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NHTSA Interpretation File Search

Overview

NHTSA's Chief Counsel interprets the statutes that the agency administers and the standards and regulations that it issues. Members of the public may submit requests for interpretation, and the Chief Counsel will respond with a letter of interpretation. These interpretation letters look at the particular facts presented in the question and explain the agency’s opinion on how the law applies given those facts. These letters of interpretation are guidance documents. They do not have the force and effect of law and are not meant to bind the public in any way. They are intended only to provide information to the public regarding existing requirements under the law or agency policies. 

Understanding NHTSA’s Online Interpretation Files

NHTSA makes its letters of interpretation available to the public on this webpage. 

An interpretation letter represents the opinion of the Chief Counsel based on the facts of individual cases at the time the letter was written. While these letters may be helpful in determining how the agency might answer a question that another person has if that question is similar to a previously considered question, do not assume that a prior interpretation will necessarily apply to your situation.

  • Your facts may be sufficiently different from those presented in prior interpretations, such that the agency's answer to you might be different from the answer in the prior interpretation letter;
  • Your situation may be completely new to the agency and not addressed in an existing interpretation letter;
  • The agency's safety standards or regulations may have changed since the prior interpretation letter was written so that the agency's prior interpretation no longer applies; or
  • Some combination of the above, or other, factors.

Searching NHTSA’s Online Interpretation Files

Before beginning a search, it’s important to understand how this online search works. Below we provide some examples of searches you can run. In some cases, the search results may include words similar to what you searched because it utilizes a fuzzy search algorithm.

Single word search

 Example: car
 Result: Any document containing that word.

Multiple word search

 Example: car seat requirements
 Result: Any document containing any of these words.

Connector word search

 Example: car AND seat AND requirements
 Result: Any document containing all of these words.

 Note: Search operators such as AND or OR must be in all capital letters.

Phrase in double quotes

 Example: "headlamp function"
 Result: Any document with that phrase.

Conjunctive search

Example: functionally AND minima
Result: Any document with both of those words.

Wildcard

Example: headl*
Result: Any document with a word beginning with those letters (e.g., headlamp, headlight, headlamps).

Example: no*compl*
Result: Any document beginning with the letters “no” followed by the letters “compl” (e.g., noncompliance, non-complying).

Not

Example: headlamp NOT crash
Result: Any document containing the word “headlamp” and not the word “crash.”

Complex searches

You can combine search operators to write more targeted searches.

Note: The database does not currently support phrase searches with wildcards (e.g., “make* inoperative”). 

Example: Headl* AND (supplement* OR auxiliary OR impair*)
Result: Any document containing words that are variants of “headlamp” (headlamp, headlights, etc.) and also containing a variant of “supplement” (supplement, supplemental, etc.) or “impair” (impair, impairment, etc.) or the word “auxiliary.”

Search Tool

NHTSA's Interpretation Files Search



Displaying 1341 - 1350 of 2066
Interpretations Date
 search results table

ID: 10932-2

Open

Milford R. Bennett, Director
Safety Affairs and Safety & Restraints Center
General Motors Corporation
30200 Mound Road
Warren, Michigan 48090-9010

Dear Mr. Bennett:

This responds to General Motors' (GM's) May 19, 1995 letter asking whether a sunshade device is permitted under the 70 percent light transmissibility requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 205, Glazing Materials. You describe the device as a screen-like device that is stowed in the back panel shelf area below the rear window and that can be electrically raised and lowered by a driver operated switch. The light transmissibility through the combination of the rear window and the raised sunshade is less than 70 percent. The short answer to your question is that the device is permitted.

Although you note earlier agency interpretations stating that windows with sunshades must still comply with Standard No. 205, you believe that the standard does not apply to your device. You state that those interpretations were distinguishable because the other shading devices were attached to the window, while your device is not.

You are correct in your assertion that installation of your sunshade would not cause a noncompliance with Standard No. 205. The purpose of the 70 percent light transmissibility requirements in Standard No. 205 is to ensure that the driver can see 70 percent of the incident light through the windows that are requisite for driving visibility, under all conditions of lighting. However, the test procedures do not incorporate an in-vehicle test. Instead, they contemplate testing only the glazing itself. Your mesh screen sunshade need not comply with the standard (because it does not meet the definition of glazing) or in combination with the rear window (because it is not attached).

Although our standards do not prohibit this device, we have some safety-related concerns with its use in inappropriate situations. NHTSA hopes that GM plans to take steps to minimize the likelihood that the sunshade will be raised in such situations.

I hope this information is helpful. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact Paul Atelsek of my staff at this address or by telephone at (202) 366-2992.

