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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 231 (Monday, December 2, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 95351-95352]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-28117]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2021-0080; Notice 2]

FCA US LLC; 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: FCA US LLC f/k/a Chrysler Group LLC (collectively referred to 
as ``FCA US'') has determined that certain model year (MY) 2018-2022 
Alfa Romeo Stelvio motor vehicles do not fully comply with Federal 
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 111, Rear Visibility. FCA US 
filed a noncompliance report dated September 21, 2021. FCA US 
subsequently petitioned NHTSA on October 14, 2021, for a decision that 
the subject noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor 
vehicle safety. This notice announces receipt of FCA US' petition and 
amended petition.

DATES: Send comments on or before January 2, 2025.

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 
submitted by any of the following methods:
     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.
     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.
     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.
     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

[[Page 95352]]

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 docket. 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).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Overview

    FCA US has determined that certain MY 2018-2022 Alfa Romeo Stelvio 
motor vehicles do not fully comply with the requirements of paragraphs 
S2 and S.5.5.1 of FMVSS No. 111, Rear Visibility (49 CFR 571.111). FCA 
US filed a noncompliance report dated September 21, 2021, pursuant to 
49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports. 
FCA US subsequently petitioned NHTSA on October 14, 2021, 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.
    NHTSA previously published notice of receipt of FCA US' petition on 
June 17, 2022, in the Federal Register (87 FR 36573). FCA US submitted 
an amended petition to NHTSA on July 30, 2024, that broadened the scope 
of FCA US' petition. Therefore, NHTSA invites interested persons to 
comment on FCA US' petition and supplemental information. This notice 
of receipt of FCA US' petition and amended 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.

II. Vehicles Involved

    Approximately 43,701 MY 2018-2022 Alfa Romeo Stelvio motor vehicles 
manufactured between April 12, 2017, and August 27, 2021, are 
potentially involved.

III. Noncompliance

    FCA US explains that the noncompliance is that the subject vehicles 
are equipped with rearview camera displays that when tested to FMVSS 
No. 111, covers a required portion of a test object and therefore, do 
not fully meet the field of view requirements outlined in paragraphs S2 
and S5.5.1 of FMVSS No. 111. Specifically, the rearview camera display 
includes ``dynamic gridlines'' that project the vehicle to be wider 
than it is. As a result, the ``dynamic gridlines'' partially cover the 
lower inside edges of the front test object when the steering wheel is 
straight.

IV. Rule Requirements

    Paragraphs S2 and S5.5.1 of FMVSS No. 111 include the requirements 
relevant to this petition. Paragraph S2 of FMVSS No. 111 specifies that 
the purpose of this standard is to reduce the number of deaths and 
injuries that occur when the driver of a motor vehicle does not have a 
clear and reasonably unobstructed view to the rear. Paragraph S5.5.1 of 
FMVSS No. 111 requires the rearview image to include: (a) A minimum of 
a 150-mm wide portion along the circumference of each test object 
located at positions F and G; and (b) the full width and height of each 
test object located at positions A through E, when tested in accordance 
with the procedures in S14.1 of FMVSS 111.

V. Summary of FCA US' Petition

    The following views and arguments presented in this section, V. 
Summary of FCA US' Petition and Amended Petition, are the views and 
arguments provided by FCA US. They have not been evaluated by the 
Agency and do not reflect the views of the Agency.

A. Summary of FCA's Petition

    In its petition, FCA US describes the subject noncompliance and 
explains that it is caused by an incorrect calibration in the subject 
vehicles. According to FCA US the subject noncompliance is 
inconsequential to motor vehicle safety because the subject 
noncompliance ``does not create an unclear or unreasonably obstructed 
view to the rear.'' FCA US specifies that although the subject 
noncompliance exists, the obstruction caused by the gridlines while 
performing the FMVSS No. 111 test is ``transitory'' and does not 
``significantly obstruct the view to the rear.'' \1\ Further, the 
gridlines will move rearward as the vehicle does, resulting in the test 
objects to be ``displayed in full.''
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    \1\ FCA US provided photos of the noncompliance in its petition 
which can be viewed in full at https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NHTSA-2021-0080.
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    FCA US quoted an excerpt from the notice of final rule for FMVSS 
No. 111 in which FCA US says that NHTSA ``acknowledged that over lays, 
such as gridlines, could provide safety-related benefits.''

B. Summary of FCA's Amended Petition

    In its amended petition, FCA US adds that an analysis of the 
gridline's overlap with the lower inner portion of test object E, which 
exceeds that of test object D, shows that the overlap is smaller than 
the size of a seated Riley Low Birth Weight Infant, the smallest test 
dummy, as referenced by the University of Michigan Transport Research 
Institute and 49 CFR part 572.\2\ While FCA US acknowledges that the 
gridline intersects a portion of the test object specified in FMVSS No. 
111, FCA US believes that the obstruction is minimal and insufficient 
to cover the area where a small child would be seated or lying at the 
point of the gridline meets the test object.
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    \2\ FCA US cites https://www.umtri.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2021/12/CPPRP_brochure12_21.pdf, pg 2.
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    FCA US concludes 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 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 vehicles that FCA US no 
longer controlled at the time it determined that the noncompliance 
existed. However, any decision on this petition does not relieve 
vehicle distributors and dealers of the prohibitions on the sale, offer 
for sale, or introduction or delivery for introduction into interstate 
commerce of the noncompliant vehicles under their control after FCA US 
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. 2024-28117 Filed 11-29-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P
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