14944 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 51 / Wednesday, March 16, 2022 / Notices 

level of safety equal to that existing 

without the exemption. 

V. Conditions and Requirements 

The terms and conditions of the 

exemption are provided to the 

applicants in the exemption document 

and includes the following: (1) Each 

driver must report any crashes or 

accidents as defined in § 390.5; (2) each 

driver must report all citations and 

convictions for disqualifying offenses 

under 49 CFR 383 and 49 CFR 391 to 

FMCSA; and (3) each driver is 

prohibited from operating a motorcoach 

or bus with passengers in interstate 

commerce. The driver must also have a 

copy of the exemption when driving, for 

presentation to a duly authorized 

Federal, State, or local enforcement 

official. In addition, the exemption does 

not exempt the individual from meeting 

the applicable CDL testing 

requirements. 

VI. Preemption 

During the period the exemption is in 

effect, no State shall enforce any law or 

regulation that conflicts with this 

exemption with respect to a person 

operating under the exemption. 

VII. Conclusion 

Based upon its evaluation of the 23 

exemption applications, FMCSA 

exempts the following drivers from the 

hearing standard, § 391.41(b)(11), 

subject to the requirements cited above: 

Yunier Alegre (FL) 

Kenneth Alston (NJ) 

Charles Armand (NJ) 

Baldemar Barba (TX) 

Gary Barber (WI) 

Desmond Dantzler (AZ) 

Jeremy Descloux (WA) 

Philip Fatigato (IL) 

William Hoke (NY) 

Edward Larizza (CA) 

Kevin Maddox (GA) 

Bikien McKoy (NC) 

Rage Muse (MN) 

Orlando Padilla (FL) 

Michael Paul (IL) 

Aaron Pitsker (CA) 

Michael Principe (TX) 

William Rivas (CA) 

Kenneth Salts (OH) 

Isaac Soto (IL) 

Gary Sturdevant (TX) 

Richard Taulbee (GA) 

Matthew Taylor (TX) 

In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 

31315(b), each exemption will be valid 

for 2 years from the effective date unless 

revoked earlier by FMCSA. The 

exemption will be revoked if the 

following occurs: (1) The person fails to 

comply with the terms and conditions 

of the exemption; (2) the exemption has 

resulted in a lower level of safety than 

was maintained prior to being granted; 

or (3) continuation of the exemption 

would not be consistent with the goals 

and objectives of 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 

31315(b). 

Larry W. Minor, 

Associate Administrator for Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2022–05515 Filed 3–15–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. NHTSA–2020–0004] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Submission to the Office of 

Management and Budget for Review 

and Approval; Petitions for Exemption 

From the Vehicle Theft Prevention 

Standard 

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration (NHTSA), 

Department of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments on a reinstatement of a 

previously approved information 

collection. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(PRA), this notice announces that the 

Information Collection Request (ICR) 

summarized below has been forwarded 

to the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) for review and approval. The ICR 

describes the nature of the information 

collections and their expected burden. 

The Federal Register Notice with a 60- 

day comment period for approval of a 

reinstatement of this previously 

approved information collection was 

published on August 20, 2020. The 

agency received no comments. 

DATES: Comments must be submitted on 

or before April 15, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection, including 

suggestions for reducing burden, should 

be submitted to the Office of 

Management and Budget at 

www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. 

To find this particular information 

collection, select ‘‘Currently under 

Review—Open for Public Comment’’ or 

use the search function. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Carlita Ballard at the National Highway 

Traffic Safety Administration, Office of 

International Policy, Fuel Economy and 

Consumer Programs (NRM–310), 1200 

New Jersey Ave. SE, West Building, 

Room W43–439, Washington, DC 20590. 

Ms. Ballard’s telephone number is (202) 

366–5222. Please identify the relevant 

collection of information by referring to 

its OMB Control Number. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the 

PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), a Federal 

agency must receive approval from the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) before it collects certain 

information from the public and a 

person is not required to respond to a 

collection of information by a Federal 

agency unless the collection displays a 

valid OMB control number. In 

compliance with these requirements, 

this notice announces that the following 

information collection request will be 

submitted to OMB. 

A Federal Register notice with a 60- 

day comment period soliciting public 

comments on the following information 

collection was published on August 20, 

2020 (85 FR 51548). 

Title: Petitions for Exemption from 

the Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard 

(49 CFR part 543). 

