[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 49, Volume 5]
[Revised as of October 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 49CFR578.7]

[Page 922-923]
 
                        TITLE 49--TRANSPORTATION
 
                            OF TRANSPORTATION
 
PART 578--CIVIL AND CRIMINAL PENALTIES--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 578.7  Criminal safe harbor provision.

    (a) Scope. This section sets forth the requirements regarding the 
reasonable time and the manner of correction for a person seeking safe 
harbor protection from criminal liability under 49 U.S.C. 30170(a)(2), 
which provides that a person described in 49 U.S.C. 30170(a)(1) is not 
subject to criminal penalties thereunder if:
    (1) At the time of the violation, such person does not know that the 
violation would result in an accident causing death or serious bodily 
injury; and
    (2) The person corrects any improper reports or failure to report, 
with respect to reporting requirements of 49 U.S.C. 30166, within a 
reasonable time.
    (b) Reasonable time. A correction is considered to have been 
performed within a reasonable time if the person seeking protection from 
criminal liability makes the correction to any improper (i.e., 
incorrect, incomplete, or misleading) report not more than thirty (30) 
calendar days after the date of the report to the agency and corrects 
any failure to report not more than thirty (30) calendar days after the 
report was due to be sent to or received by the agency, as the case may 
be, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30166, including a regulation, requirement, 
request or

[[Page 923]]

order issued thereunder. In order to meet these reasonable time 
requirements, all submissions required by this section must be received 
by NHTSA within the time period specified in this paragraph, and not 
merely mailed or otherwise sent within that time period.
    (c) Sufficient manner of correction. Each person seeking safe harbor 
protection from criminal penalties under 49 U.S.C. 30170(a)(2) must 
comply with the following with respect to each improper report and 
failure to report for which safe harbor protection is sought:
    (1) Sign and submit to NHTSA a dated document identifying:
    (i) Each previous improper report (e.g., informational statement and 
document submission), and each failure to report as required under 49 
U.S.C. 30166, including a regulation, requirement, request or order 
issued thereunder, for which protection is sought, and
    (ii) The specific predicate under which the improper or omitted 
report should have been provided (e.g., the report was required by a 
specified regulation, NHTSA Information Request, or NHTSA Special 
Order).
    (2) Submit the complete and correct information that was required to 
be submitted but was improperly submitted or was not previously 
submitted, including relevant documents that were not previously 
submitted, or, if the person cannot do so, provide a detailed 
description of that information and/or the content of those documents 
and the reason why the individual cannot provide them to NHTSA (e.g., 
the information or documents are not in the individual's possession or 
control).
    (3) For a corporation, the submission must be signed by an 
authorized person (ordinarily, the individual officer or employee who 
submitted the improper report or who should have provided the report 
that the corporation failed to submit on behalf of the company, or 
someone in the company with authority to make such a submission).
    (4) Submissions must be made by a means which permits the sender to 
verify promptly that the report was in fact received by NHTSA and the 
day it was received by NHTSA.
    (5) Submit the report to Chief Counsel (NCC-10), National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration, Room 5219, 400 Seventh Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20590.

[65 FR 81419, Dec. 26, 2000, as amended at 66 FR 38384, July 24, 2001]