Sincerely,

John Womack Acting Chief Counsel

ref:205 d:9/1995

ID: 15215.wkm

Open

Mr. Carlos Fracaroli
Pirelli
Av. Alexandre de Gusmâo
487-09110-900
Santo André, SP Brasil

Dear Mr. Fracaroli:

Please pardon the delay in responding to your letter in which you inquired about tolerances in the ambient temperature requirements of Federal motor vehicle safety standard (FMVSS) No. 119, New Pneumatic Tires for Vehicles Other Than Passenger Cars (49 CFR 571.119), and 49 CFR 575.104, Uniform Tire Quality Grading Standards. You stated that you found no such tolerances in the standards and asked how you should calibrate your laboratory if none exist, since ambient temperatures can oscillate 5 degrees Fahrenheit (F).

You are correct that the above standards do not provide for tolerances with respect to the testing temperatures of tires. All of our FMVSSs specify minimum performance requirements. Thus, manufacturers must design and build the products to meet or exceed the specified performance. Since increased temperature is generally detrimental to tire performance, manufacturers must ensure that each tire meets the required performance at the temperature specified in the standard, in this case, 95 degrees F. Given the variability in laboratory equipment as you correctly noted, however, the agency allows an ambient temperature tolerance in our compliance testing of +0F-10F. The +0F ensures that the actual temperature will never oscillate above 95F. That upper limit ensures that we do not exceed the requirements of the standard, which would invalidate the test. For your information, please find enclosed extracts from this agency's Laboratory Procedures for Tire Testing and Data Reporting, DOT publication No. TP-119-04, May, 1988, applicable to FMVSS No. 119, and Laboratory Procedures for Tire Temperature Resistance Testing, DOT publication No. TP-UTQG-H-01, May 25, 1979, applicable to the UTQGS. Both publications are available from this agency, ATTN: NAD-40.

I hope this information is helpful to you. Should you have any further questions or need additional information, please feel free to contact this office at this address or by Fax at 011-202- 366-3820.

Sincerely,
John Womack
Acting Chief Counsel
Enclosures
ref:119#575
d.10/8/97

1997

ID: 1985-01.12

Open

TYPE: INTERPRETATION-NHTSA

DATE: 01/15/85

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; Ken Rutland; NHTSA

TO: Docket Section Docket No. 83-12; Notice 2

TITLE: FMVSS INTERPRETATION

TEXT:

U.S. Department of Transportation

Date: Jan. 15, 1985

Subject: INFORMATION: Clarification of Requirements of Final Rule on Harmonization (Docket No. 83-12; Notice 2)

From: Ken Rutland Safety Standards Engineer

To: Docket Section Docket No. 83-12; Notice 2

THRU: Barry Felrice Associate Administrator for Rulemaking

VIA: Frank Berndt Chief Counsel

I received a telephone call from Mr. Kazue Watanabe of the Stanley Electric Company, Tokyo, Japan on December 19, 1984, with a question concerning the November 26, 1984, Final Rule amendment to harmonize FMVSS No. 108 with European standards. With the amendment Published in Notice 2, Mr. Watanabe wanted to know if motorcycle turn signal lamps were supposed to meet the photometric requirements of Table I of SAE J588e or the requirements set forth by Figure 1a and Figure 1b given in Notice 2, after December 26, 1984.

I transmitted the attached message to Mr. Watanabe by telex, on December 27, 1984.

Attachment (w/6 copies)

Interpretations NOA-30 Std. 108 Interpretations Room 5109 Red Book (3)

To: Mr. Kazue Watanabe Stanley Electric Co. Telex # 246-6623 SEC TOKJ

For motorcycle turn signal lamps, FMVSS No. 108 as amended (FR 46386, November 26, 1984), allows motorcycle turn signal lamps to meet one-half of the minimum photometric values at each test point, as specified in SAE J588e, according to S4.1.1.30 and substituting the values in figure 1a and 1b for table 1 of SAE J588e. This requirement is now located in S4.1.1.11 for the 19 individual test points. The new S4.1.1.12 substitutes Figure 1C for the former Figure 1 and establishes the group totals for 5 zonal groups. It is intended that the individual test points with a value of one-half that of Figure 1b be used in determining the group totals for motorcycle turn signal camps. We hope this answers your question.

