Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/06/12/2019-12313/reports-forms-and-recordkeeping-requirements
Timestamp: 2019-06-19 23:51:46
Document Index: 178050728

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 573', 'art 573', 'art 577', 'art 573', 'art 573', 'art 573', 'art 573', 'art 573', 'art 573', 'art 573', 'art 573', 'art 577', 'art 573', 'art 577', 'art 577', 'art 573', 'art 577', 'art 573', 'art 577']

27395-27399 (5 pages)
Estimated Number of Respondents—
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2019-12313 https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2019-12313
Request for comment on the renewal of collection of information.
You may submit comments using any of the following methods. All comments must have the applicable DOT docket number (i.e., NHTSA-2016-0065) noted conspicuously on them.
Mail: Docket Management Facility, M-30: U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
Hand Delivery or Courier: 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. Telephone: 1-800-647-5527.
Docket: For access to comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov or the street address listed above. Follow the online instructions for accessing the dockets.
For further information, or for background documents, contact Stephen Hench, Office of Chief Counsel (NCC-0100), Room W41-229, NHTSA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: 202-366-2992.
Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, before an agency submits a proposed collection of information to OMB for approval, it must first publish a document in the Federal Register providing a 60-day comment period and otherwise consult with members of the public and affected agencies concerning each proposed collection of information. OMB has promulgated regulations describing what must be included in such a document. Under OMB's regulation, see 5 CFR 1320.8(d), an agency must ask for public comment on the following:
OMB Control Number: 2127-0004.Start Printed Page 27396
Abstract: This notice requests comment on NHTSA's proposed renewal of an approved collection of information, designated as OMB No. 2127-0004. This collection covers the information collection requirements found within various statutory provisions of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 (Act), 49 U.S.C. 30101, et seq., that address and require manufacturer notifications to NHTSA of safety-related defects and failures to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) in motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment, as well as the provision of particular information related to the ensuing owner and dealer notifications and free remedy campaigns that follow those notifications. The sections of the Act imposing these requirements include 49 U.S.C. 30118, 30119, 30120, and 30166. Many of these requirements are implemented through, and addressed with more specificity in, 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports (Part 573) and 49 CFR 577, Defect and Noncompliance Notification (Part 577).
Pursuant to the Act, motor vehicle and motor vehicle equipment manufacturers are obligated to notify, and then provide various information and documents to, NHTSA in the event a safety defect or noncompliance with FMVSS is identified in products they manufactured. See 49 U.S.C. 30118(b) and 49 CFR 573.6. Manufacturers are further required to notify owners, purchasers, dealers, and distributors about the safety defect or noncompliance. See 49 U.S.C. 30118(b), 30120(a); 49 CFR 577.7, 577.13. Manufacturers are required to provide to NHTSA copies of communications pertaining to recall campaigns that they issue to owners, purchasers, dealers, and distributors. See 49 U.S.C. 30166(f); 49 CFR 573.6(c)(10).
Manufacturers are also required to file with NHTSA a plan explaining how they intend to reimburse owners and purchasers who paid to have their products remedied before being notified of the safety defect or noncompliance, and explain that plan in the notifications they issue to owners and purchasers about the safety defect or noncompliance. See 49 U.S.C. 30120(d) and 49 CFR 573.13. Manufacturers are further required to keep lists of the respective owners, purchasers, dealers, distributors, lessors, and lessees of the products determined to be defective or noncompliant and involved in a recall campaign, and are required to provide NHTSA with a minimum of six quarterly reports reporting on the progress of their recall campaigns. See 49 CFR 573.8 and 573.7, respectively.
The Act and Part 573 also contain numerous information collection requirements specific to tire recall and remedy campaigns. These requirements relate to the proper disposal of recalled tires, including a requirement that the manufacturer conducting the tire recall submit a plan and provide specific instructions to certain persons (such as dealers and distributors) addressing that disposal, and a requirement that those persons report back to the manufacturer certain deviations from the plan. See 49 U.S.C. 30120(d) and 49 CFR 573.6(c)(9). The regulations also require that manufacturers report to NHTSA intentional and knowing sales or leases of defective or noncompliant tires.
49 U.S.C. 30166(n) and its implementing regulation found at 49 CFR 573.10 mandate that anyone who knowingly and willfully sells or leases for use on a motor vehicle a defective tire or a tire that is not compliant with FMVSS, and with actual knowledge that the tire manufacturer has notified its dealers of the defect or noncompliance as required under the Act, is required to report that sale or lease to NHTSA no more than five working days after the person to whom the tire was sold or leased takes possession of it.
