Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 25 / Monday, February 7, 2022 / Notices 6941 

including leadership and organizational 

skills, region of the country represented, 

diversity characteristics, and the overall 

balance of industry representation. 

Each application should include the 

applicant’s name and organizational 

affiliation; a cover letter describing the 

applicant’s qualifications and interest in 

serving on TRACS; a curriculum vitae or 

resume of the applicant’s qualifications; 

and contact information including the 

applicant’s address, phone number, fax 

number, and email address. Selfapplication and application through 

nomination of others are acceptable. 

FTA prefers electronic submissions for 

all applications, via email to TRACS@

dot.gov. Applications will also be 

accepted via mail at the address 

identified in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section of this 

notice. 

FTA expects to nominate up to 25 

representatives from the public 

transportation safety community for 

immediate TRACS membership. The 

Secretary, in consultation with the 

Administrator, will make the final 

selection decision. 

This notice is provided in accordance 

with the Federal Advisory Committee 

Act (Pub. L. 92–463, 5 U.S.C. app. 2). 

Please see the TRACS website for 

additional information at https://

www.transit.dot.gov/regulations-andguidance/safety/transit-advisorycommittee-safety-tracs. 

Nuria I. Fernandez, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2022–02494 Filed 2–4–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. NHTSA–2020–0035; Notice 2] 

Hankook Tire America Corp., Receipt 

of Petition for Decision of 

Inconsequential Noncompliance 

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration (NHTSA), 

Department of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Grant of petition. 

SUMMARY: Hankook Tire America Corp. 

(Hankook) has determined that certain 

Hankook Ventus S1 Noble2 passenger 

car tires do not fully comply with 

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 

(FMVSS) No. 139, New Pneumatic 

Radial Tires for Light Vehicles, and part 

574, Tire Identification and 

Recordkeeping. Hankook filed a 

noncompliance report dated April 23, 

2020. Hankook subsequently petitioned 

NHTSA on May 19, 2020, for a decision 

that the subject noncompliance is 

inconsequential as it relates to motor 

vehicle safety. This notice announces 

the grant of Hankook’s petition. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jayton Lindley, Office of Vehicle Safety 

Compliance, the National Highway 

Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 

(325) 655–0547, Jayton.Lindley@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Overview: Hankook has determined 

that certain Hankook Ventus S1 Noble2 

size 235/40R18W XL H452 tires do not 

fully comply with the requirements of 

paragraph S5.5.1(b) of FMVSS No. 139, 

New Pneumatic Radial Tires for Light 

Vehicles (49 CFR 571.139) and with the 

labeling requirements of Part 574.5(a) of 

part 574, Tire Identification and 

Recordkeeping (49 CFR 574). Hankook 

filed a noncompliance report dated 

April 23, 2020, pursuant to 49 CFR part 

573, Defect and Noncompliance 

Responsibility and Reports. Hankook 

subsequently petitioned NHTSA on May 

19, 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. 

Notice of receipt of Hankook’s 

petition was published with a 30-day 

public comment period, on March 23, 

2021, in the Federal Register (86 FR 

15546). No comments were received. To 

view the petition and all supporting 

documents log onto the Federal Docket 

Management System (FDMS) website at 

https://www.regulations.gov/. Then 

follow the online search instructions to 

locate docket number ‘‘NHTSA–2020– 

0035.’’ 

II. Tires Involved: Approximately 109 

Hankook Ventus S1 Noble2 size 235/ 

40R18W XL H452 passenger car tires 

manufactured on August 17, 2019, and 

August 18, 2019, are potentially 

involved. 

III. Noncompliance: Hankook 

explains that the noncompliance is due 

to a mold error in which the subject 

tires contain a tire identification number 

(TIN) with an inverted serial week and 

year (date code) as required by part 

574.5(a) and paragraph S5.5.1(b) of 

FMVSS No. 139. Specifically, the date 

code portion of the TIN was printed 

upside down. 

IV. Rule Requirements: Paragraph 

S5.5.1(b) of FMVSS No. 139, includes 

the requirements relevant to this 

petition: 

• For tires manufactured on or after 

September 1, 2009, each tire must be 

labeled with the tire identification 

number required by 49 CFR part 574 on 

the intended outboard sidewall of the 

tire. 

• Except for retreaded tires, if a tire 

does not have an intended outboard 

sidewall, the tire must be labeled with 

the tire identification number required 

by 49 CFR part 574 on one sidewall and 

with either the tire identification 

number or a partial tire identification 

number, containing all characters in the 

tire identification number except for the 

date code and, at the discretion of the 

manufacturer, any optional code, on the 

other sidewall. 

V. Summary of Hankook’s Petition: 

The following views and arguments 

presented in this section, ‘‘V. Summary 

of Hankook’s Petition,’’ are the views 

and arguments provided by Hankook 

and do not reflect the views of the 

Agency. Hankook describes the subject 

noncompliance and contends that the 

noncompliance is inconsequential as it 

relates to motor vehicle safety. 

In support of its petition, Hankook 

submits the following reasoning: 

1. The relevant information remains 

readily identifiable, 

2. the Agency has granted a similar 

petition in the past (See 81 FR 43708 

(Jul. 5, 2016)), 

3. the subject tires otherwise meet the 

marking and performance requirements 

of FMVSS No. 139, and 

4. Hankook is not aware of any 

consumer complaints, claims, or 

incidents related to the subject 

noncompliance. 

Hankook’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. 

Hankook argues 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. 

