[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 193 (Friday, October 4, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 80986-80987]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-23011]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2022-0073; Notice 1]


Comoto Holdings, Inc., 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: Comoto Holdings, Inc., (Comoto), has determined that certain 
Street & Steel Oakland motorcycle helmets do not fully comply with 
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 218, Motorcycle 
Helmets. On July 6, 2022, Comoto filed a noncompliance report and 
submitted a petition, for a decision that the subject noncompliance is 
inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety. This document 
announces receipt of Comoto's petition.

DATES: Send comments on or before November 4, 2024.

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 may be 
submitted by any of the following methods:
    <bullet> 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.
    <bullet> 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.
    <bullet> 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.
    <bullet> 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).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paloma Lampert, Safety Compliance 
Engineer, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance, NHTSA, (202) 366-5299.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    I. Overview: Comoto determined that certain Street & Steel Oakland 
motorcycle helmets do not fully comply with paragraph S5.1(b) of FMVSS 
No. 218, Motorcycle Helmets (49 CFR 571.218).
    Comoto filed a noncompliance report dated July 6, 2022, pursuant to 
49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports. 
Comoto petitioned NHTSA on July 6, 2022, 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 Comoto's petition is published under 49 
U.S.C. 30118 and 30120 and does not represent any agency decision or 
another exercise of judgment concerning the merits of the petition.
    II. Equipment Involved: Approximately 408 size XL Street & Steel 
Oakland motorcycle helmets, manufactured between August 1, 2021, and 
August 31, 2021, were reported by the manufacturer.
    III. Noncompliance: Comoto explains that the noncompliance is that 
when the subject helmets are subjected to the low temperature 
conditioning procedure, as specified in paragraph S6.4.1(b), and then 
tested in accordance with paragraph S7.1, they do not meet the 
requirements provided in paragraph S5.1(b) of FMVSS No. 218. 
Specifically, Comoto found that during its own FMVSS No. 218 testing, a 
single helmet failed the impact attenuation dwell time requirement 
because a cumulative dwell time of 2.07 ms was measured during the 
second impact onto the flat anvil, at the right location of the helmet 
conditioned to the low temperature procedure.
    IV. Rule Requirements: Paragraph S5.1(b), of FMVSS No. 218 includes 
the requirements relevant to this petition. Each helmet must meet the 
requirements of paragraph S5.1 when subjected to any conditioning 
procedure specified in S6.4.1(b) and tested in accordance with S7.1. 
When an impact attenuation test is conducted in accordance with 
paragraph S7.1, among other requirements, accelerations in excess of 
200g shall not exceed a cumulative duration of 2.0 milliseconds

[[Page 80987]]

    V. Summary of Comoto's Petition: The following views and arguments 
presented in this section, ``V. Summary of Comoto's Petition,'' are the 
views and arguments provided by Comoto. They have not been evaluated by 
the Agency and do not reflect the views of the Agency. Comoto describes 
the subject noncompliance and contends that the noncompliance is 
inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety.
    Comoto states that the subject noncompliance should be deemed 
inconsequential because the result was 2.07ms, which Comoto says is 
``remarkably close to a PASS.'' Furthermore, Comoto states the same 
model and size helmets have met this requirement in prior years, as far 
back as December 2017.
    Comoto concludes by stating its belief that the subject 
noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety 
and 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 motorcycle helmets that 
Comoto no longer controlled at the time it determined that the 
noncompliance existed. However, any decision on this petition does not 
relieve equipment distributors and dealers of the prohibitions on the 
sale, offer for sale, or introduction or delivery for introduction into 
interstate commerce of the noncompliant motorcycle helmets under their 
control after Comoto 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. 2024-23011 Filed 10-3-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P