Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 108 / Friday, June 5, 1998 / Proposed Rules 30695

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration

49 CFR Part 575

[Docket No. 98–3866]

RIN 2127–AG96

Consumer Information Regulations:

Uniform Tire Quality Grading

Standards

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration (NHTSA),

Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

SUMMARY: This notice of proposed

rulemaking (NPRM) proposes to amend

the treadwear testing procedures under

the Uniform Tire Quality Grading

Standards (UTQGS). To ensure the

consistency of the treadwear grades

from one year to the next, the agency

must monitor the changing roughness of

the test course, periodically calculate a

base course wear rate (BCWR), and

adjust measured tire wear rates

accordingly. To monitor the test course,

the agency uses special tires designated

as course monitoring tires (CMTs).

The agency is proposing to change the

computation of the BCWR used in

calculating the treadwear grade of

passenger car tires. Under the proposed

amendments, there would be a direct

comparison of the wear rates of course

monitoring tires (CMT) used as the

control standard and candidate tires, i.e,

the tires being tested for the purposes of

grading. This direct comparison would

result in more consistent treadwear

ratings by compensating for any changes

or variations in CMT characteristics.

NHTSA proposes to measure the wear

rate of CMTs 4 times per year and using

the average wear rate from the last 4

quarterly CMT tests as a basis for the

BCWR. NHTSA further proposes to

require, subject to the exception in the

following sentence, that CMTs used to

determine wear rate be no more than 6

months old at the commencement of the

test and that the difference in the

production dates of those tires be not

greater than 3 months. If tires more than

6 months old are used in the wear rate

test, their average wear rate must be

reduced by 10 percent.

DATES: Comment closing date:

Comments on this notice must be

received on or before August 4, 1998.

Proposed effective date: If adopted,

the amendments proposed in this notice

would become effective 60 days after

the date of publication of the final rule

in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Comments should refer to

the docket and notice numbers noted

above for this rule and be submitted to:

Docket Management, Room PL–401, 400

Seventh Street SW, Washington, DC

20590. Docket room hours are from

10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through

Friday.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For

technical issues: Mr. Orron Kee, Chief,

Consumer Programs Division, Office of

Planning and Consumer Programs,

National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration, 400 Seventh Street SW,

Room 5320F, Washington, DC 20590;

telephone (202) 366–0846; FAX (202)

493–2739.

For legal issues: Mr. Walter K. Myers,

Office of the Chief Counsel, National

Highway Traffic Safety Administration,

400 Seventh Street SW, Room 5219,

Washington, DC 20590; telephone (202)

366–2992; FAX (202) 366–3820.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

a. Background

Current Provisions. Section 30123(e)

of Title 49, United States Code requires

the Secretary of Transportation to

prescribe a uniform system for grading

motor vehicle tires to assist consumers

in making informed choices when

purchasing tires. Pursuant to that

congressional mandate, NHTSA

promulgated the Uniform Tire Quality

Grading Standards (UTQGS) in 49 CFR

575.104.

The UTQGS require tire

manufacturers and tire brand name

owners to test and grade their tires with

respect to their relative treadwear,

traction, and temperature resistance

performance. Treadwear grades are

shown by numbers, such as 100, 160,

and 200, while the traction grade is

indicated by AA, A, B, and C, with AA

representing the highest performance

characteristics and C the lowest. The

temperature resistance grade is

indicated by the letters A, B, and C,

with A representing the best

performance and C indicating the

minimum level of performance

necessary to comply with Federal motor

vehicle safety standards.

Treadwear grades are developed first

by running the tires being graded, called

‘‘candidate tires,’’ over a selected 400-

mile segment of public highway near

San Angelo, Texas. After an 800-mile

‘‘break-in’’ run, the candidate tires are

driven over the test course for a total of

6,400 miles in test convoys composed of

4 passenger cars and/or light truck

vehicles. Each driver remains in the

same position within the convoy. The

vehicles are rotated among the 4

positions in the convoy regularly as are

the positions of the tires on the test

vehicles so that the tires get equal time

with each driver, each vehicle, and each

wheel position.

Special tires known as ‘‘course

monitoring tires’’ (CMT) are used as the

control in grading candidate tires. CMTs

are specially designed and built to

American Society for Testing and

Materials (ASTM) standard E1136 to

have particularly narrow limits of

variability. Until the amendments to the

UTQGS published in a final rule on

September 9, 1996 (61 FR 4737),

whenever NHTSA procured a new

batch, or lot, of CMTs, the agency

established a new BCWR for that lot.

