ID: 9876

Mr. John Collins
Senior Vice President, Government Affairs
American Trucking Associations
2200 Mill Road
Alexandria, VA 22314-4677

Dear Mr. Collins:

This responds to your letter about a recent amendment to the supply line retention requirements in Standard No. 121, Air Brake Systems. I apologize for the delay in our response. You requested an interpretation of the test procedure set forth in S5.8.2. That provision states, in relevant part that,

A trailer shall meet the above supply line retention requirement with its brake system connected to the trailer test rig shown in Figure 1, with the reservoirs of the trailer and test rig initially pressurized to 100 psi, and the regulator of the test rig set at 100 psi.

Specifically, you believe that this provision means that (1) the test rig remains connected to the shop air, as shown in Figure 1, for the duration of the test, (2) the shut-off valve of the test rig remains open for the duration of the test, and (3) the pressure in the test rig's 1000 cubic inch reservoir is maintained at 100 psi for the duration of the test. I will address each of these suggested interpretations below.

The basic issue raised by your questions is whether the supply line retention test is conducted with air flowing from the test rig (simulating the flow of air from a tractor), or with the supply of air cut off. It is our opinion that this test is conducted with the air flowing from the test rig.

As you suggested in your letter, this result is implied by the language of S5.8.2. That section states that a trailer must meet the supply line retention requirement with its brake system connected to the trailer test rig, and with the regulator of the test rig set at 100 psi. There would be no reason to set the regulator at 100 psi if air was not flowing from the test rig. We therefore agree with the first of your three suggested interpretations, that the test rig remains connected to the shop air for the duration of the test.

We similarly agree with the second of your suggested interpretations, that the shut-off valve of the test rig remains open for the duration of the test. S5.8.2 does not specify that this valve be shut, and such shutting would be inconsistent with conducting the test with air flowing from the test rig.

Your third suggested interpretation is that the pressure in the test rig's 1000 cubic inch reservoir is maintained at 100 psi for the duration of the test. We note that no special efforts are made to maintain this pressure at 100 psi. As indicated above, S5.8.2 specifies that the reservoir of the test rig is initially set at 100 psi; the pressure could vary during the test. However, as indicated above, 100 psi air pressure would continue to flow through the regulator during the test in the direction of the reservoir.

I hope this information is helpful. If you have any questions about NHTSA's safety standards, please feel free to contact Marvin Shaw at this address or by telephone at (202) 366-2992. Sincerely,

John Womack Acting Chief Counsel

ref:121 d:9/2/94

ID: 9882

Mr. Norman Duncan
President
Study-Tech, Inc.
603 South River Road
des Plaines, IL 60016

Dear Mr. Duncan:

The Federal Highway Administration has forwarded your letter of March 10, 1994, for reply. You request "an interpretation of the existing vehicle code as it may apply to a safety- warning system that our corporation has devised."

Our agency issues the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards that apply to new motor vehicles, pursuant to the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act ("the Act'). Our Standard No. 108 Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment is the regulation that governs the performance of lighting equipment that is required on new motor vehicles and determines whether optional lighting equipment is acceptable. As you have described it, the "Early-Warning Slow Down Safety Light" will automatically be activated when a vehicle decelerates. The system will operate through the stop lamps, but, alternatively, it could employ separate lamps mounted on the rear deck.

Your system is similar to others which have been suggested over the years, and we therefore do not feel that a demonstration is necessary as you have offered. With respect to operation of your system through the stop lamps, as you will see from our letter of October 22, 1993, to Dr. Cehelnik, a copy of which I have enclosed, automatic activation of the stop lamps is not permitted by Standard No. 108 which allows the stop lamps to operate only when the brake pedal is applied.

As for operation of your system through a separate lamp system, paragraph S5.1.3 of Standard No. 108 permits supplementary lighting equipment provided that it does not impair the effectiveness of lighting equipment required by the standard. Were your separate warning system to utilize red lenses, we believe that it could impair the effectiveness of the required stop lamps by sending at times a false signal; not every deceleration is followed by braking, and the operation of your system when not followed by brake application activating the stop lamps could be confusing to a following driver. On the other hands, if your system utilized amber lenses, we believe that impairment would be unlikely to exist because the public associates this color with the need for caution.

The Act itself governs acceptability of your system in the aftermarket (i.e., installed on vehicles in use). Section 108(a)(2)(A) prohibits manufacturers, dealers, distributors, and motor vehicle repair businesses from knowingly rendering inoperative, in whole or in part, any device or element of design installed in accordance with Standard No. 108 and all other safety standards. We interpret this where possible as equating inoperability with impairment. Thus, we would view installation of your system by the persons named above as violative of the Act if it operated through the stop lamp system or if it were a separate lamp system with red lenses.

