ID: aiam0981

Dear Mr. Monk: This is in further response to your letter of January 5, 1973, to Mrs Virginia Knauer, regarding Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 125, *Warning Devices*.; As you already know from Mr. E.T. Driver's letter of January 24, 1973 and previous correspondence from my office and the Department of Transportation, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued the standard as an equipment item that would be suitable for use in all types of vehicles, from trucks to passenger cars.; In issuing the standard, we were concerned with the great variety o devices presently available, which can create confusion and misunderstanding to the motoring public. We were also concerned with wind stability, and your comments were most useful in our consideration of this aspect of the requirements. FMVSS No. 125 is an attempt to achieve a standardized device having a proper balance of the factors affecting shape, size, cost, visibility, wind stability and weight. These are minimum standards and the manufacture and sale of devices that exceed these requirements is not prohibited.; Again, thank you for your comments. Sincerely, Robert L. Carter, Associate Administrator, Motor Vehicl Programs;

ID: aiam1762

Dear Mr. Gobeille::#Please forgive the delay in responding to you letter of November 19, 1974, which requested an interpretation of the labeling requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 106-74, *brake Hoses*, as applied to short lengths of vacuum brake hose.#To fit the information required by S9.1 of the standard on short lengths of hose, you have suggested a labeling format consisting of the required information presented in two lines,#>>>'each in block capital letters and numerals at least one eighth inch high, placed adjacent to one another and separated by the minimum space necessary to assure clarity. The label would occupy no more than three eighths of an inch on a hose approximately two inches in circumference (5/8 inch OD)'.<<<#Because the two lines would be close enough to prevent confusion with any optional labeling which might appear on the opposite side of the hose, it appears that the format you have described complies with the requirements of S9.1 of Standard No. 106-74. #Yours truly,Richard B. Dyson,Acting Chief Counsel;

ID: aiam0807

Dear Mr. Matthews: This is in response to your letter of July 5, 1972, requesting a opinion as to how manufacturers may take into account a vehicle's speed capability in establishing GAWR.; The Certification regulations do not specify particular speed criteri for establishing weight ratings. As a minimum, however, we believe the speed chosen should reflect the maximum speed at which it is reasonable to expect the vehicle to be driven. In the case where a vehicle is subject to some low-speed uses, such as seasonal sue as a snow plow, we believe the figure on the certification label should be based on that use of the vehicle in which its expected speed is greatest. The regulations do not provide for variable ratings based on speed.; Finally, you ask whether cautionary labels dealing with GAWR and GVW figures may be installed in the cab. The NHTSA does not object to the use of such labels. They may be used, as appropriate, to indicate permissible use of higher loads in low-speed applications.; Yours truly, Richard B. Dyson, Assistant Chief Counsel

ID: aiam0162

Dear Mr. Hilgendorf: Mr. Frank Coy, Special Assistant to the Under Secretary o Transportation has asked that I respond to your letter of April 16, 1969, in which you ask whether a station wagon purchased in March of 1968, equipped with two ply tires, violates Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 109.; The vehicle you purchased was apparently manufactured prior to April 1 1968, and therefore, it was not required to be equipped with tires conforming to Standard No. 109. However, even if the standards were applicable, because a tire is labeled '2-ply' it is not necessarily a non-conforming tire. Standard No. 109 does not specifically require tires to have a given number of plies. It does require that irrespective of any ply rating tires pass minimum performance tests. As to passenger cars, Standard No. 110 requires that passenger cars manufactured after April 1, 1968, (1) must be equipped with tires that comply with Standard No. 109, and (2) the vehicle must not place a load on any of the tires greater than the load capacity of the tire specified in Standard No. 109.; Very truly yours, Howard A. Heffron, Chief Counsel

ID: aiam5321

Dear Mr. Stewart: This responds to your letter of March 17, 1994 regarding a final rule published November 2, 1992 (57 FR 49413) amending Standard No. 217, Bus Emergency Exits and Window Retention and Release. You requested clarification of the width requirement in S5.5.3(c) for retroreflective tape. You are correct that there was a discrepancy concerning the size of the tape caused by the metric conversion in the final rule. Enclosed is a copy of a July 7, 1993 letter to Mr. Thomas D. Turner of the Blue Bird Body Company which discusses this issue. As explained in that letter, we plan to issue a correction notice of the November 2, 1992 rule that would specify a minimum size of 2.5 cm for the tape. Until the correction is issued, we will not take enforcement measures regarding tape size against a manufacturer who uses 1 inch wide retroreflective tape. I hope you find this information helpful. If you have any other questions, please contact us at this address or by phone at (202) 366-2992. Sincerely, John Womack Acting Chief Counsel Enclosure;