The BCWR, measured in mils per

thousand miles, was established by

running tires from the new lot of CMTs

over the 6,400-mile test course, in the

same manner as candidate tires, with

tires from the previous batch of CMTs.

A course severity adjustment factor

(CSAF) for the CMTs was determined by

dividing the BCWR for the old CMTs by

the average wear rate of the old CMTs

in the test. The wear rate of the new

CMTs was then multiplied by the CSAF

to determine the adjusted wear rate

(AWR) of the new CMTs. That value

then became the BCWR for the new

CMTs.

Once the BCWR for the new CMTs

was established, these CMTs were used

to grade candidate tires. Upon

completion of the 6,400-mile test, the

BCWR was divided by the average wear

rate of the CMTs to determine the CSAF

for the candidate tires. That factor was

then applied to the wear rates of the

candidate tires to obtain the AWR of the

candidate tires. That AWR was then

extrapolated to the point of wearout

(considered to be 1⁄16th inch of

remaining tread depth). The resultant

value was then converted to the

treadwear rating of the tire.

The BCWR was originally intended to

provide a common baseline by which to

grade candidate tires by relating all new

CMTs to the original lot of CMTs.

However, NHTSA noted that the BCWRs

of successive new lots of CMTs steadily

declined over the years. The trend has

been that every time that a fresh CMT

of the next lot was tested in the same

convoy with an example of the old CMT

from storage, the fresh CMT consistently

experienced a lower wear rate than the

old CMT running in the same convoy.

The first lot of CMTs procured by the

agency in 1975 were commerciallyavailable Goodyear Custom Steelguards

which yielded a BCWR of 4.44. The lot

procured by the agency in 1995

produced a BCWR of 1.34. Table I

shows the consistent decline in each

new lot of CMTs.
30696 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 108 / Friday, June 5, 1998 / Proposed Rules

TABLE I.—CMT WEAR RATE AND BASE COURSE WEAR RATE ADJUSTMENT FACTORS

Year Manufacturer Series Measured

wear rate CSAF Adj. wearrate BCWR

1975 ............................................. Goodyear ..................................... (1) 4.44 1.0 4.44 4.44

1979 ............................................. Goodyear ..................................... (1) 4.08 1.09 4.44 ....................

1979 ............................................. Goodyear ..................................... (2) 3.82 1.09 4.16 4.16

1980 ............................................. Goodyear ..................................... (2) 5.29 0.79 4.16 ....................

1980 ............................................. Goodyear ..................................... (3) 4.76 0.79 3.74 3.74

1984 ............................................. Goodyear ..................................... (3) 4.22 0.89 3.74 ....................

1984 ............................................. Uniroyal ........................................ 4000 3.27 0.89 2.90 2.90

1987 ............................................. Uniroyal ........................................ 4000 5.96 0.49 2.90 ....................

1987 ............................................. Uniroyal ........................................ 71000 4.56 0.49 2.22 2.22

1989 ............................................. Uniroyal ........................................ 71000 5.01 0.44 2.22 ....................

1989 ............................................. Uniroyal ........................................ 91000 4.84 0.44 2.14 2.14

1991 ............................................. Uniroyal ........................................ 91000 6.24 0.34 2.14 ....................

1991 ............................................. ASTM E1136 ................................ 010000 4.94 0.34 1.70 1.70

1991 ............................................. ASTM E1136 ................................ 010000 6.96 0.24 1.70 ....................

1992 ............................................. ASTM E1136 ................................ 110000 6.65 0.24 1.62 1.62

1992 ............................................. ASTM E1136 ................................ 110000 5.83 0.28 1.62 ....................

1992 ............................................. ASTM E1136 ................................ 210000 5.60 0.28 1.56 1.56

1993 ............................................. ASTM E1136 ................................ 210000 7.21 0.22 1.56 ....................

1993 ............................................. ASTM E1136 ................................ 310000 68.0 0.22 1.47 1.47

1995 ............................................. ASTM E1136 ................................ 310000 6.47 0.23 1.47 ....................

1995 ............................................. ASTM E1136 ................................ 410000 5.91 0.23 1.34 1.34

1Batch 1.

2Batch 2.