ID: 1985-03.1

Open

TYPE: INTERPRETATION-NHTSA

DATE: 06/28/85

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; Jeffrey R. Miller; NHTSA

TO: Mr. H. Moriyoshi

TITLE: FMVSS INTERPRETATION

TEXT:

June 28, 1985 Mr. H. Moriyoshi Executive Vice President and General Manager Mazda (North America), Inc. 24402 Sinacola Court Farmington Hills, Michigan 48018 Dear Mr. Moriyoshi: This is in reply to your letter of June 3, 1985, asking for an interpretation of Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108 regarding requirements for the center high-mounted stop lamp/ You reference an agency letter of July 30, 1980, to Volkswagen of America in which the Chief Counsel concluded that placement of the stop lamps and taillamps on the deck lid could be viewed as a defect in performance requiring notification and remedy. You have asked, in essence, how this related to Standard No. 108's present allowance of a center high-mounted stop lamp mounted on a vehicle's decklid, hatch, or tailgate. The assumption underlying the agency's 1980 letter was that a defect could exist if all a vehicle's stop lamps and taillamps were mounted on the decklid, where their signals could be unobserved or obscured if the lid were in any position other than closed. The center high-mount stop lamp, on the other hand, while an item of required equipment, is nevertheless a supplementary stop lamp. Even if the deck, hatch, or tailgate upon which it is mounted should be open, following drivers may still observe the signals of the primary stop lamps remaining on the body. You have asked that we also discuss the implications of a stop lamp and taillamp constructed so that a portion is fixed to the body of the vehicle adjacent to the decklid opening and the remaining portion is mounted on the outboard area of the decklid. Compliance of a vehicle is determined with respect to its normal driving position, that is to say, with the tailgate, hatch, or decklid closed. However, in order to obviate any possibility of the existence of a safety-related defect, we recommend that the portion of the lamp that is mounted on the body itself comply with the minimum requirements of Standard No. 108 for a single compartment stop lamp or taillamp. I hope that this answers your questions. Sincerely, Original Signed by Jeffrey R. Miller Chief Counsel

ID: 19623.ztv

Open

Mr. Tadashi Suzuki
Manager
Automotive Equipment
Legal & Homologation Sect.
Stanley Electric Co., Ltd.
2-9-13, Nakameguro, Meguro-ku
Tokyo 153-8636
Japan

Dear Mr. Suzuki:

This is in reply to your letter concerning the testing of reflectors of replaceable lens headlamps for chemical and corrosion resistance. I apologize for the delay in our response.

Under the test procedure established by S8.10.1(c), after test fluids are applied to headlamp reflectors, the reflectors "shall be wiped clean with a soft cotton cloth . . . ." You remark that the force applied to the reflector during cleaning is not specified, noting that if Stanley wipes the reflector "so gently that the surface would not be damaged, the headlamp will meet the requirements prescribed in S7.4(h)(2)," but, "on the other hand, if we wipe the reflector without any carefulness, the surface might be damaged." In your opinion, this means that "some kind of attention is needed to meet the requirement of S7.4(h)(2)." You ask "if such kind of attention is permitted under S8.10.1(c)."

S5.8.11 of Standard No. 108 requires that a replacement lens for a replaceable lens headlamp must be provided with a replacement seal in a package "that includes instructions for the removal and replacement of the lens, the cleaning of the reflector, and the sealing of the replacement lens to the reflector assembly." Although you reference only the chemical resistance test of S8.10.1(c), we note that the corrosion test contains a specific requirement that "the reflector shall be cleaned according to the instructions supplied with the headlamp manufacturer's replacement lens" (S8.10.2(b)). The instructions for the cleaning of the reflector may specify the force recommended to be applied for this operation.

If the instructions do not specify the force needed to wipe the reflector clean, we would interpret the test procedure as encompassing the range of force levels that technicians would reasonably employ to perform the required task. Thus, in a compliance test where instructions are silent as to the force to be used, no special care would be taken to use the minimum possible force, nor would the technician deliberately use excessive force.

Sincerely,
Frank Seales, Jr.
Chief Counsel
ref:108
d.9/29/99

1999

ID: nht76-5.12

Open

DATE: 11/10/76

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; F. Berndt; NHTSA

TO: Anshelewitz, Barr, Ansell & Bonello

TITLE: FMVSS INTERPRETATION

TEXT: This responds to your September 8, 1976, question whether the windows of "recreational vehicles" qualify as "secondary means of egress" and what Federal requirements would apply to them if they do so qualify.

The only Federal requirement for the provision of emergency exists apply to buses (Standard No. 217, Bus Window Retention and Release, 49 CFR 571.217 (copy enclosed)). "Bus" is defined by our regulations to mean "a motor vehicle with motive power, except a trailer, designed for carrying more than 10 persons" (49 CFR 571.3). Thus, Standard No. 217 would apply to the vehicle you describe if it is designed to carry more than 10 persons (including the driver) while the vehicle is in motion.

