KENNETH WEINSTEIN: STATUS OF NHTSA RULEMAKING - EARLY WARNING REPORTING SYSTEM

SLIDE 1:
NHTSA: People Saving People
www.nhtsa.dot.gov


SLIDE 2:
May 13, 2002

SLIDE 3:
THE TREAD ACT 
Covers Four Major Areas
 - Tires
 - Child Passenger Safety
 - Rollover
 - defects/recalls


SLIDE 4:
DEFECT PROVISIONS - PENALTIES
 - civil penalties
 - criminal penalties


SLIDE 5:
RECALL PROVISIONS
- extension of period for free remedies
- acceleration of manufacturer's remedy program
- reimbursement of costs incurred by a consumer before a recall
- prohibition of sale of recalled tires and other equipment
- notice to NHTSA of such prohibited sales
- disposition of recalled tires


SLIDES 6-8:
EARLY WARNING - BASIC PROVISIONS
Manufacturers to report foreign and domestic:
 - claims regarding serious injuries or death
 - aggregate statistical data on property damage
 - consumer satisfaction campaigns, etc.
 - incidents involving fatalities and serious injuries allegedly due to defects
 - regulations *MAY* require reporting of other data
 - regulations must specifiy how data will be used by NHTSA
 - requirements may not be unduly burdensome
 - NHTSA can only require submission of information in manufacturer's possession
 - disclosure of information
 - periodic review


SLIDE 9:
EARLY WARNING - PROCESS AND TIMING
 - ANPRM: January 2001
 - NPRM: December 2001
	comments closed: February 4, 2002
 - statutory deadline: June 30, 2002


SLIDES 10-11:
EARLY WARNING - MAJOR ISSUES
 - who must report information?
 - what information should be reported?
 - will different types of manufacturers be treated differently?
 - when and how often should information be reported?
 - what burdens would be "undue"?
 - how will data be submitted?
 - how will NHTSA utilize and store the data?
 - what data will be available to the public?


SLIDE 12:
NPRM

Comments From:
 - 6 light vehicle mfrs.
 - 5 heavy vehicle & 1 bus mfr.
 - 4 equipment mfrs
 - 2 motorcycle mfrs.
 - many associations (vehicle, tire & equip) and advocacy groups
 - hundreds of individuals (motorcycle apparel)


SLIDE 13:
ALL VEHICLE MRFS AND ALL ORIGINAL & REPLACEMENT EQUPMENT MFRS MUST PROVIDE:


SLIDE 14:
Most extensive requirements apply to larger vehicle mfrs (over 50 <thou?> vehicles sold in the u.s.), tire mfrs, and child restraint mfrs


SLIDE 15:
SEVEN MANUFACTURER CATEGORIES



SLIDES 16-17:
MFRS OF MORE THAN 500 VEHICLES AND OF TIRES AND CHILD RESTRAINTS MUS ALSO PROVIDE:


SLIDES 18-:
ISSUES:
- definitions (e.g. "manufacturer"-"claim"- "serious injury"- "warranty")
- threshold for reporty property damage claims
- consumer complaints
- alleged overlapping of certain system/component categories
- submission of field reports
- "substantially similar" vehicles and equipment for foreign reporting
- whether to require updating/correcting of reports of an incident
- redaction responsibility
- date that first reports will be due
- for in which data will be submitted
- one-time reporting of historical data

SLIDE 20:
End of Presentation