3Batch 3.

In replacing CMTs from the original

lot of CMTs procured in 1975, it should

be noted that the greatest difference in

the AWR between nominally identical

CMTs of different ages was about 30

percent occurring in 1987 when the old

CMTs had been stored for about 3 years.

On the other hand, the least difference

in the AWR between nominally

identical CMTs of different ages was

about 4 percent occurring in the second

1992 replacement when the old CMT

had been stored less than a year. Table

I also shows that the treadwear rate

disadvantage of the aged CMTs at

replacement varied considerably from a

linear relationship with age.

Presumably, therefore, the rate may be

exacerbated by actual batch differences

of the commercial tires used as CMTs

prior to 1991.

The significance of the decrease in the

BCWR rate was that as the BCWR

decreased, the treadwear grades of

candidate tires increased. Consequently,

the newer treadwear grades have

increased to the point that they have

become a misleading indicator of actual

tread life when compared to tires tested

with higher BCWRs.

To correct this problem, the agency

froze the BCWR at 1.34 mils in the final

rule of September 9, 1996. The agency

believed that freezing the BCWR at that

figure would significantly reduce, if not

eliminate, any variation in the grading

between lots. Further, the agency

believed that the use of ASTM E1136

tires that are produced with strict

quality control would also contribute to

reduction of any lot-to-lot variations.

NHTSA stated, however, that it had

requested the assistance of the ASTM F9

committee in devising a better

treadwear test and that it would request

data in a future rulemaking on the

effects of tire aging on treadwear

performance and storage procedures to

reduce aging.

b. Discussion

The previous computations of the

BCWR as described above were based

on the unstated assumption that the

tires in a lot of CMTs were not affected

by aging. Thus, it was assumed that the

last-remaining old CMTs in storage were

identical in inherent treadwear

performance to the first tires of the same

lot whose treadwear rates were

measured when they were fresh.

NHTSA now has reason to believe that

may not in fact be true.

Treadwear tests of convoys containing

tires from the same lines of radial, bias

and bias-belted tires differing in age by

one year are discussed in NHTSA

research. See Brenner, et al.,

Establishment and Calibration of a

Tread Wear Test Course, Tire Science

and Technology, Vol. 3, No. 3, August

1975, at page 174. The purpose of the

tests, which included tires partially

worn at the beginning of the tests, was

to confirm that the treadwear

characteristics of tires with different

pre-test histories remained sufficiently

linear to permit accurate tread life

projections after 6,400 miles of testing

by comparing their tread life after 8,000

miles of testing. The tests concluded

that of the nominally identical tires,

those that had been stored

approximately one year in unspecified

circumstances, presumably at the test

course at San Angelo, had an 8 to 13

percent shorter tread life than their

fresher counterparts.

The strength of an aging effect

sufficient to account for all of the

decline in the BCWR since 1975 may be

estimated using the following equation

in which it is assumed that all

differences between CMTs are the result

of aging:

(1) New BCWR = old BCWR ×

[(measured wear rate of new

CMTs)/(measured wear rate of old

CMTs in convoy)].

This produces a gross estimation that

does not take into account the different

storage lengths of the aged CMTs.

Equation (2) designates BCWRs of

different generations of CMTs with

subscripts m and n, with subscript of 1

referring to the original 1975 CMT and

a subscript of 11 referring to the latest

generation:

(2) BCWRm = BCWRn × [(wear rate of

fresh CMT)/(wear rate of aged

CMT)]m¥n

Let m=11 and n=1 to account for all

the observed change in BCWR.

Therefore:

1.34 = 4.44 ×[(wear rate of fresh

CMT)/(wear rate of aged CMT)](10)

Solving for the wear rate ratio yields:

[(wear rate of fresh CMT)/(wear rate of

aged CMT)] = 0.887 or
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 108 / Friday, June 5, 1998 / Proposed Rules 30697

[wear rate of aged CMT)/(wear rate of

fresh CMT)] = 1.127

Thus, an average of 12.7 percent

degradation of tread life during an

average storage period of approximately

2 years would account for nearly all the

change in BCWR during the existence of

the UTQGS program. This would be

consistent with the earlier agency

observations of 8 to 13 percent

degradation during about 1 year of

storage. It should be noted, however,

that year-to-year variations in BCWR

could have been affected by actual batch

differences and/or real changes in

treadwear characteristics when the

brand and line of tires used as CMTs

were changed.

