Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 3 / Monday, January 6, 2025 / Notices 729 

Intended Commercial Use of Vessel: 

Requester intends to offer passenger 

cruises. 

Geographic Region Including Base of 

Operations: New Jersey. Base of 

Operations: Brick, New Jersey. 

Vessel Length and Type: 55.8′ Motor 

Yacht. 

The complete application is available 

for review identified in the DOT docket 

as MARAD 2024–0166 at https://

www.regulations.gov. Interested parties 

may comment on the effect this action 

may have on U.S. vessel builders or 

businesses in the U.S. that use U.S.-flag 

vessels. If MARAD determines, in 

accordance with 46 U.S.C. 12121 and 

MARAD’s regulations at 46 CFR part 

388, that the employment of the vessel 

in the coastwise trade to carry no more 

than 12 passengers will have an unduly 

adverse effect on a U.S.-vessel builder or 

a business that uses U.S.-flag vessels in 

that business, MARAD will not issue an 

approval of the vessel’s coastwise 

endorsement eligibility. Comments 

should refer to the vessel name, state the 

commenter’s interest in the application, 

and address the eligibility criteria given 

in section 388.4 of MARAD’s 

regulations at 46 CFR part 388. 

Public Participation 

How do I submit comments? 

Please submit your comments, 

including the attachments, following the 

instructions provided under the above 

heading entitled ADDRESSES. Be advised 

that it may take a few hours or even 

days for your comment to be reflected 

on the docket. In addition, your 

comments must be written in English. 

We encourage you to provide concise 

comments and you may attach 

additional documents as necessary. 

There is no limit on the length of the 

attachments. 

Where do I go to read public comments, 

and find supporting information? 

Go to the docket online at https://

www.regulations.gov, keyword search 

MARAD–2024–0166 or visit the Docket 

Management Facility (see ADDRESSES for 

hours of operation). We recommend that 

you periodically check the Docket for 

new submissions and supporting 

material. 

Will my comments be made available to 

the public? 

Yes. Be aware that your entire 

comment, including your personal 

identifying information, will be made 

publicly available. 

May I submit comments confidentially? 

If you wish to submit comments 

under a claim of confidentiality, you 

should submit the information you 

claim to be confidential commercial 

information by email to SmallVessels@

dot.gov. Include in the email subject 

heading ‘‘Contains Confidential 

Commercial Information’’ or ‘‘Contains 

CCI’’ and state in your submission, with 

specificity, the basis for any such 

confidential claim highlighting or 

denoting the CCI portions. If possible, 

please provide a summary of your 

submission that can be made available 

to the public. 

In the event MARAD receives a 

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 

request for the information, procedures 

described in the Department’s FOIA 

regulation at 49 CFR 7.29 will be 

followed. Only information that is 

ultimately determined to be confidential 

under those procedures will be exempt 

from disclosure under FOIA. 

Privacy Act 

Anyone can search the electronic 

form of all comments received into any 

of our dockets by the name of the 

individual submitting the comment (or 

signing the comment, if submitted on 

behalf of an association, business, labor 

union, etc.). For information on DOT’s 

compliance with the Privacy Act, please 

visit https://www.transportation.gov/ 

privacy. 

(Authority: 49 CFR 1.93(a), 46 U.S.C. 55103, 

46 U.S.C. 12121) 

By Order of the Maritime Administrator. 

T. Mitchell Hudson, Jr., 

Secretary, Maritime Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2024–31603 Filed 1–3–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–81–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. NHTSA–2019–0129; Notice 2] 

Transamerica Tire Co. Ltd., Grant of 

Petition for Decision of 

Inconsequential Noncompliance 

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration (NHTSA), 

Department of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Grant of petition. 

SUMMARY: Transamerica Tire Co. Ltd. 

(Transamerica) has determined that 

certain Transeagle ST tires 

manufactured by Shandong Yinbao Tyre 

(Yinbao) do not fully comply with 

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 

(FMVSS) No. 119, New Pneumatic Tires 

for Motor Vehicles with a GVWR of 

More than 4,536 kilograms (10,000 

pounds) and Motorcycles. Transamerica, 

on behalf of Yinbao, filed a 

noncompliance report dated November 

21, 2019. Transamerica petitioned 

NHTSA on November 25, 2019, and 

amended its petition on April 22, 2021, 

for a decision that the subject 

noncompliance is inconsequential as it 

relates to motor vehicle safety. This 

document announces the grant of 

Transamerica’s petition. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jayton Lindley, Office of Vehicle Safety 

Compliance, the National Highway 

Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 

telephone (325) 655–0547, email 

Jayton.Lindley@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Overview 

Transamerica has determined that 

certain tires manufactured by Yinbao do 

not fully comply with paragraphs S6.5, 

specifically S6.5(b), of FMVSS No. 119, 

New Pneumatic Tires for Motor Vehicles 

with a GVWR of More than 4,536 

kilograms (10,000 pounds) and 

Motorcycles (49 CFR 571.119). 