OMB Control Number: 2127–0542. 

Type of Request: Reinstatement of a 

previously approved information 

collection. 

Type of Review Requested: Regular. 

Length of Approval Requested: Three 

years. 

Affected Public: Motor vehicle 

manufacturers. 

Summary of Information Collection: 

49 U.S.C. Chapter 331 requires the 

Secretary of Transportation, and 

NHTSA by delegation, to promulgate a 

theft prevention standard to provide for 

the identification of certain motor 

vehicles and their major replacement 

parts (parts-marking) to impede motor 

vehicle theft. NHTSA’s theft prevention 

standard at 49 CFR part 541 specifies 

performance requirements for 

identifying numbers or symbols 

(generally the vehicle identification 

number (VIN)) to be placed on major 

parts of all passenger vehicles subject to 

the theft prevention standard. 49 U.S.C. 

33106 allows manufacturers who equip 

covered vehicles with standard original 

equipment antitheft devices to petition 

for an exemption from the parts-marking 

requirements. NHTSA may exempt a 

vehicle line from the parts-marking 

requirement if the manufacturer installs 

an antitheft device as standard 

equipment on the entire vehicle line for 

which it seeks an exemption, and 

NHTSA determines that the antitheft 

device is likely to be as effective in 

reducing and deterring motor vehicle 

theft as compliance with the partsmarking requirements. 

Under the current part 543, 

manufacturers choose how they wish to 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 51 / Wednesday, March 16, 2022 / Notices 14945 

1May 2018 National Occupational Employment 

and Wage Estimates, United States. Business and 

Financial Operations Occupations, Compliance 

Officers, Occupation Code 13–1041; Mean Hourly 

Wage = $34.86. https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/ 

oes_nat.htm. Accessed Mar. 9, 2020. 

2See Table 1 at https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ 

ecec.t01.htm. 

demonstrate to the agency that the antitheft device they are installing in a 

vehicle line meets the requirements for 

exemption: By either the factors listed 

in § 543.6 (specific content 

requirements: Detailed lists, data, and 

explanations) or by the criteria listed in 

§ 543.7 (performance criteria). Section 

543.6 requires the manufacturer to 

submit: (1) A statement that an antitheft 

device will be installed as standard 

equipment on all vehicles in the line for 

which an exemption is sought; (2) a list 

naming each component in the antitheft 

system, and a diagram showing the 

location of each of those components 

within the vehicle; (3) a discussion that 

explains the means and process by 

which the device is activated and 

functions, including any aspect of the 

device designed to facilitate or 

encourage its activation by motorists, 

attract attention to the efforts of an 

unauthorized person to enter or move 

the vehicle by means other than a key, 

prevent defeating or circumventing the 

device by an unauthorized person 

attempting to enter a vehicle by means 

other than a key, prevent the operation 

of a vehicle which an unauthorized 

person has entered using means other 

than a key, and ensure the reliability 

and durability of the device; (4) the 

reasons for the petitioner’s belief that 

the antitheft device will be effective in 

reducing and deterring motor vehicle 

theft, including any theft data and other 

data that are available to the petitioner 

and form the basis for that belief; (5) the 

reasons for the petitioner’s belief that 

the agency should determine that the 

antitheft device is likely to be as 

effective as compliance with the partsmarking requirements of part 541 in 

reducing and deterring motor vehicle 

theft, including any statistical data that 

are available to the petitioner and form 

a basis for petitioner’s belief that a line 

of passenger motor vehicles equipped 

with the antitheft device is likely to 

have a theft rate equal to or less than 

that of passenger motor vehicles of the 

same, or similar, line which have parts 

marked in compliance with part 541. 

Section 543.7 requires manufacturers 

to submit a statement that the entire line 

of vehicles is equipped with an 

immobilizer, as standard equipment, 

that meets one of the following: (1) The 

performance criteria of (subsections 8 

through 21) of C.R.C, c. 1038.114, Theft 

Protection and Rollaway Prevention (in 

effect March 30, 2011), as excerpted in 

appendix A of this part; (2) National 

Standard of Canada CAN/ULC–S338– 

98, Automobile Theft Deterrent 

Equipment and Systems: Electronic 

Immobilization (May 1998); (3) United 

Nations Economic Commission for 

Europe (UN/ECE) Regulation No. 97 

(ECE R97), Uniform Provisions 

Concerning Approval of Vehicle Alarm 

System (VAS) and Motor Vehicles with 

Regard to Their Alarm System (AS) in 

effect August 8, 2007; or (4) UN/ECE 

Regulation No. 116 (ECE R116), Uniform 

Technical Prescriptions Concerning the 

Protection of Motor Vehicles Against 

Unauthorized Use in effect on February 

10, 2009. Manufacturers must also 

submit documentation kept to 

demonstrate that the device conforms 

with the performance criteria and a 

statement that the immobilizer device is 

durable and reliable. 