To confirm NHTSA’s previous test

data, the agency contracted with Texas

Test Fleet, Inc. to conduct a 52,000 mile

test in eight 6,400 mile cycles between

November 7, 1996 and February 28,

1997 under guidelines set forth by the

agency’s Office of Vehicle Safety

Compliance (see Texas Test Fleet,

Critical Evaluation of UTQG Treadwear

Testing & Methodology, DOT HS 808–

701, March 10, 1997). The test was

conducted on the UTQGS test course

near San Angelo, Texas. The objective of

the test was to determine the real wear

rate of CMTs by running a tightlycontrolled UTQGS specification test to

wearout or near wearout. The break-in

phase sought to include all the rapid

changing, fast wearing, early wear of the

tire and prepare it for a constant wear

period in which a straight-line wear rate

could be established from which the

mileage could be projected, the effects

of aging could be measured, and the

treadwear grade established. In making

the treadwear projection, the agency

assumed that CMT wear rates during the

test period may not be truly linear

because modern radial tires have such a

long tread life that the 6,400 mile

UTQGS treadwear test may involve only

10 percent or less of the tire’s tread life.

A set of 4 ASTM E1136 CMTs

manufactured during the 26th week of

1996 (26–6) was used to run the entire

52,000 miles of the test and were

designated the control standard for the

other tires that started at the beginning

of the test. Two sets of tires on 2 cars

started the test and ran half way (26,000

miles). Different tires were installed on

those 2 cars at the halfway point for the

second half of the test, and a fifth car

was started at the same time with 26–

6 controls for the remainder of the test.

The 26–6 and the 45–5 (45th week,

1995) tires were not stored in the San

Angelo warehouse as were the 30–5

(30th week, 1995) and 09–4 (9th week,

1994) tires, but in a cave in Missouri

that has a constant temperature. The 26–

6 tires used in the second half of the test

wore more rapidly (7.060 MPTM) than

the 26–6 tires used in the first half of the

test, which wore at 6.364 mils. 09–4

CMTs also exhibited a relatively high

wear rate of 7.773. The wear rates at

6,400 miles for the tires used in the test

are shown in Table II.

TABLE II

Manufacture date Test start date Wear rate

@ 6,400 miles

26th Week of 1996 (26–6) (Cave) ............................................................................................................... 11/11/96 6.364

45th Week of 1995 (45–5) (Cave) ............................................................................................................... 11/11/96 6.547

30th Week of 1995 (30–5) (San Angelo) ..................................................................................................... 11/11/96 6.968

09th Week of 1994 (09–4) (San Angelo) ..................................................................................................... 1/25/97 7.733

26th Week of 1996 (26–6) (Cave) ............................................................................................................... 1/25/97 7.060

The effect on aging on 45–5 (cave), 30–5 (San Angelo), and 09–4 (San Angelo) CMT tires compared to the 26–6 (cave)

control standard are shown in Table III.

TABLE III

Tires Ave. WR/confidence

interval 0–6,400 miles

Ave. WR/confidence

interval 6,400–12,800

miles

Cumul. W.R./confidence interval to

12,800 miles

Ave. WR/confidence

interval 12,800–

19,200 miles

Ave. WR/confidence

interval 19,200–

25,600 miles

45–5 Cave ................... 3% Higher/0.871 ....... 6% Higher/0.999 ....... 5% Higher/0.996 ....... 1.2% Higher/0.714 .... 1.5% Higher/0.531.

30–5 SA ...................... 10% Higher/0.997 ..... 10% Higher/0.999 ..... 10% Higher/0.999 ..... 5% Higher/0.993 ....... 3.8% Higher/0.927.

09–4 SA ...................... 9% Higher/0.998 ....... 8.5% Higher/0.999 .... 8.8% Higher/0.999 .... 4% Higher/0.93 ......... 10% Higher/0.999.

