Updated Means of Providing Recall Notification

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION <SUBAGY>National Highway Traffic Safety Administration</SUBAGY> <CFR>49 CFR Part 577</CFR> <DEPDOC>[Docket No. NHTSA-2016-0001]</DEPDOC> <RIN>RIN 2127-AL66</RIN> <SUBJECT>Updated Means of Providing Recall Notification</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Department of Transportation (DOT). <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> In accordance with the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) and the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act), NHTSA is proposing to amend the means of required recall notification to include notification by electronic means, in addition to first-class mail, and proposing certain other attendant obligations related to this requirement. NHTSA is also proposing to revise certain language that is currently required for recall notifications, as well as to update certain language in the regulation and the office designation for NHTSA's Recall Management Division and NHTSA's web address. </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> Comments must be received on or before March 11, 2025. In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, NHTSA is also seeking comment on a previously approved collection. See the Paperwork Reduction Act section under Regulatory Notices and Analyses below. Please submit all comments relating to the information collection requirements to NHTSA and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) at the address listed in the <E T="02">ADDRESSES</E> section on or before March 11, 2025. Comments to OMB are most useful if submitted within 30 days of publication. <E T="03">Proposed compliance date:</E> NHTSA proposes to make the electronic notification requirements in this proposed rule applicable to recalls filed one year or later following publication of the final rule in the <E T="04">Federal Register</E> . Early compliance is permitted but optional. NHTSA proposes to make compliance with all other requirements in this proposed rule be required as of the effective date of the final rule. </EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> You may submit comments by any of the following methods: • <E T="03">Internet:</E> Go to <E T="03">http://www.regulations.gov</E> and follow the online instructions for submitting comments. • <E T="03">Mail:</E> Docket Management Facility, M-30, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590. • <E T="03">Hand Delivery or Courier:</E> U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. • <E T="03">Facsimile:</E> (202) 493-2251. Regardless of how you submit your comments, please include the docket number of this document. You may also call the Docket at (202) 366-9322. Note that all comments received will be posted without change to <E T="03">http://www.regulations.gov,</E> including any personal information provided. Please see the Privacy Act discussion below. <E T="03">Privacy Act:</E> Except as provided below, all comments received into the docket will be made public in their entirety. The comments will be searchable 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 should not include information in your comment that you do not want to be made public. You may review DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement in the <E T="04">Federal Register</E> published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-78) or at <E T="03">https://www.transportation.gov/privacy.</E> <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> For non-legal issues, you may contact Alexander Ansley, Chief, Recall Management Division, at (202) 493-0481. For legal issues, you may contact Stephen Hench, Office of the Chief Counsel, at (202) 366-5263. </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> <EXTRACT> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">I. Executive Summary</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">II. Background and Summary of Notice of Proposed Rulemaking</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Notification Requirements Before and After MAP-21 and the FAST Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Summary of the 2016 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">III. Comments on the 2016 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and NHTSA's Responses</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. NHTSA's Authority and Scope of the Rule</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Electronic Notification Requirements</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">1. Means of Required Electronic Notification</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">2. Content of Required Electronic Notification</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">3. Additional and Follow-Up Notification Requirements</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Application of the Rule to Vehicles Built Prior to the Compliance Date, and Lead Time</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">IV. Proposed Changes To Recall Notification Requirements</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">V. Additional Revisions to 49 CFR Part 577</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Language in Recall Notifications</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Updated Office and Website Designations</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Language Regarding FMVSS Noncompliances</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">VI. Rulemaking Analyses and Notices</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563, 14094, and DOT Regulatory Policies and Procedures</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Regulatory Flexibility Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Executive Order 13132 (Federalism)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. National Environmental Policy Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">E. Paperwork Reduction Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">F. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">G. Executive Order 12988 (Civil Justice Reform)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">H. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">I. Executive Order 13211</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">J. Regulatory Identifier Number (RIN)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">K. Privacy Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">L. Plain Language</FP> </EXTRACT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">I. Executive Summary</HD> The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) authorized the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to amend the means by which a manufacturer of a motor vehicle or motor vehicle equipment provides recall notification to owners, purchasers, and dealers that a vehicle or equipment contains a defect related to motor vehicle safety or does not comply with an applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standard (FMVSS). <SU>1</SU> <FTREF/> MAP-21 also authorized NHTSA to order additional follow-up recall notifications if a second notification does not result in an adequate number of motor vehicles or equipment being returned for remedy. <SU>2</SU> <FTREF/> Congress later enacted the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, which mandated NHTSA amend 49 CFR part 577 to require the issuance of recall notifications to owners and purchasers by electronic means, in addition to first-class mail. <SU>3</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>1</SU>  Public Law 112-141, 31310, 126 Stat. 771 (2012). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>2</SU>   <E T="03">Id.</E> </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>3</SU>  Public Law 114-94, 24104, 129 Stat. 1703 (2015). </FTNT> On January 25, 2016, NHTSA issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) soliciting comments and supporting information about how the agency may update the means manufacturers must utilize to effectively notify owners and purchasers of a recall (whether as a first notification or as a follow-up notification). <SU>4</SU> <FTREF/> On September 2, 2016, after consideration of comments received in response to the ANPRM, NHTSA issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proposing to amend 49 CFR part 577 to require that manufacturers issue recall notifications to affected owners, purchasers, and lessees by electronic means in addition to first-class mail, as well as require that follow-up recall notifications be issued by electronic means, in addition to first-class mail. <SU>5</SU> <FTREF/> For simplicity in the preamble of this proposed rule, “owners” includes lessees. <FTNT> <SU>4</SU>  81 FR 4007 (Jan. 25, 2016). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>5</SU>  81 FR 60332 (Sept. 1, 2016). </FTNT> After further consideration, including a review of the comments received in response to the NPRM and based on additional learnings—including knowledge acquired through the ongoing oversight of the Takata recalls, where manufacturers commonly use electronic forms of recall notification—NHTSA is issuing this supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (SNPRM). NHTSA believes that this supplemental proposal will better ensure electronic recall notifications reach and provide effective notice to owners and purchasers. Effective recall notifications are critical to ensuring that as many vehicles and items of equipment as possible are remedied, addressing the safety risk of a defect or noncompliance. <SU>6</SU> <FTREF/> In this SNPRM, NHTSA again proposes to amend 49 CFR part 577 to require that manufacturers issue recall notifications to affected owners and purchasers by electronic means in addition to first-class mail. This multi-channel, multi-touch approach helps to effectively communicate a recall and motivate completion. <SU>7</SU> <FTREF/> The increasing use of electronic recall communications and the agency's greater understanding of potential data sources supporting such communications over the last several years has informed this supplemental proposal. <FTNT> <SU>6</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> “Tips for Increasing Recall Completion Rates,” <E T="03">https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle-manufacturers/tips-i ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 98k characters. Full document text is stored and available for version comparison. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━