Transport i bezpieczeństwo · 23.01.2004

Reporting of Information and Documents About Potential Defects

This document denies the petitions filed by several associations of motor vehicle manufacturers for reconsideration of the final rule published on July 10, 2002, that implemented the early warning reporting (EWR) provisions of the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation (TREAD) Act and responds to petitions for rulemaking. Under the final rule, in general, all manufacturers of motor vehicles whose yearly production of vehicles for sale in the United States is 500 or more in a particular vehicle category are required to report comprehensive information to NHTSA, including the numbers of property damage claims, consumer complaints, warranty claims, and field reports. Manufacturers of fewer than 500 vehicles per year are required to report only limited types of information (e.g., information about incidents involving deaths referred to in claims and notices received by the company). We have decided to retain the existing thresholds for the present time, although we will consider this issue in approximately two years, after we have had experience under the early warning reporting regulation.