Even where a supplementary lighting system may be permitted under Federal laws and regulations, it remains subject to the laws of the individual states where the system will be operated. We are unable to advise you on State laws, and suggest that you write for an opinion to: American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, 4600 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Va. 22203.

Sincerely,

John Womack Acting Chief Counsel

Enclosure

ref:108#VSA d:5/16/94

ID: 9883

Mr. Hamilton K. Pyles
Cairncross & Associates, Inc.
2990 Mission Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92109

Dear Mr. Pyles:

This responds to your letter of April 5, 1994, to the Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance. You would like to import into the United States "a kit for a compact custom truck bed". You ask what Federal laws and regulations govern the importation, sale, and installation of wooden pickup bed kits. You also ask what you must do, initially, to import a trial sample bed into the United States.

You have described the kit as consisting of plans and instructions in English, wooden and plywood parts of the bed, unspecified "metal parts," fastenings, wiring and "lights."

As a general rule, all motor vehicles and items of motor vehicle equipment must conform (and be certified by their manufacturer to conform) to all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards issued by this agency in order to be imported into the United States and sold here. The only motor vehicle equipment in your kit that is covered by a Federal standard is "lights." They are subject to our Standard No. 108 Lamps, Reflective Devices and Associated Equipment (49 CFR 571.108), and, thus, must conform and be certified as conforming in order to be imported into the United States. Certification is indicated either by a DOT symbol on the equipment, or by a statement of compliance attached to the equipment or on the container in which it is shipped.

If the lighting equipment does not conform, or if you are unsure whether it does, you are permitted by 49 CFR 591.5(j) to import one or more sample beds or kits for "research, investigations, studies, [or] demonstrations" for a period of up to three years after first obtaining written approval from the Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance. If the lighting equipment does conform, there is no limitation upon the number of items you may import.

You have also written that the truck bed will be offered to the general public as a replacement for existing truck beds, and to "manufacturers who place specialized beds (campershells, utility company boxes, etc.) on pick-up frames that they buy new without factory installed beds."

Although you have no responsibility under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act for compliance of a vehicle with the Federal safety standards when the conversion work is completed, we should like to apprise you of the obligations of a converter, since the converter will look to you to provide it with complying lighting equipment. With respect to the general public, under section 108(a)(2)(A) of the Act (15 U.S.C. 1397(a)(2)(A)), the removal of the old truck bed and lights and installation of the new truck bed kit by a "manufacturer, distributor, dealer, or motor vehicle repair business" must not "knowingly render inoperative in whole or in part any device or element of design installed in accordance with" a Federal motor vehicle safety standard. For example, one of the named parties would violate the Act if it removed the old bed with complying lamps and installed a new bed with noncompliant lamps if that person knew that the lamps did not comply. Similarly, if the bed in some manner obscured the center highmounted lamp which is now required for pickups manufactured after September 1, 1993, that could be a violation of the Act.

If a manufacturer is installing the truck bed on a new chassis, it becomes responsible for ensuring that the completed vehicle fully meets the Federal motor vehicle safety standards, and for certifying its compliance.

Finally, as the importer of the kit, you become its "manufacturer" under our laws and may have some responsibility for notification and remedy of safety related defects or noncompliances that are discovered in the kit either before or after its installation on motor vehicles.

I enclose an information sheet for your information, and hope that this letter has been helpful to you.

Sincerely,

John Womack Acting Chief Counsel

Enclosure ref:591#VSA d:5/12/94

ID: 9886

AIR MAIL

Mr. S. Greiff PARS Passive Rhckhaltesysteme GmbH Borsigstrabe 2 63/55 Alzenau Germany

Dear Mr. Greiff:

This responds to your letter of April 19, 1994, requesting an interpretation of the 500 foot minimum runway length in the Laboratory Test Procedure for Federal motor vehicle safety standards Nos. 208, 212, 219, and 301.

Laboratory Test Procedures are provided to contracted laboratories as guidelines for conducting compliance tests. The Laboratory Test Procedures do not limit the requirements of the applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards. None of the standards referenced in your letter include any requirement for minimum runway length. Instead, the standards specify that the collision into the fixed barrier will occur at any speed up to and including 30 mph.

I hope you find this information helpful. If you have any other questions, please contact Mary Versailles of my staff at this address or by phone at (202) 366-2992.

Sincerely,

John Womack Acting Chief Counsel

ref:208 d:6/8/94

ID: 9889

Herr Tilman Spingler
Robert Bosch GmbH
Automotive Equipment Div. 2
Postfach 13 42
D-72703 Reutlingen
Germany

Dear Mr. Spingler:

This responds to your letter of March 25, 1994, asking for an interpretation of Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108 with respect to integral beam headlighting systems.

