[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 51 (Thursday, March 15, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 15351-15352]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-6269]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
49 CFR Part 571
[Docket No. NHTSA-2011-0174]
RIN 2127-AK88
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Theft Protection and
Rollaway Prevention
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation.
ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of comment period.
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SUMMARY: In December 2011, NHTSA published a notice of proposed
rulemaking (NPRM) that addressed safety issues arising from increasing
variations of keyless ignition controls, and the operation of those
controls. We received a petition from the Alliance of Automobile
Manufacturers requesting an extension of the comment period. The
petitioner argued that additional time was needed to review information
that was placed in the docket late in the comment period. After
considering the petition, we are extending the comment period by 10
days, from March 12, 2012, to March 22, 2012.
DATES: The comment period for the proposed rule published December 12,
2011, at 76 FR 77183, is extended. Comments must be received on or
before March 22, 2012.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments to the docket number identified in
the heading of this document by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting
comments.
Mail: Docket Management Facility, M-30, U.S. Department of
Transportation, West Building, Ground Floor, Rm. W12-140, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590.
Hand Delivery or Courier: West Building Ground Floor, Room
W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern
Time, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Fax: (202) 493-2251.
Regardless of how you submit your comments, you should mention the
docket number of this document.
You may call the Docket Management Facility at 202-366-9826.
Note that all comments received will be posted without change to
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information
provided.
[[Page 15352]]
Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all
comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's
complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on
April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-78).
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
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 CONTACT:
For technical issues: Ms. Gayle Dalrymple, Office of Crash
Avoidance Standards, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: (202) 366-
5559.
For legal issues: Mr. Edward Glancy, Office of the Chief Counsel,
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue
SE., Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: (202) 366-2992.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
On December 12, 2011, NHTSA published in the Federal Register (76
FR 77183) a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to amend Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 114, Theft Protection and Rollaway
Prevention. In the NPRM, the agency addressed safety issues arising
from increasing variations of keyless ignition controls, and the
operation of those controls. We provided a 90-day comment period for
the NPRM.
On February 29, 2012, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers
(Alliance) sent a letter to NHTSA requesting that certain information,
including vehicle owner questionnaires (VOQs) referenced in the NPRM,
be placed in the docket. NHTSA sent a memorandum to the docket
containing VOQ and crash information and also sent a copy to the
Alliance. The memorandum was posted in the docket on March 6, 2012.
In a petition dated March 6, 2012, the Alliance requested a 30-day
extension of the comment period. The petitioner argued that it and
other interested parties seeking to comment need additional time to
locate the VOQs, analyze the VOQs, and evaluate the other, newly
docketed information. The Alliance stated that while the requested
extension of the comment period may result in a slight delay in the
rulemaking process, it contends that allowing commenters to generate
comprehensive and responsive comments will significantly assist the
agency in its decision making process.
After considering the petition from the Alliance, we have decided
to extend the comment period by 10 days. We wish to facilitate the
efforts of the petitioner and other interested persons to provide
complete comments. We note, however, that since the agency initially
provided a relatively long comment period, i.e., 90 days, interested
persons have already had considerable time to evaluate the proposal.
The VOQs, along with media reports, were cited as examples of the
safety problems. We believe that a 10-day extension will ensure that
interested persons have sufficient time to analyze the VOQ and crash
information. Since the information was posted in the docket on March 6,
all interested persons will, with the extension considered, have had
more than two weeks to review the information. The Alliance did not
provide any detailed information showing why a longer extension, such
as the 30 days it requested, would be necessary.
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 322, 30111, 30115, 30166 and 30177;
delegation of authority at 49 CFR 1.50.
Issued: March 9, 2012.
Christopher J. Bonanti,
Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 2012-6269 Filed 3-12-12; 4:15 pm]
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