Transamerica, on behalf of Yinbao, filed 

a noncompliance report dated 

November 21, 2019, pursuant to 49 CFR 

part 573, Defect and Noncompliance 

Responsibility and Reports. 

Transamerica also petitioned NHTSA on 

November 25, 2019, 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 Transamerica’s 

petition was published with a 30-day 

public comment period in the Federal 

Register (86 FR 64593, November 18, 

2021). 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–2019– 

0129.’’ 

II. Tires Involved 

Approximately 9,551 Transeagle ST 

radial tires, sizes ST235/85R16, ST235/ 

80R16, and ST225/90R16, manufactured 

between September 23, 2017, and 

August 10, 2019, were reported by the 

manufacturer. 

III. Noncompliance 

Transamerica explains that the 

noncompliance is that the subject tires 

were inadvertently labeled with a Tire 

Identification Number (TIN) that 

contains an incorrect manufacturer’s 


khammond on DSK9W7S144PROD with NOTICES
730 Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 3 / Monday, January 6, 2025 / Notices 

1 In its amended petition submitted on April 22, 

2021, Transamerica acknowledges that this TIN 

which the manufacturer intended to use is also 

noncompliant because it does not contain six 

symbols as required. Because these tires are 

included in the scope of this petition, NHTSA does 

not need to further consider this fact in its analysis. 

2NHTSA is clarifying the manufacturer’s 

misunderstanding that an 8–13-character TIN 

would have been acceptable for these tires. Because 

the tires are marked with a 3-symbol plant code 

instead of a 2-symbol plant code, the TIN must 

conform to the 13-character format described in 49 

CFR part 574. 

3See Gen. Motors, LLC; Grant of Petition for 

Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance, 78 FR 

35355 (June 12, 2013) (finding noncompliance had 

no effect on occupant safety because it had no effect 

on the proper operation of the occupant 

classification system and the correct deployment of 

an air bag); Osram Sylvania Prods. Inc.; Grant of 

Petition for Decision of Inconsequential 

Noncompliance, 78 FR 46000 (July 30, 2013) 

(finding occupant using noncompliant light source 

would not be exposed to significantly greater risk 

than occupant using similar compliant light 

source). 

code and, therefore, do not meet the 

requirements specified in paragraph 

S6.5(b) of FMVSS No. 119. 

For the tires that are the subject of this 

petition, what should be a 6 character 

manufacturer code contains an 

additional 7th character at the end of 

the labeled sequence, inadvertently 

producing a 14-character TIN instead of 

a 13-character TIN. Specifically, the 

subject tires were incorrectly marked 

with the code as ‘‘1BP TTFEFTL’’ 

whereas the manufacturer intended to 

mark the tires as follows: 

• ST235/85R16: ‘‘1BP TTFEFT’’ 

• ST235/80R16: ‘‘1BP TFEFTL’’ 

• ST225/90R16: ‘‘1BP TTFEF’’ 1

IV. Rule Requirements 

Paragraphs S6.5 and S6.5(b) of 

FMVSS No. 119 include the 

requirements relevant to this petition. 

These requirements state that each tire 

shall be marked on one or both 

sidewalls with the TIN that meets the 

requirements of 49 CFR part 574. The 

TIN is comprised of 3 distinct codes 

totaling 13 characters. The first is the 

plant code, which uses 3 symbols, 

second is the manufacturer’s code using 

exactly 6 symbols, and last is the date 

code, using 4 numbers to represent the 

week and year of production. 

V. Summary of Transamerica’s Petition 

The following views and arguments 

presented in this section, ‘‘V. Summary 

of Transamerica’s Petition,’’ are the 

views and arguments provided by 

Transamerica and do not reflect the 

views of the Agency. 

Background 

On October 21, 2019, Transamerica 

received a letter from NHTSA 

explaining that NHTSA’s Office of 

Vehicle Safety Compliance ‘‘has 

received information alleging that at 

least one of the tires manufactured by 

[Yinbao] and imported by 

[Transamerica] may not be in 

compliance with [FMVSS] No. 119.’’ 