The agency found from this series of

tests that compared with the 26–6 CMTs

(19 weeks old), the 45–5 cave-stored

tires (34 weeks older than the 26–6)

displayed about 3 percent higher wear

rate at 6,400 miles with marginal

statistical significance because of scatter

of the 26–6 group. However, those 45–

5 tires displayed over 6 percent higher

wear in the 6,400–12,800 mile interval

with high statistical significance and 5

percent higher cumulative wear to

12,800 with high statistical significance,

but the effect diminished for intervals

after 12,800 miles. The 30–5 San

Angelo-stored tires (about 1 year older)

displayed about 10 percent higher wear

at 0–6,400 and 6,400–12,800 mile

intervals with high statistical

significance, but the effect reduced to

about 5 percent at the 12,800–19,200

mile interval. Finally, the 09–4 San

Angelo-stored tires, over 2 years older

than 26–6, displayed about 10 percent

higher wear to 25,600 miles with no

sign of diminishing.

The agency concluded from the tests

that tires typical of the remaining CMTs

at batch changeover exhibited about 10

percent greater wear rates than

reasonably fresh ASTM tires. Thus, the

11 batch changeovers with this systemic

error could explain most of the BCWR

variations to date, although some real

changes in test pavement and control

tire properties have undoubtedly

occurred. The test also revealed that

every comparison between a newer tire

and an older tire favored the newer tire,

usually with high statistical

significance. Further, cave storage

appears to have a big advantage over

open storage considering the 0–6,400

mile interval.

Previous tire manufacturer

suggestions to change the treadwear test

were based at least in part on the belief

that, for modern tires, the San Angelo

test course is too mild, making the tread

wear during the 6,400 mile test

insufficient to make reliable projections

to wearout. The Texas Test Fleet test

established, however, that tread life

projections for the commercial tires
30698 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 108 / Friday, June 5, 1998 / Proposed Rules

1The designation E1136 refers to the standard

specification of materials and construction practices

codified by ASTM as suitable for control tires for

scientific experimentation.

based on the usual UTQGS procedure at

6,400 test miles fell within about 10

percent of projections made at mileages

of up to 25,600 test miles and even

52,100 test miles for two of the tested

tire lines. Therefore, increasing the

UTQGS procedure from 6,400 to 26,400

miles would not appreciably change any

projections. To demonstrate this

conclusively, the agency would need

additional extended testing with a

variety of commercial tires to make a

statistically valid decision on whether

the 6,400 mile test is adequate. The

results of the Texas Test Fleet tests,

however, would not justify more testing

since the projections for the four

commercial tire lines at higher mileages

are within 10 percent of the 6,400 mile

projections and vary somewhat

randomly around those projections. The

tread life projections at different

mileages are shown in Table IV.

TABLE IV.—TREAD LIFE PROJECTIONS

[% of 6,400 Mile Projections]

Phase I Phase II

26–6 CMT

(Cave)

45–5

(Cave)

30–5

(SA) Brand A Brand B 26–6 CMT(Cave)

09–4

(SA) Brand C Brand D

Projected From Linear Regression at 6,400 Miles

47,100 45,532 42,693 55,900 72,800 46,650 42,825 32,500 32,500

Projected From Linear Regression at 12,800 Miles

47,026 44,420 42,009 51,824 72,127 46,239 42,207 32,510 32,653

(99.8%) (97.5%) (98.3%) (92.7%) (99.0%) (99.0%) (98.5%) (100%) (100%)

Projected From Linear Regression at 19,200 Miles

47,982 46,071 43,847 52,701 68,818 47,833 44,481 33,851 33,747

(101%) (101%) (102%) (94.2%) (94.5%) (102%) (103%) (104%) (102%)

Projected From Linear Regression at 25,600 Miles

50,300 48,419 46,012 54,000 67,200 49,964 46,439 35,169 34,907

(106%) (106%) (107%) (96.6%) (92.3%) (107%) (108%) (108%) (107%)

Projected From Linear Regression at 32,000 Miles

52,880 55,902 64,995

(112%) (100%) (89.2%)

Projected From Linear Regression at 38,400 Miles

54,690 58,219 68,513

(116%) (104%) (94.1%)

Projected From Linear Regression at 44,800 Miles

56,598 60,018 69,766

(120%) (107%) (95.8%)

Projected From Linear Regression at 51,200 Miles

58,190 61,190 70,562

(123%) (109%) (96.9%)

Agency Proposal

As previously stated, in the final rule

of September 9, 1996, NHTSA froze the

BCWR at 1.34 mils for ASTM E1136

tires used as CMTs. The need to

consider batch-to-batch variations in

CMT properties is greatly reduced, if not

eliminated, by use of the ASTM E1136

tires which are specifically constructed

to avoid variations between batches. 1

The agency believes that any errors

introduced by ASTM tires would

remain randomly distributed and

smaller than that for commercial tires

because of the rigidly-controlled

manufacturing process. Thus, the use of

fresh ASTM tires constructed under a

controlled procedure effectively

eliminates systematic differences

between lots. They are subject only to

random differences which, if any,

should average to zero over repeated

tests.

