Startrans, a division of Supreme Indiana Operations, Inc., has petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) 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.
Startrans determined that certain Startrans trucks, buses, and multifunction school activity buses (MFSAB) manufactured from 2006 through 2011, do not fully comply with paragraph Sec. 5.3 of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 120: Tire selection and rims and motor home/recreation vehicle trailer load-carrying capacity information for motor vehicles with a GVWR of more than 10,000 pounds.
Startrans filed an appropriate report pursuant to 49 CFR Part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports, dated November 16, 2011. Notice of receipt of Startran's petition was published, with a 30-day public comment period, on March 22, 2012, in the Federal Register (77 FR 16893). No comments were received. To view the petition and all supporting documents log onto the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) Web site at: http://www.regulations.gov/. Then follow the online search instructions to locate docket number ``NHTSA-2012-0024.''
Affected are approximately 436 MFSAB (Activity School Buses) manufactured between 2007 and 2011, 9,543 school buses manufactured between 2007 and 2011, 97,271 truck models manufactured between 2006 and 2011, for a total of approximately 107,250 vehicles not in compliance with FMVSS No. 120. Startrans said the noncompliance is that the height of the lettering on the combined certification and tire information labels attached to the subject vehicles is less than that required by paragraph Sec. 5.3 of FMVSS No. 120. The lettering on the noncompliant labels is only 2.12 millimeters (mm) in height. The height required by paragraph Sec. 5.3 is 2.4 mm.
According to NHTSA, "Startrans makes the argument that the subject noncompliance is not performance-related and is inconsequential to vehicle safety. The font height of the text on the certification label is just 0.28 mm less than the requirement, but the label text is clear, legible and meets all the other labeling requirements."