Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Company; Receipt of Petition for Determination of Inconsequential Noncompliance

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Docket No. 94-61; Notice 1]

Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Company; Receipt of Petition for

Determination of Inconsequential Noncompliance

The Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Company (Uniroyal) of Greenville, South

Carolina, has determined that some of its tires fail to comply with 49

CFR 571.109, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 109,

``New Pneumatic Tires,'' and has filed an appropriate report pursuant

to 49 CFR Part 573, ``Defect and Noncompliance Reports.'' Uniroyal has

also petitioned to be exempted from the notification and remedy

requirements of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act (15

U.S.C. 1381 et seq.) on the basis that the noncompliance is

inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety.

This notice of receipt of a petition is published under Section 157

of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 1417)

and does not represent any agency decision or other exercise of

judgment concerning the merits of the petition.

Paragraph S4.3.3(b) of FMVSS No. 109 specifies that each tire be

labeled with an identification number. The last three digits of this

identification number should represent the week and year of

manufacture.

During the period of the 17th through the 20th week of 1994,

Uniroyal manufactured approximately 2,800 P175/70R13 MOTOMASTER LE

tires with an incorrect week and year of manufacture contained in the

tire identification number. The last three digits in the identification

number on the subject tires are incorrectly marked ``167,'' ``168,''

``169,'' and ``120.'' The last three digits in the identification

numbers for these tires should be ``174,'' ``184,'' ``194,'' and

``204'' signifying the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th weeks of 1994. All

tires are sold only in the replacement market.

Uniroyal supports its petition for inconsequential noncompliance

with the following.

[Uniroyal does] not believe that this error will impact motor

vehicle safety since only the week and year of manufacture is

incorrect.

Uniroyal offers further rationale in its Part 573 Report.

The dates marked on these tires could be interpreted as the year

1987 through 1990 or 1997 through 2000. This tire line was

introduced during the fourth quarter of 1992; therefore, there would

not be pre-existent tires with these numbers. In the event a recall

is necessary prior to the week and year (years 1997 through 2000)

marked on these tires, there will be no difficulty in identifying

them since there will be no tires that were actually manufactured

during these weeks. If it is necessary to recall these tires during

or after the weeks marked, the recall population would comprise both

the mismarked and properly marked tires.

Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and

arguments on the petition of Uniroyal, described above. Comments should

refer to the docket number and be submitted to: Docket Section,

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Room 5109, 400 Seventh

Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. It is requested but not required

that six copies be submitted.

All comments received before the close of business on the closing

date indicated below will be considered. The application and supporting

materials, and all comments received after the closing date, will also

be filed and will be considered to the extent possible. When the

petition is granted or denied, the notice will be published in the

Federal Register pursuant to the authority indicated below.

Comment closing date: August 18, 1994.

(49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120; delegations of authority at 49 CFR 1.50 and

49 CFR 501.8)

Issued on: July 13, 1994.

Stanley R. Scheiner,

Acting Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.

[FR Doc. 94-17491 Filed 7-18-94; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910-59-M