NHTSA believes that the use of a

BCWR determined by using fresh ASTM

tires with aged ASTM tires is

inappropriate. Rather, the BCWR should

reflect the yearly mean wear rate

imposed on fresh CMTs by the test

course pavement and driving

conditions. The conclusion that aging

increases the wear rate of tires implies

that comparing the wear rate of fresh

candidate tires to the wear rate of aged

control tires inflates the treadwear

rating because, as discussed above,

CMTs one year old have experienced

significant degradation in treadwear

properties. Thus, the use of CMTs no

more than 6 months old in test convoys

should limit systematic effects. The

agency believes that fresh ASTM tires

should be run seasonally, that is, 6,400

miles 4 times per year, then define the
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 108 / Friday, June 5, 1998 / Proposed Rules 30699

BCWR as the average treadwear rate of

the last 4 tests of the E1136 tires. Thus,

the aging effect would be eliminated by

using only fresh CMTs.

Finally, NHTSA wants to develop a

valid CMT replacement procedure in

case ASTM tires become subject to

changes in ASTM design specifications

or become unavailable. Such a

procedure would also enable the agency

to test the assumption of batch

uniformity of ASTM-specification tires.

NHTSA proposes, therefore, that

treadwear ratings should be determined

by using ASTM E1136 CMTs produced

not more than 6 months prior to the

beginning of the test. Further, there

should be no more than 3 months

difference in production dates between

those CMTs. If CMTs older than 6

months are used, their average wear rate

must be reduced by 10 percent, based

on test experience. This latter option

permits older tires to be used for the

convenience of the tester, but not as a

means of achieving higher treadwear

ratings for candidate tires. Finally, the

agency further proposes to test fresh

CMTs 4 times per year over the standard

6,400 mile test course and define the

BCWR as the average treadwear rate of

the last 4 tests of the E1136 tire. The

BCWR will be updated quarterly.

To implement the proposals

discussed above, the formula for

determining the UTQGS grade would be

changed and the grade (P) of the NHTSA

nominal treadwear value for each

candidate tire computed using the

following formula:

P = projected mileage × 100 × BCWRn/

30,000 × 1.34

Where BCWRn = New BCWR, i.e.

average treadwear of last 4 quarterly

CMT tests done by NHTSA

or

P = projected mileage × BCWRn/402

This simplified equation eliminates the

‘‘30,000’’ figure that is no longer

accurate as a treadwear mileage estimate

after the years of BCWR drift. This new

grade calculation also preserves the

current grade numbers to avoid any

discontinuity.

In view of NHTSA’s proposals

discussed above, it would appear

unnecessary to restrict manufacturers to

NHTSA’s storage facility for the

procurement of CMTs. It would be

faster, easier, more efficient, and

possibly more economical for testers to

procure ASTM tires directly from the

manufacturer. It would benefit NHTSA

also by permitting the agency to

discontinue the practice of warehousing

and distributing CMTs. To ensure that

testers are using CMTs that are less than

6 months old, NHTSA personnel at the

San Angelo test site will review the

production dates of CMTs used by

testers to verify that test fleets are using

fresh tires.

Rulemaking Analyses and Notices

a. Executive Order 12866 and DOT

Regulatory Policies and Procedures

This document was not reviewed

under Executive Order 12866,

Regulatory Planning and Review.

NHTSA has analyzed the impact of

this rulemaking action and has

determined that it is not ‘‘significant’’

under the DOT’s regulatory policies and

procedures. This proposed action would

change the equation for determining the

base course wear rate for course

monitoring tires used in the testing of

tires for compliance with the Uniform

Tire Quality Grading Standards. This

proposed action, if finalized, would not

impose any additional costs on tire

manufacturers, distributors, or dealers.

Rather, it would permit tire

manufacturers greater flexibility in their

testing programs and could result in

slightly lower costs by permitting them

to procure course monitoring tires

directly from the manufacturer rather

than from NHTSA. Further, it could

save NHTSA the time, trouble, and

expense of warehousing such tires and

selling them to manufacturers for use by

the latter in their testing programs.