Accordingly, the letter included a 

‘‘photo showing a labeling failure on the 

tires branded Transeagle ST radial size 

235/85R16.’’ Specifically, it is alleged 

that ‘‘[t]he tires appear to have an 

improper 14 character [TIN] instead of 

the 8–13 2 character TIN required by 

FMVSS No. 119.’’ 

Upon the receipt of NHTSA’s inquiry, 

Transamerica conducted an 

investigation to determine the validity 

of the allegations and the universe of 

tires affected by such noncompliance. 

Transamerica found that a total number 

of 9,551 tires branded Transeagle ST 

radial tires size ST235/85R16, ST235/ 

80R16, and ST225/90R16 contained an 

incorrect manufacturer’s code in their 

TIN labels molded on the sidewall of 

the tires. 

Manufacturer’s Arguments 

Transamerica offers the following 

views and arguments in support of its 

petition: 

1. Transamerica says that, except for 

the incorrect manufacturer’s code, all 

other information labeled on the tires is 

correct, including the manufacturer’s 

assigned identification mark (typically 

referred to as plant code) as well as the 

week and year of manufacture (typically 

referred to as date code), and that the 

Transeagle ST tires otherwise comply 

with all applicable standards. 

2. Both Yinbao and Transamerica 

state that they are not aware of any 

crashes, injuries, customer complaints, 

or field reports in connection with this 

noncompliance. 

3. Transamerica claims that the 

inaccurate manufacturer’s code would 

not affect either their or a consumers’ 

ability to identify the tires should they 

be recalled for a performance related 

noncompliance. 

4. Transamerica states that they have 

taken measures to ensure that the tires 

can be registered correctly. There is a 

‘‘Tire Registration’’ option on 

Transamerica’s website where 

consumers can register their TIN and 

contact information. Transamerica has 

taken steps to ensure that the incorrect 

TINs with the additional characters can 

also be registered for any future recalls 

or warranty issues. 

5. Transamerica has already corrected 

the molds at the applicable 

manufacturing plant, such that no 

additional tires were fabricated with the 

noncompliance. Transamerica stated 

that they will also improve their 

internal processes to prevent future TIN 

errors. 

6. Transamerica states that NHTSA 

has previously granted petitions for 

inconsequential noncompliance where 

TIN information labels are incorrect or 

missing information and that granting 

this petition would be consistent with 

NHTSA’s prior decisions on petitions 

involving tires labeled with inaccurate 

TIN information. Transamerica cites the 

following petitions: 

• Michelin North America, Inc., Grant 

of Petition for Decision of 

Inconsequential Noncompliance, 81 

FR 76412 (November 2, 2016) 

• Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, 

Grant of Application for Decision of 

Inconsequential Noncompliance, 63 

FR 29059 (May 27, 1998) 

• Tireco, Inc., Grant of Petition for 

Decision of Inconsequential 

Noncompliance, 80 FR 66614 

(October 29, 2015) 

• Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, 

Grant of Petition for Decision of 

Inconsequential Noncompliance, 71 

FR 4397 (January 26, 2006) 

• Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, 

Grant of Petition for Decision of 

Inconsequential Noncompliance, 82 

FR 52966 (November 15, 2017). 

• Yokohama Tire Corporation, Grant of 

Petition for Decision of 

Inconsequential Noncompliance, 84 

FR 64403 (November 21, 2019). 

Transamerica concludes by again 

contending that the subject 

noncompliance is inconsequential as it 

relates to motor vehicle safety and 

asking 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, be granted. 

Transamerica’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 

following the online search instructions 

to locate the docket number listed in the 

title of this notice. 

VI. NHTSA’s Analysis 

In determining inconsequentiality of a 

noncompliance, NHTSA focuses on the 

safety risk to individuals who 

experience the type of event against 

which a recall would otherwise 

protect.3 In general, NHTSA does not 

consider the absence of complaints or 

injuries when determining if a 

noncompliance is inconsequential to 

safety. The absence of complaints does 


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Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 3 / Monday, January 6, 2025 / Notices 731 

4See Morgan 3 Wheeler Limited; Denial of 

Petition for Decision of Inconsequential 

Noncompliance, 81 FR 21663, 21666 (Apr. 12, 

2016); see also United States v. Gen. Motors Corp., 

565 F.2d 754, 759 (D.C. Cir. 1977) (finding defect 

poses an unreasonable risk when it ‘‘results in 

hazards as potentially dangerous as sudden engine 

fire, and where there is no dispute that at least some 

such hazards, in this case fires, can definitely be 

expected to occur in the future’’). 

1 23 U.S.C. 402(k)(4)(A). 