The standard does not use the term "secondary means of egress" but specifies a minimum area of unobstructed opening that may be provided by several means (e.g., emergency door, "push-out window").

SINCERELY,

ANSCHELEWITZ BARR ANSEL & BONELLO

SEPTEMBER 8, 1976

U.S. Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Motor Vehicle Program

Att: Conrad Cooke

Re: Feimster v. Concord Motor Homes Our file #14247

Pursuant to Mr. Williams' telephone conversation with this office on 7 September 1976, he informed me that you have conducted an investigation relative to recreational vehicles having secondary means of egress.

Concord Motor Homes, the defendant in the above-captioned matter, alleges that the windows of their recreational vehicle quali as secondary means of egress in that one can break the tempered glass and climb out. The windows involved in this accident were not the "pop-out" type.

I do not agree with Concord Motor Homes' assumption that these windows qualify as a secondary means of egress.

I would appreciate it if you would forward to me any information you may have with regard to whether or not windows of recreational vehicles qualify as secondary means of egress, and, if so, the standards said windows must comply with as a secondary means of egress. If there is a charge for this information, please advise and I will forward you a check at once.

Thank you very much.

Richard B. Ansell

ID: nht79-3.2

Open

DATE: 09/28/79

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; F. Berndt; NHTSA

TO: L. M. Delgado

TITLE: FMVSS INTERPRETATION

TEXT:

NOA-3O

Mr. Lourdes M. Delgado 3000 Kennedy Boulevard Room 307 Jersey City, New Jersey 07306

Dear Mr. Delgado:

This responds to your recent letter requesting information concerning Federal and State laws applicable to the manufacture of van seats.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issues safety standards and regulations governing the manufacture of motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment. Safety Standard No. 207, Seating Systems (49 CFR 571.207), specifies performance requirements for seats, their attachment assemblies and their installation to minimize the possibility of seat failure resulting from crash forces. This standard is applicable to seats as installed in vehicles, including vans, but is not applicable to seats as individual pieces of motor vehicle equipment. Therefore, the vehicle manufacturer, not the seat manufacturer, would be responsible for compliance with Standard No. 207. However, under section 151, et seq., of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, a manufacturer of vehicle seats would be responsible for any safety related defects in his products and would be required to notify owners and remedy the defects.

I am enclosinq a copy of Safety Standard No. 207 for your information, as well as an information sheet that explains where you can obtain copies of all our standards and regulations. You will have to contact the individual States in which you are interested to find out if there are any State or local laws applicable to your business.

Sincerely,

Frank Berndt Chief Counsel

Enclosures

3000 Kennedy Boulevard Room 307 Jersey City, N.J. 07306

August 20, 1979

NHTSA Office of Chief Counsel 400 7th Street, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20590

Gentleman:

I am planning to start my own business, manufacturing van seats. I would appreciate if you can send me federal and state laws and regulations conserning the safety for van seats.

Please mail to:

Lourdes M. Delgado 3000 Kennedy Blvd. Room 307 Jersey City, N.J. 07306

Thank you for your time and cooperation.

Sincerely,

Lourdes M. Delgado

LMD/tr

ID: nht73-4.5

Open

DATE: 04/10/73

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; L. R. Schneider; NHTSA

TO: Toyo Kogyo Co., Ltd.

TITLE: FMVSS INTERPRETATION

TEXT: This is in reply to your letter of March 3, 1973, in which you ask two questions regarding your company's practice of maintaining records on replacement parts for vehicles you manufacture. You appear to be under the impression that the retention of such records is necessary for purposes of certification to the Federal motor vehicle safety standards.

There are no requirements for the certification or replacement vehicle parts, unless the parts themselves are subject to a safety standard. At present, Standards Nos. 106, 108, 109, 116, 117, 205, 211, and 213 apply to items of motor vehicle equipment, and it is only with respect to replacement equipment subject to these standards that certification is required under Section 114 of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act.

Moreover, the NHTSA does not have specific requirements that manufacturers maintain records as to those equipment items that must be certified. Of course, good manufacturing practice would dictate that manufacturers maintain sufficient records to show that "due care" was exercised in manufacturing the items to conform to the standards. This is the legal standard applicable to manufacturers under the Safety Act. But it is for each manufacturer to determine for himself the extent to which such records should be maintained.