Pursuant to its safety authorities, NHTSA is continuing its oversight of recalls of unprecedented complexity involving Takata air bag inflators.[1] Under the Coordinated Remedy Program established to address this major issue, and the associated Coordinated Remedy Order as amended on December 9, 2016 (the “ACRO”), manufacturers issue supplemental owner communications utilizing non-traditional means.[2] In this notice, NHTSA both addresses comments,[3] and seeks further comment, on its estimates of the supplemental recall communications associated with the Takata recalls.
Estimated Burden: NHTSA previously estimated an annual burden of 36,070 hours associated with this collection (of which 456 hours was contemplated for conducting supplemental recall communications under administrative order to achieve completion of the Takata recalls), $155,450,329 (of which $27,836,329 is contemplated for conducting supplemental recall communications under administrative order to achieve completion of the Takata recalls), and 274 respondents per year (19 vehicle manufacturers conducting supplemental recall communications under administrative order to achieve completion of the Takata recalls).[4] Our prior estimates of the burden hours and cost associated with the requirements currently covered by this information collection require adjustment as follows.
Based on current information, we estimate 249 distinct manufacturers filing an average of 988 Part 573 Safety Recall Reports each year. This is a change from our previous estimate of 963 Part 573 Safety Recall Reports filed by 274 manufacturers each year. In addition, with reference to the metric associated with NHTSA's Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) Look-up Tool regulation, see 49 CFR 573.15, we continue to estimate it takes the 17 major passenger-vehicle manufacturers (those that produce more than 25,000 vehicles annually) additional burden hours to complete these Reports to NHTSA, as explored in more detail below. See 82 FR 60789 (December 22, 2017). Between 2015 and 2018, the major passenger-vehicle manufacturers conducted an average of 316 recalls annually.
We continue to estimate that maintenance of the required owner, purchaser, dealer, and distributors lists requires 8 hours a year per manufacturer. We also continue to estimate it takes a major passenger-vehicle manufacturer 40 hours to complete each notification report to NHTSA, and it takes all other manufacturers 4 hours. Accordingly, we estimate the annual burden hours related to the reporting to NHTSA of a safety defect or noncompliance for the 17 major passenger vehicle-manufacturers to be 12,640 hours annually (316 notices × 40 hours/report), and that all other manufacturers require a total of 2,688 hours annually (672 notices × 4 hours/report) to file their notices. Thus, the estimated annual burden hours related to the reporting to NHTSA of a safety defect or noncompliance is 17,320 hours (12,640 hours + 2,688 hours) + (249 MFRs × 8 hours to maintain purchaser lists).[5]
We continue to estimate that an additional 40 hours will be needed to account for major passenger-vehicle manufacturers adding details to Part 573 Start Printed Page 27397Safety Recall Reports relating to the intended schedule for notifying its dealers and distributors, and tailoring its notifications to dealers and distributors in accordance with the requirements of 49 CFR 577.13. An additional 2 hours will be needed to account for this obligation in other manufacturers' Safety Recall Reports. This burden is estimated at 13,984 hours annually (672 notices × 2 hours/notification) + (316 notices × 40 hours/notification).
49 U.S.C. 30166(f) requires manufacturers to provide to the Agency copies of all communications regarding defects and noncompliances sent to owners, purchasers, and dealerships. Manufacturers must index these communications by the year, make, and model of the vehicle as well as provide a concise summary of the subject of the communication. We continue to estimate this burden requires 3 hours for each vehicle recall for the 17 major passenger-vehicle manufacturers, and 30 minutes for all other manufacturers for each vehicle recall. This totals an estimated 1,284 hours annually (316 recalls × 3 hours for the 17 major passenger-vehicle manufacturers) + (672 recalls × .5 for all other manufacturers).
In the event a manufacturer supplied the defective or noncompliant product to independent dealers through independent distributors, that manufacturer is required to include in its notifications to those distributors an instruction that the distributors are then to provide copies of the manufacturer's notification of the defect or noncompliance to all known distributors or retail outlets further down the distribution chain within five working days. See 49 CFR 577.7(c)(2)(iv). As a practical matter, this requirement would only apply to equipment manufacturers, since vehicle manufacturers generally sell and lease vehicles through a dealer network, and not through independent distributors. We believe our previous estimate of 87 equipment recalls per year needs to be adjusted to 91 equipment recalls per year to better reflect recent data. We have estimated the burden associated with these notifications (identifying retail outlets, making copies of the manufacturer's notice, and mailing) to be 5 hours per recall campaign. Assuming an average of 3 distributors per equipment item, which is a liberal estimate given that many equipment manufacturers do not use independent distributors, the total number of burden hours associated with this third-party notification requirement is approximately 1,365 hours per year (91 recalls × 3 distributors × 5 hours).
As for the burden linked with a manufacturer's preparation of and notification concerning its reimbursement for pre-notification remedies, we continue to estimate that the preparation of a reimbursement plan takes approximately 4 hours annually. We also continue to estimate that an additional 1.5 hours per year is spent by the 17 major passenger-vehicle manufacturers adapting the plan to particular defect and noncompliance notifications to NHTSA and adding tailored language about the plan to a particular safety recall's owner notification letters, while an additional .5 hours per year is spent on this task by all other manufacturers. And we continue to estimate that an additional 12 hours annually is spent disseminating plan information, for a total of 4,794 annual burden hours ((249 MFRs × 4 hours to prepare plan) + (316 recalls × 1.5 hours tailoring plan for each recall) + (672 recalls × .5 hours) + (249 MFRs × 12 hours to disseminate plan information)).
Manufacturers are required to include specific information related to tire disposal in the notifications they provide NHTSA concerning identification of a safety defect or noncompliance with FMVSS in their tires, as well as in the notifications they issue to their dealers or other tire outlets participating in the recall campaign. See 49 CFR 573.6(c)(9). We believe our previous estimate of 12 tire recalls per year needs to be adjusted to 11 tire recalls per year to better reflect recent data. We continue to estimate that the inclusion of this additional information will require an additional two hours of effort beyond the subtotal above associated with non-tire recall campaigns. This additional effort consists of one hour for the NHTSA notification and one hour for the dealer notification for a total of 22 burden hours (11 tire recalls a year × 2 hours per recall).
Manufacturer-owned or controlled dealers are required to notify the manufacturer and provide certain information should they deviate from the manufacturer's disposal plan. Consistent with our previous analysis, we continue to ascribe zero burden hours to this requirement since to date no such reports have been provided, and our original expectation that dealers would comply with manufacturers' plans has proven accurate.
Accordingly, we estimate 22 burden hours a year will be spent complying with the tire recall campaign requirements found in 49 CFR 573.6(c)(9).
The agency continues to estimate 1 burden hour annually will be spent preparing and submitting reports of a defective or noncompliant tire being intentionally sold or leased under 49 U.S.C. 30166(n) and its implementing regulation at 49 CFR 573.10.
We continue to expect that nine vehicle manufacturers, who did not operate VIN-based recalls lookup systems prior to August 2013, incur certain recurring burdens on an annual basis. We continue to estimate that 100 burden hours will be spent on system and database administrator support. These 100 burden hours include: Backup data management and monitoring; database management, updates, and log management; and data transfer, archiving, quality assurance, and cleanup procedures. We continue to estimate another 100 burden hours will be incurred on web/application developer support. These burdens include: Operating system and security patch management; application/web server management; and application server system and log files management. We continue to estimate these burdens will total 1,800 hours each year (9 MFRs × 200 hours). We also continue to estimate the recurring costs of these burden hours will be $30,000 per manufacturer.[6] Furthermore, we continue to estimate that the total cost to the industry from these recurring expenses will total $270,000, on an annual basis (9 MFRs × $30,000).
Changes to 49 CFR part 573 in 2013 required 27 manufacturers to update each recalled vehicle's repair status no less than every 7 days, for 15 years from the date the VIN is known to be included in the recall. This ongoing requirement to update the status of a VIN for 15 years continues to add a recurring burden on top of the one-time burden to implement and operate these online search tools. We continue to estimate that 8 affected motorcycle manufacturers will make recalled VINs available for an average of 2 recalls each year and 19 affected passenger-vehicle manufacturers will make recalled VINs available for an average of 8 recalls each year. We believe it will take no more Start Printed Page 27398than 1 hour, and potentially less with automated systems, to update the VIN status of vehicles that have been remedied under the manufacturer's remedy program. We continue to estimate this will require 8,736 burden hours per year (1 hour × 2 recalls × 52 weeks × 8 MFRs + 1 hour × 8 recalls × 52 weeks × 19 MFRs) to support the requirement to update the recalls completion status of each VIN in a recall at least weekly for 15 years.
As the number of Part 573 Recall Reports has increased in recent years, so has the number of quarterly reports that track the completion of safety recalls. Our previous estimate of 4,498 quarterly reports received annually is now revised upwards to 5,512 quarter reports received annually. We continue to estimate it takes manufacturers 1 hour to gather the pertinent information for each quarterly report, and 10 additional hours for the 17 major passenger-vehicle manufacturers to submit electronic reports. We therefore now estimate that the quarterly reporting burden pursuant to Part 573 totals 5,682 hours ((5,512 quarterly reports × 1 hour/report) + (17 MFRs × 10 hours for electronic submission)).
We continue to estimate a small burden of 2 hours annually in order to set up a manufacturer's online recalls portal account with the pertinent contact information and maintaining/updating their account information as needed. We estimate this will require a total of 498 hours annually (2 hours × 249 MFRs).
We continue to estimate that 20 percent of Part 573 reports will involve a change or addition regarding recall components, and that at two hours per amended report, this totals 396 burden hours per year (988 recalls × .20 = 193 recalls; 198 × 2 = 396 hours).
As to the requirement that manufacturers notify NHTSA in the event of a bankruptcy, we expect this notification to take an estimated 2 hours to draft and submit to NHTSA. We continue to estimate that only 10 manufacturers might submit such a notice to NHTSA each year, so we calculate the total burden at 20 hours (10 MFRs × 2 hours).
We continue to estimate that it takes the 17 major passenger-vehicle manufacturers an average of 11 hours to draft their notification letters, submit them to NHTSA for review, and then finalize them for mailing to their affected owners and purchasers. We also continue to estimate it takes 8 hours for all other manufacturers to perform this task. Accordingly, we estimate that the 49 CFR part 577 requirements result in 8,852 burden hours annually (11 hours per recall × 316 recalls per year) + (8 hours per recall × 672 recalls per year).
The burden estimate associated with the regulation that requires interim owner notifications within 60 days of filing a Part 573 Safety Recall Report must be revised upward. We previously calculated that about 12 percent of past recalls require an interim notification mailing, but recent trends show that 13 percent of recalls require an interim owner notification mailing. We continue to estimate the preparation of an interim notification can take up to 10 hours. We therefore estimate that 1,250 burden hours are associated with the 60-day interim notification requirement (963 recalls × .13 = 125 recalls; 125 recalls times 10 hours per recall = 1,250 hours).
As for costs associated with notifying owners and purchasers of recalls, to reflect an increase in postage rates, we are revising our estimate of the cost of first-class mail notification to $1.53 per notification, on average. This cost estimate includes the costs of printing and mailing, as well as the costs vehicle manufacturers may pay to third-party vendors to acquire the names and addresses of the current registered owners from state and territory departments of motor vehicles. In reviewing recent recall figures, we determined that an estimated 51.4 million letters are mailed yearly totaling $78,642,000 ($1.53 per letter × 51,400,000 letters). The requirement in 49 CFR part 577 for a manufacturer to notify their affected customers within 60 days would add an additional $10,223,460 (51,400,000 letters × .13 requiring interim owner notifications = 6,682,000 letters; 6,682,000 × $1.53 = $10,023,000). In total, we estimate that the current 49 CFR part 577 requirements cost manufacturers a total of $88,865,460 annually ($78,642,000 for owner notification letters + $10,223,460 for interim notification letters = $88,865,460).
As discussed above, to address the scope and complexity of the Takata recalls, NHTSA issued the ACRO, which requires affected vehicle manufacturers to conduct supplemental owner notification efforts in coordination with NHTSA and the Independent Monitor of Takata. On December 23, 2016, the Monitor, in consultation with NHTSA, issued Coordinated Communications Recommendations for vehicle owner outreach (“CCRs”), which includes a recommendation that vehicle manufacturers provide at least one form of consumer outreach per month for vehicles in a launched recall campaign (i.e., a recall where parts are available) until the vehicle is remedied (unless otherwise accounted for as scrapped, stolen, exported, or otherwise unreachable under certain procedures in the ACRO). See CCRs ¶ 1(b); ACRO ¶¶ 45-46. The Monitor also recommended that manufacturers utilize at least three non-traditional means of communication (e.g., postcards; email; telephone calls; text message; social media) as part of their overall outreach strategy. See CCRs ¶ 1(a). And the Monitor recommended including certain content in these communications, including certain safety-risk information. See id. ¶ 2. If a vehicle manufacturer does not wish to follow the Monitor's recommendations, the ACRO permits the manufacturer to propose an alternative communication strategy to NHTSA and the Monitor.
Two comments were submitted after the previous publication of the 30-day notice and request for comment on the renewal of this information collection. See NHTSA Docket 2016-0065. One commenter submitted only a general comment with no reference to the substance of the notice. The other comment, filed by the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and the Association of Global Automakers (hereinafter “A&G”), responded to several facets of the notice.
