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[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 157 (Wednesday, August 16, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38992-38993]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-17325]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2017-0035; Notice 1]

Ride the Ducks International, 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: Ride the Ducks International, LLC (RTDI), has determined that 
certain model year (MY) 1996-2014 Ride the Ducks International Stretch 
Amphibious passenger vehicles (APVs) do not fully comply with Federal 
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 103, Windshield Defrosting 
and Defogging Systems. RTDI filed a noncompliance information report 
dated March 15, 2017. RTDI also petitioned NHTSA on April 12, 2017, for 
a decision that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential as it 
relates to motor vehicle safety.

DATES: The closing date for comments on the petition is September 15, 
2017.

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 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 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 
Federal Holidays.
     Electronically: Submit comments electronically by logging 
onto the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) Web site 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 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 dockets. 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: Ride the Ducks International, LLC (RTDI), has 
determined that certain model year (MY) 1996-2014 Ride the Ducks 
International Stretch Amphibious passenger vehicles (APVs) do not fully 
comply with paragraph S4.1 of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 
(FMVSS) No. 103, Windshield Defrosting and Defogging Systems. RTDI 
filed a noncompliance information report dated March 15, 2017, pursuant 
to 49 CFR 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports. 
RTDI also petitioned NHTSA on April 12, 2017, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 
30118(d) and 30120(h) and 49 CFR part 556, 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.
    This notice of receipt of RTDI's 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 105 MY 1996-2014 Ride the 
Ducks International Stretch APVs, manufactured between January 1, 1996, 
and December 31, 2014, are potentially involved.
    III. Noncompliance: RTDI explained that the noncompliance is that 
the subject vehicles were manufactured without a windshield defrosting 
and defogging system, as required by paragraph S4.1 of FMVSS No. 103.
    IV. Rule Text: Paragraph S4.1 of FMVSS No. 103 states in pertinent 
part:

    S4.1 Each vehicle shall have a windshield defrosting and 
defogging system

[[Page 38993]]

    V. Summary of RTDI's Petition: As background, in 1996, RTDI began 
to produce APVs. The original Amphibious Passenger vehicles (APVs) are 
based on military vehicles that were capable of operation over both 
land and water. The ``Stretch'' APVs were refurbished by RTDI in 
accordance with state and U.S. Coast Guard rules and regulations. These 
vehicles have renewed hulls that are ``stretched'' over the original 
chassis frame and original vehicle components that were replaced with 
modern equipment. RTDI manufactured the stretch APVs until 2005, when 
RTDI introduced its ``Truck'' APVs. The truck APVs are based on 
military cargo vehicles. RTDI has not manufactured any vehicles since 
2014.
    RTDI described the subject noncompliance and stated its belief that 
the noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle 
safety.
    In support of its petition, RTDI submitted the following reasoning:
    1. FMVSS No. 103 specifies that ``[e]ach vehicle shall have a 
windshield defrosting and defogging system.'' 49 CFR 571.103, S4(a), 
S4.1. The purpose of FMVSS No. 103 is to establish minimum performance 
requirements for vehicle windshield defrosting and defogging systems in 
order to ensure that the vehicle operator is able to sufficiently see 
through the windshield.
    The APVs have features that are designed to achieve the same 
purpose as the standard. The APVs' ``open-air'' design precludes fog 
from building up on the windshield. Fog buildup on the interior or 
exterior of a motor vehicle windshield occurs when water condenses on 
the windshield. For water to condense on a windshield, the air next to 
the windshield must be humid and the air's dew point--the temperature 
to which air must be cooled to become saturated with water vapor--must 
be higher than the windshield's temperature. In other words, humid and 
warm air must surround a cool windshield. Because of its open-air 
design, the APVs will not encounter any of the physical conditions that 
create fog buildup on the windshield. The APVs do not have solid glass 
windows in the passenger compartment and the rear of the vehicle is 
also open to the air. The side panels of the driver's compartment are 
open on both sides of the windshield and the center windshield can be 
pushed outward and opened when needed. Because of the APVs' design, the 
ambient air is able to continually circulate within the interior of the 
vehicle, creating no difference between the temperature or humidity of 
the air outside and inside the vehicle. In the unlikely event that fog 
did accumulate on the windshield, the APVs have windshield wipers to 
clear the surface and the vehicle operator can also push down the 
windshield for visibility.
    2. Frost builds up on the windshield of a vehicle when the 
temperature of liquid or condensation on the windshield decreases to 
the freezing point of water, turning the condensation into frost. The 
APVs' lack of a defrosting system similarly does not present a safety 
concern. The APVs are only operated on a seasonal basis and not during 
the winter months in any location where the vehicles provide tours. The 
APVs, therefore, are not operated during or exposed to weather 
conditions that would expose the vehicles to frost or create the need 
to defrost the windshields. As above, the operator also has the ability 
to push down the center windshield or use the windshield wipers to 
increase visibility in the unlikely event of frost.
    3. From its inception, the Safety Act has included a provision 
recognizing that some noncompliances may pose little or no actual 
safety risk. The Safety Act exempts manufacturers from their statutory 
obligation to provide notice and remedy upon a determination by NHTSA 
that a noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. See 49 
U.S.C. 30118(d). In applying this recognition to particular fact 
situations, the agency considers whether the noncompliance gives rise 
to ``a significantly greater risk than . . . in a compliant vehicle.'' 
69 FR 19897, 19900 (April 14, 2000). As described above, the 
specialized design of the APVs and the vehicles' pattern of use does 
not expose the vehicles to conditions that could create an increased 
safety risk when compared to a vehicle that has a windshield defrosting 
and defogging system installed.
    RTDI concluded by expressing the belief 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 RTDI 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 RTDI 
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.

Jeffrey M. Giuseppe,
Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2017-17325 Filed 8-15-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-59-P
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