Nevertheless, the agency believes that

any net cost savings would be minimal,

therefore not warranting preparation of

a full regulatory evaluation.

b. Regulatory Flexibility Act

NHTSA has considered the effects of

this rulemaking action under the

Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C.

§ 601, et seq. I hereby certify that this

notice of proposed rulemaking would

not have a significant impact on a

substantial number of small entities.

The following is the agency’s

statement providing the factual basis for

the certification (5 U.S.C. § 605(b)). The

amendments proposed herein would

primarily affect manufacturers of

passenger car tires. The Small Business

Administration (SBA) regulation at 13

CFR part 121 defines a small business

in part as a business entity ‘‘which

operates primarily within the United

States’’ (13 CFR 121.105(a)).

SBA’s size standards are organized

according to Standard Industrial

Classification (SIC) codes. SIC code No.

3711, Motor Vehicles and Passenger Car

Bodies, has a small business size

standard of 1,000 or fewer employees.

SIC code No. 3714, Motor Vehicle Parts

and Accessories, has a small business

size standard of 750 or fewer employees.

The amendments proposed in this

rulemaking action merely change the

testing procedure for and calculation of

the treadwear grade under the Uniform

Tire Quality Grading Standards. The

purpose of this new procedure is to

arrest the treadwear grade inflation that

has been experienced over the past

several years. The amendments, if

adopted, would possibly require

NHTSA to conduct additional testing to

determine the base course wear rate

from which treadwear grades are

calculated by tire manufacturers. The

amendments, however, would not

impose any additional requirements or

burdens on tire manufacturers, the great

majority of which would not qualify as

small businesses under SBA guidelines.

Thus, the proposed new procedures, if

adopted, would not result in any

increase in costs for tire manufacturers,

small businesses, or consumers.

Accordingly, there will be no significant

impact on small businesses, small

organizations, or small governmental

units by the amendments proposed

herein. Thus, the agency has not

prepared a preliminary regulatory

flexibility analysis.

c. Executive Order No. 12612,

Federalism

NHTSA has analyzed this rulemaking

action in accordance with the principles

and criteria of E.O. 12612 and has

determined that this rule does not have

sufficient federalism implications to

warrant the preparation of a Federalism

Assessment.

d. National Environmental Policy Act

NHTSA has analyzed this rulemaking

action for the purposes of the National

Environmental Policy Act and has

determined that implementation of this

rulemaking action would not have any

significant impact on the quality of the

human environment.

e. Paperwork Reduction Act

In accordance with the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1980, Pub.L. 96–511,

NHTSA states that there are no

information collection requirements

associated with this rulemaking action.

f. Civil Justice Reform.

The amendments proposed herein

would not have any retroactive effect.

Under 49 U.S.C. 30103(b), whenever a

Federal motor vehicle safety standard is

in effect, a state or political subdivision

thereof may prescribe or continue in

effect a standard applicable to the same

aspect of performance of a motor vehicle

only if the standard is identical to the

Federal standard. However, the United

States government, a state or political
30700 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 108 / Friday, June 5, 1998 / Proposed Rules

subdivision of a state may prescribe a

standard for a motor vehicle or motor

vehicle equipment obtained for its own

use that imposes a higher performance

requirement than that required by the

Federal standard. Section 30161 of Title

49, U.S. Code sets forth a procedure for

judicial review of final rules

establishing, amending or revoking

Federal motor vehicle safety standards.

A petition for reconsideration or other

administrative proceedings is not

required before parties may file suit in

court.

Comments

Interested persons are invited to

submit comments on the amendments

proposed herein. It is requested but not

required that any such comments be

submitted in duplicate (original and 1

copy).

Comments must not exceed 15 pages

in length (49 CFR 553.21). This

limitation is intended to encourage

commenters to detail their primary

arguments in concise fashion. Necessary

attachments, however, may be

appended to those comments without

regard to the 15-page limit.

If a commenter wishes to submit

certain information under a claim of

confidentiality, 3 copies of the complete

submission, including the purportedly

confidential business information,

should be submitted to the Chief

Counsel, NHTSA, at the street address

noted above, and 1 copy from which the

purportedly confidential information

has been deleted should be submitted to

Docket Management. A request for

confidentiality should be accompanied

by a cover letter setting forth the

information called for in 49 CFR Part

512, Confidential Business Information.

