDMS) Web site at http:// 

www.regulations.gov/. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Comments may also be faxed to 1–202– 

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 your comments were 

received, please enclose a stamped, selfaddressed postcard with the comments. 

Note that all comments received will be 

posted without change to http:// 

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information provided. 

Documents submitted to a docket may 

be viewed by anyone at the address and 

times given above. The documents may 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES