Custom Glass Solutions Upper Sandusky Corporation, Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance

AGENCY:

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION:

Receipt of Petition.

SUMMARY:

Custom Glass Solutions Upper Sandusky Corporation (Custom Glass), a subsidiary of Guardian Industries Corporation, has determined that certain laminated glass panes, other than windscreens, do not fully comply with paragraph S6 of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. FMVSS 205, Glazing Materials. Custom Glass has filed an appropriate report dated September 17, 2013, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports.

DATES:

The closing date for comments on the petition is October 27, 2014.

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 at the beginning of this notice and be 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 Deliver: 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 http://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 your comments were received, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard with the comments. Note that all comments received will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov,, including any personal information provided.

Documents submitted to a docket may be viewed by anyone at the address and times given above. The documents may also be viewed on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov by following the online instructions for accessing the dockets. DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement is available for review in the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000, (65 FR 19477-78).

The petition, supporting materials, and all comments received before the close of business on the closing date indicated below will be filed and will be considered. All comments and supporting materials received after the closing date will also be filed and will be considered to the extent possible. When the petition is granted or denied, notice of the decision will be published in the Federal Register pursuant to the authority indicated below.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Custom Glass's Petition: Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) (see implementing rule at 49 CFR part 556), Custom Glass submitted a petition for an exemption from the notification and remedy requirements of 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301 on the basis that this noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety.

This notice of receipt of Custom Glass'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. Glazing Involved: Approximately 160 laminated glass panes, other than windscreens, intended for the cabs of approximately twenty mining vehicles being manufactured by Atlas Copco in Australia. The panes consist of two 4.0 mm tempered panes manufactured by Auto Temp, Inc. (ATI) that were bonded together with a 0.76 mm PVB layer by Custom Glass and then shipped to Angus Palm, Watertown, South Dakota between August 1, 2013 and September 4, 2013.

III. Noncompliance: Custom Glass explains that the noncompliance is that the labeling on the subject laminated glass panes does not fully meet the requirements of paragraph S6 of FMVSS No. 205. The panes were labeled with the incorrect DOT number, manufacturer's trademark, manufacturer's model number (i.e., “M number”) and were incorrectly marked as Tempered.

IV. Rule Text: Refer to the entire text of Paragraph S6 of FMVSS No. 205 for requirements and contextual restrictions.

V. Summary of Custom Glass's Analyses: Custom Glass stated its belief that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety based on the following reasoning:

The parts are labeled with the DOT number, “M number” and trademark belonging to the tempered glazing supplier, ATI. The correct DOT number, which should have been affixed to the parts at issue, is DOT 22. The correct “M number” is M85L2 (which corresponds to a laminated glass construction with an 8.5 mm nominal thickness, from which Guardian fabricates automotive parts for use anywhere in a motor vehicle except windshields). The panes are marked with the correct AS Item number.

Although the subject laminated glass panes are affixed with the incorrect DOT number, “M number” and manufacturer's trademark, the glass construction from which the laminated glass parts were fabricated is in full compliance with the technical requirements of FMVSS No. 205 that currently apply to laminated glass for use anywhere in a motor vehicle except windshields.

Custom Glass also asserts that the subject noncompliance could not result in the wrong part being used in an OEM or ARG application given that the part would be ordered by its unique part number and not the “M number” (which corresponds to the glass construction from which the part is fabricated). The parts are also easily traceable back to Custom Glass since they are the only glazing supplier for this particular vehicle.

Custom Glass has additionally informed NHTSA that it has corrected the noncompliance so that all future production vehicles delivered with laminated glass will comply with FMVSS No. 205.

In summation, Custom Glass believes that the described noncompliance of the subject laminated glass parts is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety, and that its petition, to exempt from providing recall notification of noncompliance as required by 49 U.S.C. 30118 and remedying the recall 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 laminated glass parts that Custom Glass no longer controlled at the time it determined that the noncompliance existed. However, any decision on this petition does not relieve equipment distributors and dealers of the prohibitions on the sale, offer for sale, or introduction or delivery for introduction into interstate commerce of the noncompliant motor laminated glass parts under their control after Custom Glass 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).