2 Id. 

3 ‘‘Traffic Safety Performance Measures for States 

and Federal Agencies’’ (DOT HS 811 025) (August 

2008). 

not mean vehicle occupants have not 

experienced a safety issue, nor does it 

mean that there will not be safety issues 

in the future.4 Further, because each 

inconsequential noncompliance petition 

must be evaluated on its own facts and 

determinations are highly factdependent, NHTSA does not consider 

prior determinations as binding 

precedent. Petitioners have the burden 

of persuading NHTSA that the 

noncompliance is inconsequential to 

safety. 

NHTSA has evaluated the merits of 

the inconsequential noncompliance 

petition submitted by Transamerica and 

grants the petitioner’s request for an 

exemption from the notification and 

remedy requirements of 49 U.S.C. 30118 

and 49 U.S.C. 30120 based on the 

following: 

1. NHTSA believes, based on 

information provided by the 

manufacturer, that the tires otherwise 

meet the performance criteria of FMVSS 

No. 119 and that the subject labeling 

noncompliance likely has no effect on 

the operational safety and performance 

of the affected tires. 

2. NHTSA agrees that the additional 

characters in the TIN do not affect the 

ability of the manufacturer or consumer 

to identify the affected tires in the event 

of a recall. The agency has also verified 

with the manufacturer that the affected 

tires with additional characters in the 

TIN may be registered. Transamerica 

has also ensured that any future safety 

related recalls will include the 

incorrectly marked TIN numbers if 

needed. 

This grant exempts Transamerica 

from its obligations under 49 U.S.C. 

30118 and 30120 to provide notification 

of, and a free remedy for, the 

noncompliance with FMVSS No. 119. 

However, erroneous TIN marking is also 

a violation of 49 CFR part 574. Grants 

of petitions for inconsequential 

noncompliance do not absolve entities 

subject to regulations other than the 

FMVSS from their obligations under 

those regulations. Although NHTSA has 

chosen not to do so in this instance, 

NHTSA may consider seeking civil 

penalties in the future for violations of 

part 574 by tire manufacturers and 

importers. 

VII. NHTSA’s Decision 

In consideration of the foregoing, 

NHTSA finds that Transamerica has met 

its burden of persuasion that the subject 

FMVSS No. 119 noncompliance in the 

affected tires is inconsequential to 

motor vehicle safety. Accordingly, 

Transamerica’s petition is hereby 

granted and Transamerica 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 Transamerica 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 Transamerica 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. 2024–31753 Filed 1–3–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. NHTSA–2024–0037] 

Uniform Procedures for State Highway 

Safety Grant Programs 

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration (NHTSA), 

Department of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: This notice transmits the 

revised minimum performance 

measures that State Highway Safety 

Offices use in their triennial Highway 

Safety Plans. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

For program issues: Barbara Sauers, 

Associate Administrator, Regional 

Operations and Program Delivery, 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration; Telephone number: 

(202) 366–0144; Email: barbara.sauers@

dot.gov. 

For legal issues: Megan Brown, 

Attorney Advisor, Litigation & General 

Law, Office of the Chief Counsel, 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590; 

Telephone number: (202) 366–1834; 

Email: Megan.Brown@dot.gov 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents 

I. Background 

II. Performance Measure Development 

III. Comment Response 

IV. Performance Measure Framework 

V. Best Practices for Performance 

Management 

VI. Applicability Date 

I. Background 

Roadway deaths are unacceptable and 

preventable and State Highway Safety 

Office (SHSO) officials have a critical 

role in eliminating crashes that result in 

deaths and serious injuries. Performance 

management is a vital tool for States to 

use in developing and implementing 

their highway traffic safety programs. 

Performance measures increase 

transparency and can help improve 

program outcomes by providing a 

greater understanding of how safety 

issues are being addressed with 

highway safety grant funds. This notice 

sets forth the revised minimum 

performance measures that SHSO will 

use in their triennial Highway Safety 

Plans (3HSP) to develop and implement 

their programs. 

The highway safety grant program 

statute 1 requires States to submit 

performance measures to support State 

safety goals and for each 

countermeasure strategy for 

programming funds that a State includes 

in its 3HSP. These performance 

measures must demonstrate constant or 

improved performance and provide 

documentation of the current safety 

levels for each performance measure, 

quantifiable performance targets for 

each performance measure, and a 

justification for each performance 

target.2

NHTSA first established minimum 

performance measures in coordination 

with the Governor’s Highway Safety 

Association (GHSA) in 2008.3 Congress 


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