You reference a letter of this office to Toyota in which we permit location of the light source control module outside the headlamp housing but permanently attached to it by a cable. You have asked whether there are "requirements for this cable concerning indivisibility and integration . . . ."

There are no such requirements for the cable in Standard No. 108, and the headlamp manufacturer may adopt the construction that it has determined is most suitable for its design.

Sincerely,

John Womack Acting Chief Counsel

ref:108 d:5/5/94

ID: nht69-2.42

DATE: 12/22/69

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; Lawrence R. Schneider; NHTSA

TO: Ford Motor Company

TITLE: FMVSR INTERPRETATION

TEXT: RE: CONSUMER INFORMATION

This is in response to your telegram of December 15 concerning the submission of consumer information on passenger cars produced by your associated company in England. You stated, "This data will be submitted to the Bureau thirty (30) or more days in advance of any of these cars being offered for sale in the United States as required by section 375.6 as published on October 22, 1969."

The regulation (49 CFR @ 375.6(b)) requires information to be made available to prospective purchasers, on or afer January 1, 1970, on "each of the vehicles offered for sale" at the dealer showroom. The general applicability of the information is to vehicles manufactured on or after January 1, 1970. The intent of the regulation is to provide prospective vehicle buyers with information on all the various types of vehicles currently being manufactured and available for purchase after that date.

You apparently are assuming that, within the meaning of the regulation, no vehicles are "offered for sale" to prospective purchasers except those that are physically present in the dealer showroom. This certainly does not reflect the practice of most manufacturers, whose dealers, while keeping representative stock of vehicles on hand, offer for sale (and enter into contracts for sale of) the manufacturer's complete line of vehicles. This interpretation would, furthermore, tend to defeat the main reaon for providing information to prospective purchasers, since a dealer would never be obligated to provide information on vehicles other than those that happened to be in his possession at a given moment.

We advise you, therefore, that the term "vehicles offered for sale" in the prospective purchaser requirement, 49 CFR @ 375.6(b), refers to all the types of vehicles that a manufacturer represents, or the dealer represents with the permission of the manufacturer, as being available for purchase by the general public at a particular dealer location. The regulation requires that consumer information be provided to prospective purchasers on each of there vehicles on or after January 1, 1970, and to the Administrator 30 days in advance of its availability to prospective purchasers.

ID: nht69-2.43

DATE: 12/11/69

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; Robert Brenner; NHTSA

TO: Mercedes-Benz of North America Inc.

TITLE: FMVSR INTERPRETATION

TEXT: RE: CONSUMER INFORMATION

We have received your submittal of consumer information in response to the requirements of 49 CFR Part 375. The regulation requires that manufacturers submit their information to the Administrator 30 days in advance of the time it is made available to prospective purchasers. Since we have not required that this advance submittal be in the same form as that given to purchasers, the following comments are only advisory in nature. There is one respect, however, in which the information, if supplied in this form to prospective purchasers, would not satisfy the requirements of the regulations.

The Consumer Information section on Vehicle Stopping Distance, 49 CFR @ 375.101, specifics that the information presented shall contain "the most adverse combination of maximum or lightly loaded vehicle weight and complete loss of braking in any one of the vehicle brake subsystems." In your submittal, you have presented information for failures in each of the front and rear subsystems, instead of selecting the most adverse combination of weights and system failures. This is likely to confuse consumers attempting to compare vehicles of different manufacturers, and fails to satisfy the requirement that the information shall be submitted "in essentially the form illustrated in Figure 1" of @ 375.101.

We will be glad to answer any questions that you may have with respect to the requirements of these or other motor vehicle safety regulations and standards.

ID: nht69-2.44

DATE: 12/11/69

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; Robert Brenner; NHTSA

TO: Chrysler Corporation

TITLE: FMVSR INTERPRETATION

TEXT: RE: CONSUMER INFORMATION

We have received your submittal of consumer information in response to the requirements of 49 CFR Part 375. That regulation requires that manufacturers submit their information to the Administrator 30 days in advance of the time it is made available to prospective purchasers. Since we have not required that this advance submittal be in the same form as that given to purchasers, the following comments are only advisory in nature. There is one respect, however, in which the information, if supplied in this form to prospective purchasers, would not satisfy the requirements of the regulations.