Description of the Need for the 

Information and Proposed Use of the 

Information: NHTSA requires this 

information to determine whether an 

anti-theft device a manufacturer is 

installing in a vehicle line is likely to be 

as effective in reducing and deterring 

motor vehicle theft as compliance with 

the parts-marking requirements and 

therefore meets the requirements for the 

grant of an exemption from part 541 

parts-marking requirements. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

12. 

There are approximately 23 vehicle 

manufacturers that could request an 

exemption per model year. For MYs 

2017–2020, the agency received 32 

petitions for exemption from the partsmarking requirements, with 12 of those 

petitions received in the most recent 

year. Nine respondents filed under 

§ 543.6 and three respondents filed 

under § 543.7. NHTSA anticipates that 

the number of petitions received in each 

of the next three years will be the same 

as the number of petitions received in 

the most recent year, i.e., approximately 

12 per year. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 2,094. 

NHTSA estimates, based on 

information provided by manufacturers, 

that 226 hours will be required for 

exemptions requested under § 543.6, 

and 20 hours for exemptions requested 

under § 543.7. The agency expects that, 

similar to 2020, nine manufacturers will 

choose to file for an exemption under 

§ 543.6 and three manufacturers will 

choose to file for an exemption under 

§ 543.7. The estimated total annual 

burden hours are shown below: 

Average 

number of 

petitions 

per year 

Average time 

per petition 

submittal 

(hours) 

Total annual 

hours 

Preparation and Submittal of Petition for Exemption under § 543.6 ........................................... 9 226 2,034 

Preparation and Submittal of Petition for Exemption under § 543.7 ........................................... 3 20 60 

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: ................................................................................ ........................ ........................ 2,094 

The labor cost associated with the 

burden hours for this collection is 

derived by (1) applying appropriate 

average hourly labor rate for 

‘‘Compliance Officers,’’ Occupation 

Code 13–1041, published by the Bureau 

of Labor Statistics,1 (2) dividing by 

0.701 2 (70.1%) to obtain the total 

compensation rate for private industry 

workers, and (3) multiplying by the 

estimated labor hours for each 

exemption type. 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1
14946 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 51 / Wednesday, March 16, 2022 / Notices 

1 49 CFR 543.7 specifies that the manufacturer 

must include a statement that their entire vehicle 

line is equipped with an immobilizer that meets 

one of the following standards: (1) The performance 

criteria (subsections 8 through 21) of C.R.C, c. 

1038.114, Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention 

(in effect March 30, 2011), as excerpted in appendix 

A of [part 543]; (2) National Standard of Canada 

CAN/ULC–S338–98, Automobile Theft Deterrent 

Equipment and Systems: Electronic Immobilization 

(May 1998); (3) United Nations Economic 

Commission for Europe (UN/ECE) Regulation No. 

97 (ECE R97), Uniform Provisions Concerning 

Approval of Vehicle Alarm System (VAS) and 

Motor Vehicles with Regard to Their Alarm System 

(AS) in effect August 8, 2007; or (4) UN/ECE 

Regulation No. 116 (ECE R116), Uniform Technical 

Prescriptions Concerning the Protection of Motor 

Vehicles Against Unauthorized Use in effect on 

February 10, 2009. 

Hourly labor 

cost 

Average time 

per petition 

submittal 

(hours) 

Labor 

cost/petition 

Estimated No. 

of Petitions/ 

Year 

Annual labor 

cost 

Preparation and Submittal of Petition for Exemption under 

§ 543.6 .............................................................................. $49.73 226 $11,238.98 9 $101,151 

Preparation and Submittal of Petition for Exemption under 

§ 543.7 .............................................................................. 49.73 20 994.60 3 2,984 

Estimated Annual Labor Cost for This Information 

Collection: .................................................................. ........................ ........................ ........................ ........................ $104,135 

Estimated Total Annual Burden Cost 

to Respondents: $0. 