In brief summary, A&G commented that it believes the investigatory exception to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) does not apply to the Takata Coordinated Remedy Order—characterizing any relevant investigation as one against Takata, not the affected automakers—and that NHTSA should therefore account for additional cost burdens under the ACRO beyond the monthly outreach recommended under the CCRs. See Comments at 3-4. A&G further commented that it believes NHTSA should supplement the record with the following: additional cost-burden analysis, because NHTSA's estimate “underappreciates” what the ACRO contemplates; a Part B submission to account for Independent Monitor-conducted surveys and other activities; and additional data on the “practical utility” of supplemental non-traditional outreach. See Comments at 4-6. A&G also commented that it disagrees with NHTSA's discounting of its cost estimates based on recent vehicle manufacturer settlement agreements in multi-district litigation proceedings because the ACRO predates MDL settlement obligations “and would have existed in the absence of the litigation settlements.” Comments at 7.
NHTSA has carefully considered these comments and recognizes the challenges involved in the Takata recalls, particularly with respect to Start Printed Page 27399estimating per-VIN outreach costs— populations change and, with those changes, the methods necessary and appropriate to engage those populations also change. See Comments at 4. Before modifying the approach to its estimates, NHTSA would benefit of from the consideration of any additional information that may be available, and would invite further public comment on such estimates. The Agency also recognizes and appreciates A&G's additional comments and concerns as described above, and similarly invites further public comment on the issues A&G identifies.
To account for the progression of the recalls since its last notice, NHTSA is revising its previous estimates associated with this part of the collection. NHTSA continues to estimate a yearly average of 19 manufacturers will be issuing monthly supplemental communications over the next three years pursuant to the ACRO and the CCRs. Manufacturers may satisfy the CCRs through third-party vendors (which have been utilized by many manufacturers), in-house strategies, or some combination thereof. NHTSA estimates the cost for supplemental communications at $2.00 per VIN per month.
The volume of outreach required by the ACRO and the CCRs (and the costs associated with that outreach) is a function of the number of unrepaired vehicles that are in a launched campaign and are not otherwise accounted for as scrapped, stolen, exported, or otherwise unreachable. The schedule in Paragraph 35 of the ACRO delineates the expected remedy completion rate, by quarter, of vehicles in a launched remedy campaign.
Utilizing these variables, we now estimate an initial annualized cost over the next three years of $203,776,494 per year, with an annualized discount of $86,724,071 to account for outreach conducted pursuant to the MDL settlement agreements by six vehicle manufacturers, for a net annualized cost of $117,052,423. NHTSA continues to estimate that manufacturers will take an average of 2 hours each month drafting or customizing supplemental recall communications utilizing non-traditional means, submitting them to NHTSA for review, and finalizing them to send to affected owners and purchasers. NHTSA therefore estimates that 456 burden hours annually are associated with issuing these supplemental recall communications: 12 months × 2 hours per month × 19 manufacturers = 456 hours.
Because of the forgoing burden estimates, we are revising the burden estimate associated with this collection. The 49 CFR part 573 and 49 CFR part 577 requirements found in today's notice will require 64,510 hours each year. Additionally, manufacturers impacted by 49 CFR part 573 and 49 CFR part 577 requirements will incur a recurring annual cost estimated at $89,135,460 total. The burden estimate in this collection contemplated for conducting supplemental recall communications under administrative order to achieve completion of the Takata recalls is 456 hours each year. Additionally, that administrative order contemplates impacted manufacturers incurring an annual cost estimated at $117,052,423. Therefore, in total, we estimate the burden associated with this collection to be 64,966 hours each year, with a recurring annual cost estimated at $204,175,423. NHTSA welcomes further comment and data on these estimates.
NHTSA estimates that there will be approximately 249 manufacturers per year filing defect or noncompliance reports and completing the other information collection responsibilities associated with those filings. NHTSA estimates there will be an average of 19 manufacturers each year conducting supplemental nontraditional monthly outreach pursuant to administrative order in an enforcement action associated with the Takata recall.
1. See generally “Takata Recall Spotlight,” https://www.nhtsa.gov/​equipment/​takata-recall-spotlight.
2. See generally “Notice of Coordinated Remedy Program Proceeding for the Replacement of Certain Takata Air Bag Inflator,” available at https://www.regulations.gov/​docket?​D=​NHTSA-2015-0055.
3. NHTSA previously published a 30-day notice for this collection on December 22, 2017 (82 FR 60789) on which OMB received comment.
4. See 82 FR 60789, 60790 (December 22, 2017).
5. For more information about how we derived these and certain other estimates, please see 81 FR 70269 (October 11, 2016).
6. $8,000 (for data center hosting for the physical server) + $12,000 (for system and database administrator support) + $10,000 (for web/application developer support) = $30,000.
[FR Doc. 2019-12313 Filed 6-11-19; 8:45 am]