Each of the three substantive sections establishing requirements for Vehicle Stopping Distance, Tire Reserve Load, and Acceleration and Passing Ability respectively specify that the information shall include, "in essentially the form illustrated in Figure 1," a description of the vehicles to which the table applies. Each of the figures in the regulations shows the vehicle description in close proximity to be tables. This element is missing from your compilation of information. Instead you have provided a master key in the front of the booklet, applying to all the tables within. Not only does this not satisfy the requirement in respect to form, but we have found in attempting to transcribe the information into a standard format that it is very difficult to interpret in some cases; and would surely cause confusion to consumers attempting to use it.

We will be glad to answer any questions that you may have with respect to the requirements of these or other motor vehicle safety regulations and standards.

ID: nht69-2.45

DATE: 12/11/69

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; Robert Brenner; NHTSA

TO: American Motors Corporation

COPYEE: CLAYBROOK; BOAZ; FULMER; NIELD; ARMSTRONG

TITLE: FMVSR INTERPRETATION

TEXT: We have received your submittal of consumer information in response to the requirements of 49 CFR Part 375. That regulation requires that manufacturers submit their information to the Administrator 30 days in advance of the time it is made available to prospective purchasers. Since we have not required that this advance submittal be in the same form as that given to prospective purchasers, the following comments are only advisory in nature. There are several respects, however, in which your information, if supplied in this form to prospective or actual purchasers, would not satisfy the requirements of the regulations.

1. The Stopping Distance information is presented as a "range of stopping distances," both in numerical and graphical form. The regulations clearly require a single stopping distance figure to be provided for a given group, that can be met or exceeded by all vehicles in the group. We do not know, and consumers surely would not know, the significance of the lower figure given. Even if it were clear, the provision of such additional, non-required information in close proximity to the required data would cause confusion in attempting to compare figures between various makes--the main purpose of the information.

2. The provision of four sets of data in respect to partial failure of the braking system, for "fronts operative" and "rears operative," and for lightly-loaded and maximum-loaded vehicles, is not in accordance with the regulation requirement that information be provided for the "most adverse combination" of weights and system failures. As stated in item 1. above, the inserting of this additional information, self-serving in every case since only the worst element should be included, would make comparisons difficult and be unfair to competing manufacturers who followed the regulations strictly.

3. The form of the Stopping Distance information would fail to satisfy the requirement that the information be presented "in effentially the form illustrated in Figure 1" of 49 CFR @ 375.101. In particular, we refer to the placing of two columns side by side instead of the single-axis graph depicted in that figure, and the inclusion of other varying between the required statements and warnings and the information itself. "The reference to shorter stopping distance with wheel lock-up and without restricting pedal effort, between the required information and the graphs, is especially objectionable, since the safety advantages of avoiding wheel skid were a particular concern in developing this regulation. Although the regulation do not prohibit the provision of other then required information in a Consumer Information booklet, they do require that it be connected in such a manner that the required information, both taxtual and cumulative, is presented in "essentially the form illustrated." 4. The Tire Reserve Load section of the regulations requires that "the table that is provided for a specific vehicle shall contain only information that is applicable to that vehicle." This requirement prohibits a large, all-purpose chart such as yours, with information for many vehicle included on it, at least as far as the information given to the actual purchaser of a vehicle is concerned. More generally, the information is not presented in "essentially the form illustrated in Figure 1" of 49 CFR @ 375.102.

5. The large, all-inclusive bar graph on Accleration and(Illegible Word) Ability does not present the information in "essentially the form illustrated in Figure 1" or 49 CFR @ 375.106, or recuired.

We will be glad to answer any questions that you may have with respect to the requirements of these or other motor vehicle safety regulations and standards.

ID: nht69-2.46

DATE: 09/25/69

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; Lawrence R. Schneider; NHTSA

TO: Toyota Motor Company Ltd.

TITLE: FMVSR INTERPRETATION

TEXT: This is to confirm the information given to you by Mr. Richard Dyson of this office by telephone on September 19, 1969, concerning the consumer information regulations, in response to your telegram of September 15.

Your understanding of section 375.106, Acceleration and Passing is correct. The acceleration interval may be begun in any gear, and the gears may be shifted during the interval.

You also asked how long "manufacturers are responsible after the sale of a vehicle for the information they provide." The regulations apply to manufacturers, so that strictly speaking the information is only required to be correct for vehicles at the point of sale to a person for purposes other than resale -- as is the case with the Standards. In other words, there is no implied requirement in regard to vehicle degradation with use. If a vehicle in use were found not to perform in accordance with the consumer information, however, (or not to conform to standards) that fact might be strong evidence of a violation by the manufacturer in the design or production of the vehicle.

You should also note that the consumer information regulations relating to braking and acceleration performance specify that a period of burnishing or breaking in shall be completed before the performance is measured.[Illegible Page)[Illegible Page)