NHTSA estimates that there will be 

no costs to respondents other than labor 

costs associated with burden hours. 

Public Comments Invited: You are 

asked to comment on any aspects of this 

information collection, including (a) 

whether the proposed collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

agency, including whether the 

information will have practical utility; 

(b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate 

of the burden of the proposed collection 

of information, including the validity of 

the methodology and assumptions used; 

(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility 

and clarity of the information to be 

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the 

burden of the collection of information 

on respondents, including the use of 

appropriate automated, electronic, 

mechanical, or other technological 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology, e.g., permitting 

electronic submission of responses. 

(Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995; 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended; 49 

CFR 1.49; and DOT Order 1351.29) 

Issued in Washington, DC. 

Raymond R. Posten, 

Associate Administrator for Rulemaking. 

[FR Doc. 2022–05574 Filed 3–15–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

Petition for Exemption From the 

Federal Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention 

Standard; Volkswagen Group of 

America, Inc. 

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration (NHTSA), 

Department of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Grant of petition for exemption. 

SUMMARY: This document grants in full 

the Volkswagen Group of America, 

Inc.’s (Volkswagen) petition for 

exemption from the Federal Motor 

Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard (theft 

prevention standard) for its Audi e-tron 

GT vehicle line beginning in model year 

(MY) 2023. The petition is granted 

because the agency has determined that 

the antitheft device to be placed on the 

line as standard equipment is likely to 

be as effective in reducing and deterring 

motor vehicle theft as compliance with 

the parts-marking requirements of the 

theft prevention standard. Volkswagen 

also requested confidential treatment for 

specific information in its petition. 

Therefore, no confidential information 

provided for purposes of this notice has 

been disclosed. 

DATES: The exemption granted by this 

notice is effective beginning with the 

2023 model year. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Carlita Ballard, Office of International 

Policy, Fuel Economy, and Consumer 

Programs, NHTSA, West Building, 

W43–439, NRM–310, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590. Ms. 

Ballard’s phone number is (202) 366– 

5222. Her fax number is (202) 493–2990. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under 49 

U.S.C. chapter 331, the Secretary of 

Transportation (and the National 

Highway Traffic Safety Administration 

(NHTSA) by delegation) is required to 

promulgate a theft prevention standard 

to provide for the identification of 

certain motor vehicles and their major 

replacement parts to impede motor 

vehicle theft. NHTSA promulgated 

regulations at 49 CFR part 541 (theft 

prevention standard) to require partsmarking for specified passenger motor 

vehicles and light trucks. Pursuant to 49 

U.S.C. 33106, manufacturers that are 

subject to the parts-marking 

requirements may petition the Secretary 

of Transportation for an exemption for 

a line of passenger motor vehicles 

equipped with an antitheft device as 

standard equipment that the Secretary 

decides is likely to be as effective in 

reducing and deterring motor vehicle 

theft as compliance with the partsmarking requirements. In accordance 

with this statute, NHTSA promulgated 

49 CFR part 543, which establishes the 

process through which manufacturers 

may seek an exemption from the theft 

prevention standard. 

49 CFR 543.5 provides general 

submission requirements for petitions 

and states that each manufacturer may 

petition NHTSA for an exemption of 

one vehicle line per model year. Among 

other requirements, manufacturers must 

identify whether the exemption is 

sought under § 543.6 or § 543.7. Under 

§ 543.6, a manufacturer may request an 

exemption by providing specific 

information about the antitheft device, 

its capabilities, and the reasons the 

petitioner believes the device to be as 

effective at reducing and deterring theft 

as compliance with the parts-marking 

requirements. Section 543.7 permits a 

manufacturer to request an exemption 

under a more streamlined process if the 

vehicle line is equipped with an 

antitheft device (an ‘‘immobilizer’’) as 

standard equipment that complies with 

one of the standards specified in that 

section.1

Section 543.8 establishes 

requirements for processing petitions for 

exemption from the theft prevention 

standard. As stated in § 543.8(a), 

NHTSA processes any complete 

exemption petition. If NHTSA receives 

an incomplete petition, NHTSA will 

notify the petitioner of the deficiencies. 

Once NHTSA receives a complete 

petition the agency will process it and, 

in accordance with § 543.8(b), will grant 

the petition if it determines that, based 

upon substantial evidence, the standard 

equipment antitheft device is likely to 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1