All comments received on or before

the close of business on the comment

closing date indicated above for the

proposal will be considered, and will be

available to the public for examination

in the docket at the above address both

before and after the closing date. To the

extent possible, comments received after

the closing date will be considered.

Comments received too late for

consideration in regard to the final rule

will be considered as suggestions for

further rulemaking action. Comments on

today’s proposal will be available for

public inspection in the docket. NHTSA

will continue to file relevant

information in the docket after the

comment closing date, and it is

recommended that interested persons

continue to monitor the docket for new

material.

Those persons desiring to be notified

upon receipt of their comments in the

rule docket should enclose a selfaddressed stamped postcard in the

envelope with their comments. Upon

receiving the comments, the docket

supervisor will return the postcard by

mail.

List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 575

Consumer information, Labeling,

Motor vehicle safety, Motor vehicles,

Rubber and rubber products, Tires.

In consideration of the foregoing, 49

CFR part 575 would be amended as

follows:

PART 575—CONSUMER

INFORMATION REGULATIONS

1. The authority citation for part 575

would continue to read as follows:

Authority: 49 U.S.C. §§ 322, 30111, 30115,

30117, and 30166; delegation of authority at

49 CFR 1.50.

2. Section 575.104 would be amended

by revising paragraph (e)(2)(ix)(C) and

by revising paragraph (e)(2)(ix)(F) to

read as follows:

§ 575.104 Uniform tire quality grading

standards.

* * * * *

(e) * * *

(2) * * *

(ix) * * *

(C) Determine the course severity

adjustment factor by assigning a base

course wear rate to the course

monitoring tires (see note to this

paragraph) and dividing the rate by the

average wear rate for the four course

monitoring tires.

Note to paragraph (e)(2)(ix): The base

wear rate for the course monitoring tires

will be obtained by the government by

running fresh ASTM E1136 course

monitoring tires for 6,400 miles over the

San Angelo, Texas, UTQGS test route 4

times per year, then using the average

wear rate from the last 4 quarterly tests

for the base course wear rate

calculation. Each new base course wear

rate will be filed in the DOT Docket

Management section. This value will be

furnished to the tester by the

government at the time of the test. The

course monitoring tires used in a test

convoy must be no more than 6 months

old at the commencement of the test and

no more than 3 months different from

each other in production dates at the

commencement of the test. If course

monitoring tires more than 6 months old

are used in the test, their calculated

average wear rate must be reduced by 10

percent.

* * * * *

(F) Compute the grade (P) of the

NHTSA nominal treadwear value for

each candidate tire by using the

following formula:

P = Projected mileage × base wear raten/

402

Where base wear raten = new base wear

rate, i.e., average treadwear of the last

4 quarterly course monitoring tire

tests conducted by NHTSA.

Round off the percentage to the

nearest lower 20-point increment.

* * * * *

Issued on May 21, 1998.

L. Robert Shelton,

Associate Administrator for Safety

Performance Standards.

[FR Doc. 98–14109 Filed 6–4–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration

49 CFR Part 594

RIN 2127–AH26

[Docket No. NHTSA 98–3781; Notice 1]

Schedule of Fees Authorized by 49

U.S.C. 30141

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration (NHTSA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

SUMMARY: This document proposes fees

for Fiscal Year 1999 and until further

notice, as authorized by 49 U.S.C.

30141, relating to the registration of

importers and the importation of motor

vehicles not certified as conforming to

the Federal motor vehicle safety

standards (FMVSS).

NHTSA proposes that the fee for the

registration of a new importer be

reduced from $501 to $491, and the fee

for annual renewal of registration be

increased from $332 to $350. These fees

include the costs of maintaining the

registered importer program. The fee

required to reimburse the U.S. Customs

Service for bond processing costs would

increase by $0.25, from $5.15 to $5.40

per bond.

The fee payable for a petition seeking

a determination that a nonconforming

vehicle is capable of conversion to meet

the FMVSS would remain at $199 if the

petition claims that the nonconforming

vehicle is substantially similar to

conforming vehicles. With respect to

vehicles that have no substantially

similar counterpart, the petition fee

would remain at $721. In addition, the

fee payable by the importer of each

vehicle that benefits from an eligibility

determination would be reduced from

$134 to $125, regardless of whether the

determination is made pursuant to a

petition or by NHTSA on its own