It is possible that any replacement equipment item, whether or not subject to a standard, may be found to contain a safety-related defect. The discovery of a defect by either the

manufacturer or the NHTSA will result in the manufacturer notifying purchasers of whom he has knowledge. (Section 113 of the Safety Act, 15 USC 1402) Here again, good manufacturing practice would require a manufacturer to maintain sufficient records that if a defect is found, the manufacturer will be able to determine the extent of his production in which the defect may exist. A manufacturer who has such records will be able thereby to minimize his burden of notification. However, as in the case of certification, the NHTSA does not have requirements for record retention that manufacturers must follow. It is for the manufacturer to determine the extent to which he should maintain records for these purposes.

ID: nht95-1.2

Open

TYPE: INTERPRETATION-NHTSA

DATE: January 2, 1995

FROM: Jim Cawse -- Principal Scientist; George Diehl -- Standards Engineer, General Electric

TO: Philip Recht -- Chief Counsel - NHTSA

TITLE: NONE

ATTACHMT: Attached to 2/6/95 letter from Philip R. Recht to Jim Cawse and Fred (George) Diehl (A43; Std. 108)

TEXT: Dear Mr. Recht:

As GE Plastics continues to develop and introduce new products for the Automotive Lighting marketplace, it is extremely important that we continue to adhere to the SAE testing protocol as delineated in SAE J576C, to ensure that our products meet the pass /fail three year natural weathering criteria in South Florida and Arizona. The Design of Experiment (DOE) approach we discussed with you in August and September, 1994, will enable us to generate a much wider spread of data utilizing dependent and indepe ndent variables including haze. Yellowness Index (YI), color shift, thicknesses, formulations, colors, color concentrations, and coatings. This will supply very meaningful results for us and our customers in that we will be able to extract more results from less testing.

As a result of our discussions with NHTSA, AAMVA (now AMECA), and the major automotive and automotive lighting players, we have modified our initial approach to incorporate the important concerns of all parties. These include:

* The thicknesses used in the study will be at least the three minimum as called out by SAE J576C (0.062, 0.125, and 0.250 inches). We have added the 0.040" thickness as well.

* The formulations (base material recipes) used in the study will be commercial formulations and the results of the study will be usable for only those formulations (i.e., no blends of two formulations).

* Each coating will be tested at least once on each formulation.

* Each color candidate will be tested in a low and high color concentration so that interpolations can be made from the test results for color concentrations that fall in between.

* The final list of coatings is being firmed up as of this writing, and actually is being expanded beyond the list presented in previous meetings.

We would appreciate your written affirmation of our approach so that we have a mutual understanding of our new testing directions, and so that our customers are assured of your concurrence.

Sincerely.

ID: nht93-4.21

Open

DATE: June 3, 1993

FROM: Richard Glover -- Director of New Product Development, Evenflo Juvenile Furniture Company, Inc.

TO: Deirdre Fujita -- NHTSA

TITLE: None

ATTACHMT: Attached to letter dated 10/20/93 from John Womack to Richard Glover (A41; Std. 213)

TEXT:

I had attempted to call you concerning the possibility of including a bar code which could be automatically scanned at the bottom of the Car Seat Registration Card which consumers fill out. This bar code would contain model number, date of manufacturer, and serial number for the product that the card represents. We feel that by adding an automatically scanned bar code section to the card, that it will eliminate the possibility of mis- keying any of this information, in as much as the human element has been removed from the card. We would request a white section to be allowed in the portion of the card which is currently specified to be a 10 percent minimum gray scale background. I have sent you a mock up of the possible location that this bar code may reside in, for your consideration. We have noticed on the cards which are coming back to us at Evenflo so far, that if any postal damage has occurred to the card, that is very likely to occur on the bottom edge of the card. As a result of that, it may be more advantageous to move this white space into the area immediately below the area that the consumer fills in. It would be approximately the same width as the zone that the consumer fills in, and simply be a white space slightly further down into the card. It would leave the gray background around the outside perimeter of the card and would allow us space to openly print the model number, date of manufacture, and serial number in case there were any difficulties in bar code reading.

I would appreciate your consideration of this matter. Please advise us, as we are near the point of having to print additional cards at this time, and release printing lots to our printing company are at a rate of 500,000 cards per lot. If this will require a petition for a change in the current rules, please advise me so that we may petition as soon as possible. I remain,

Attachment (Child Restraint Registration Card) omitted.

Request an Interpretation

You may email your request to Interpretations.NHTSA@dot.gov or send your request in hard copy to:

The Chief Counsel
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, W41-326
U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE
Washington, DC 20590

If you want to talk to someone at NHTSA about what a request for interpretation should include, call the Office of the Chief Counsel at 202-366-2992.

Please note that NHTSA’s response will be made available in this online database, and that the incoming interpretation request may also be made publicly available.