NHTSA’s Analysis: The Agency 

agrees with the petitioner that the 

subject noncompliance is 

inconsequential to motor vehicle safety 

because the nature of the labeling error 

would not prevent the correct 

identification of the tires, should the 

tires be recalled for a performance 

related noncompliance. In the subject 

case, the date code portion of the TIN 


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6942 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 25 / Monday, February 7, 2022 / Notices 

is in the correct position, however, the 

date code is upside down or inverted 

vertically. The Agency believes that 

despite the error, the date code is still 

clearly legible, will not be 

misunderstood, and may be oriented 

correctly by rotating or spinning the tire. 

VII. NHTSA’s Decision: In 

consideration of the foregoing, NHTSA 

finds that Hankook has met its burden 

of persuasion that the subject FMVSS 

No. 139 noncompliance in the affected 

tires is inconsequential to motor vehicle 

safety. Accordingly, Hankook’s petition 

is hereby granted and Hankook is 

consequently exempted from the 

obligation of providing notification of, 

and a free remedy for, that 

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, this 

decision only applies to the subject tires 

that Hankook no longer controlled at the 

time it determined that the 

noncompliance existed. However, the 

granting of this petition does not relieve 

tire 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 Hankook 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. 2022–02459 Filed 2–4–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. NHTSA–2020–0092; Notice 2] 

Michelin North America, Inc., Grant of 

Petition for Decision of 

Inconsequential Noncompliance 

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration (NHTSA), 

Department of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Grant of petition. 

SUMMARY: Michelin North America, Inc. 

(MNA) has determined that certain 

Michelin CrossClimate SUV 

replacement tires do not fully comply 

with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety 

Standard (FMVSS) No. 139, New 

Pneumatic Radial Tires for Light 

Vehicles. MNA filed a noncompliance 

report dated July 31, 2020, and 

subsequently petitioned NHTSA on 

August 21, 2020, for a decision that the 

subject noncompliance is 

inconsequential as it relates to motor 

vehicle safety. This notice announces 

the grant of MNA’s petition. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jayton Lindley, General Engineer, 

NHTSA, Office of Vehicle Safety 

Compliance, (325) 655–0547. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Overview 

MNA has determined that certain 

Michelin CrossClimate SUV 

replacement tires do not fully comply 

with the requirements of paragraphs 

S5.5(e) and (f) of FMVSS No. 139, New 

Pneumatic Radial Tires for Light 

Vehicles (49 CFR 571.139). MNA filed a 

noncompliance report dated July 31, 

2020, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, 

Defect and Noncompliance 

Responsibility and Reports. MNA 

subsequently petitioned NHTSA on 

August 21, 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. 

Notice of receipt of MNA’s petition 

was published with a 30-day public 

comment period, on September 13, 

2021, in the Federal Register (86 FR 

50949). No comments were received. To 

view the petition and all supporting 

documents log onto the Federal Docket 

Management System (FDMS) website at 

https://www.regulations.gov/. Then 

follow the online search instructions to 

locate docket number ‘‘NHTSA–2020– 

0092.’’ 

II. Tires Involved 

Approximately 884 Michelin 

CrossClimate SUV replacement tires, 

size 235/55R17 99V, manufactured 

between October 20, 2019, and 

November 30, 2019, are potentially 

involved. 

III. Noncompliance 

MNA explains that the 

noncompliance is due to a mold error 

and that as a result, the number of tread 

plies indicated on the sidewall of the 

subject tires does not match the actual 

number of plies in the tire construction 

as required by paragraphs S5.5(e) and (f) 

of FMVSS No. 139. Specifically, the 

tires were marked ‘‘Tread Plies: 2 

Polyester + 2 Steel + 1 Polyamide; 

Sidewall: 2 Polyester’’ when they 

should have been marked ‘‘Tread Plies: 

1 Polyester + 2 Steel + 1 Polyamide; 

Sidewall: 1 Polyester.’’ 

IV. Rule Requirements 

Paragraphs S5.5(e) and (f) of FMVSS 

No. 139 include the requirements 

relevant to this petition. Each tire must 

be marked on each sidewall with the 

information specified in paragraphs 

S5.5(a) through (d) and on one sidewall 

with the information specified in 

paragraphs S5.5(e) through (i) according 

to the phase-in schedule specified in 

paragraph S7 of FMVSS No. 139. 

Specifically, each tire should be marked 

with the generic name of each cord 

material used in the plies (both sidewall 

and tread area) of the tire and the actual 

number of plies in the sidewall, and the 

actual number of plies in the tread area, 

if different. 

V. Summary of MNA’s Petition 

The following views and arguments 

presented in this section, ‘‘V. Summary 

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

arguments provided by MNA and do not 

reflect the views of the Agency. MNA 

describes the subject noncompliance 

and contends that the noncompliance is 

inconsequential as it relates to motor 

vehicle safety. 

In support of its petition, MNA 

submitted the following reasoning: 

1. Operational Safety 

a. Tire performance—MNA says that 

the subject tires have been designed as 

a single ply construction. The 

mismarked tires have been 

manufactured according to the design 

specification. These tires fully comply 

with MNA performance requirements as 

well as with all applicable FMVSS tire 

safety performance standards and 

related requirements. 

b. Tire application—MNA claims that 

the mismarked ply information has no 

direct impact on tire application. The 

tires are properly marked with all other 

FMVSS required information including 

the tire size designation, maximum 

load, and maximum inflation pressure. 

These markings provide both dealers 

and consumers with the necessary 

information to ensure proper selection 

and application of the tires. 

c. Tire repair and retread—MNA also 

says that concerns related to the safety 

of tire repair and retread personnel have 

been previously raised for filings 


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