Document ID: NHTSA-2022-0069-0002
Agency: nhtsa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance: Hercules Tire and Rubber Co.
Posted Date: 2022-09-09T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 174 (Friday, September 9, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55467-55468]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-19515]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2022-0069; Notice 1]

Hercules Tire & Rubber Company, 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: Hercules Tire & Rubber Company, (Hercules), has determined 
that certain Ironman iMOVE PT specialty trailer tires do not fully 
comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 139, New 
Pneumatic Radial Tires for Light Vehicles. Hercules filed an original 
noncompliance report dated May 10, 2022, and amended the report on May 
12, 2022. Hercules petitioned NHTSA on June 21, 2022, for a decision 
that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to 
motor vehicle safety. This document announces receipt of Hercules's 
petition.

DATES: Send comments on or before October 11, 2022.

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 may be 
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 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).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jayton Lindley, General Engineer, 
NHTSA, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance, (325) 655-0547.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Overview

    Hercules determined that certain Ironman iMOVE PT specialty trailer 
tires do not fully comply with paragraph S5.5.1(b) of FMVSS No. 139, 
New Pneumatic Radial Tires for Light Vehicles (49 CFR 571.139).
    Hercules filed an original noncompliance report dated May 10, 2022, 
and amended the report on May 12, 2022, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, 
Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports. Hercules 
subsequently petitioned NHTSA on June 21, 2022, 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.
    This notice of receipt of Hercules's petition is published under 49 
U.S.C. 30118 and 30120 and does not represent any agency decision or 
another exercise of judgment concerning the merits of the petition.

II. Tires Involved

     Approximately 555 Ironman iMOVE PT specialty trailer tires, 
manufactured between August 14, 2021, and August 20, 2021, are 
potentially involved:

III. Noncompliance

     Hercules explains that the subject tires are labeled with a tire

[[Page 55468]]

identification number (TIN) that does not contain the correct date 
code, as stated by 49 CFR 574.5(b)(3), and therefore does not comply 
with paragraph S5.5.1(b) of FMVSS No. 139. Specifically, the date code 
as stated in the TIN on the subject tires is ``3231'' when it should 
state ``3321.''

IV. Rule Requirements

     Paragraph S5.5.1(b) of FMVSS No. 139 and 49 CFR 574.5(b)(3) 
include the requirements relevant to this petition. Each tire 
(manufactured on or after September 1, 2009) must be labeled with the 
TIN, as required by 49 CFR part 574, on the intended outboard sidewall 
of the tire. The date code, consisting of four numerical symbols, is 
the final group of the TIN and must identify the tire's week and year 
of manufacture. The first and second symbols of the date code must 
identify the week of the year by using ``01'' for the first full 
calendar week in each year, ``02'' for the second full calendar week, 
and so on. The third and fourth symbols of the date code must identify 
the last two digits of the year of manufacture.

V. Summary of Hercules's Petition

     The following views and arguments presented in this section, ``V. 
Summary of Hercules's Petition,'' are the views and arguments provided 
by Hercules. They have not been evaluated by the Agency and do not 
reflect the views of the Agency. Hercules describes the subject 
noncompliance and contends that the noncompliance is inconsequential as 
it relates to motor vehicle safety.
    Hercules explains that two of the numerical symbols used in the TIN 
were inadvertently transposed and incorrectly states the date code 
``3231.'' Hercules says that the tires should have been marked 
``3321,'' to indicate that ``the tires were manufactured in calendar 
week 33 of calendar year 2021.'' Other than the incorrect date code, 
Hercules states that the TIN is correct and the subject tires 
``otherwise conform to the performance requirements applicable to 
specialty trailer tires.''
    Hercules claims that the subject noncompliance ``will not confuse 
or mislead the consumer,'' and is similar to prior inconsequentiality 
petitions that NHTSA has granted. Although the numeric symbols 
representing the date code in the TIN were transposed, Hercules 
believes the subject noncompliance causes ``no increased risk to motor 
vehicle safety'' because the incorrect date code represents a future 
year of production ``and is so far into the future to be implausible.''
    Hercules contends that NHTSA has stated that its main concern is 
the potential safety risk to consumers using an aged tire that is 
``beyond the manufacturer's recommended service life, regardless of the 
condition of the tire.'' Therefore, Hercules believes that a consumer 
using the incorrect date code listed on the subject tires would 
determine that the year of production indicated by the date code is 
1931 or 2031, which would ``cause a rational consumer to question the 
accuracy of the year of manufacture.'' Furthermore, Hercules says that 
the guidance provided on NHTSA's website advises that ``tires should be 
replaced within 6 to 10 years regardless of treadwear.'' For these 
reasons, Hercules says the consumer would not ``be misled into 
believing that the tire has a substantial service life ahead of it.'' 
Hercules also states that ``even if a dealer were to store the subject 
tires for several years before selling them, there is no risk of 
misleading the consumer about the age of the tire.''
    In the event of a recall, Hercules states that the subject tires 
can be identified through its internal database using the TIN and ``any 
consumer communication could include the TIN as it is listed on the 
tire sidewall so that consumers could check the recall notification 
against the tire sidewall for verification purposes.'' Hercules says 
that upon registration of the subject tires, it ``will continue to be 
able to isolate and identify the affected tires in its internal systems 
as having actually been produced in calendar week 33, calendar year 
2021.''
    According to Hercules, the following prior petitions NHTSA has 
granted describe noncompliances that are similar to the subject 
petition, and therefore, support Hercules's contention that its 
petition should be granted:
     Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, 86 FR 47726 (August 26, 
2021).
     Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc., Grant of Petition, 71 FR 4396 
(January 26, 2006).
     Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc., Grant of Petition, 66 FR 
45076 (August 27, 2001).
     Bridgestone/Firestone Grant of Inconsequentiality 
Petition, 64 FR 20,090 (May 28, 1999).
     Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., Grant of Inconsequentiality 
Petition, 68 FR 16,115 (April 2, 2003).
     See Bridgestone/Firestone North America, LLC, Grant of 
Inconsequentiality Petition, 71 FR 4396 (January 26, 2006).
    Hercules concludes by stating its belief that the subject 
noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety 
and 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 tires that Hercules no longer 
controlled at the time it determined that the noncompliance existed. 
However, any decision on 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 Hercules 
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. 2022-19515 Filed 9-8-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P