ID: aiam0163

Dear Mr. Hilgendorf: Mr. Frank Coy, Special Assistant to the Under Secretary o Transportation, has asked that I respond to your letter of April 16, 1969, in which you ask whether a station wagon purchased in March of 1968, equipped with two ply tires, violates Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 109.; The vehicle you purchased was apparently manufactured prior to April 1 1968, and therefore, it was not required to be equipped with tires conforming to Standard No. 109. However, even if the standard were applicable, because a tire is labeled '2-ply' it is not necessarily a non-conforming tire. Standard No. 109 does not specifically require tires to have a given number of plies. It does require that irrespective of any ply rating tires pass minimum performance tests. As to passenger cars, Standard No. 110 requires that passenger car manufactured after April 1, 1968, (1) must be equipped with tires that comply with Standard No. 109, and (2) the vehicle must not place a load on any of the tires greater than the load capacity of the tire specified in Standard No. 109.; Very truly yours, Howard A. Heffron, Chief Counsel

ID: aiam0620

Dear Mr. Danker: This is in reply to your letter of February 23, 1972, in which you lis information you wish to label on child seats you will manufacture, and ask whether the information as presented will comply with Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 213. You state that a label containing the model number, date of manufacture, and the company's name and place of business will be permanently affixed to the product, while a separate legend, containing other information, will be molded on the bottom of the seat in raised letters at least 3/32 inches high.; The labeling scheme you with to use would conform to paragraph S4. ('Labeling') of Standard No. 213, providing, of course, the blank spaces for model number and date of manufacture are appropriately filled in. We would suggest, however, that that part of the molded legend beginning '. . . and there is a minimum of 19 inches vertical clearance between this seating . . .', to the end of that provision be simplified to be more understandable to an ordinary consumer.; We are pleased to be of assistance. Yours truly, Richard B. Dyson, Assistant Chief Counsel

ID: aiam0315

Dear Mr. Barnett: This is in reply to your letter of February 23, 1971, requesting advic on the acceptability of your regrooving pattern for regrooved tires.; Enclosed is a copy of the Rules and Regulations on regrooved an regroovable tires as it appears in the *Federal Register* published January 24, 1969, under Section 369.7(a)(3) Requirements, 'After regrooving, the new grooves generated into the tread material and any residual original molded tread groove which is at or below the new regrooved groove depth, shall have a minimum of 90 linear inches of tread edges per linear foot of tire circumference.'; There are no measurements on your drawings to assist us in determinin if your zig-zag grooves and the three circumferencial grooves measure 90 linear inches. Three *straight* circumferential grooves would only provide approximately 72 linear inches.; The use of lateral cuts should substantially increase the tread edg measurements, providing the lateral cuts are from shoulder to shoulder to allow unobstructed fluid escape passages as required in Section 369.7(a)(5); Thank you for your interest in tire safety. Francis Armstrong, Director, Office of Standards Enforcement, Moto Vehicle Programs;

ID: 10526

Mr. Harry C. Gough, P.E.
State of Connecticut
Department of Motor Vehicles
60 State Street
Wethersfield, CT 06161

Dear Mr. Gough:

This responds to your letter to this office asking whether the retroreflective tape required to outline school bus emergency exits can, in the case of the rear emergency door, be placed on the door itself. The short answer is no.

You stated that the State of Connecticut requires that school bus bumpers be black. You further stated that one school bus manufacturer supplied buses with the bottom piece of the retroreflective tape installed on the rear bumper. You then noticed that a number of school buses from a different manufacturer had the bottom part of the tape installed on the door itself. You asked whether the language of S5.5.3 of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 217, Bus emergency exits and window retention and release, permitted the installation of the retroreflective tape on the door itself.

Paragraph S5.5.3 of FMVSS No. 217 (49 CFR 571.217) provides:

Each opening for a required emergency exit shall be outlined around its outside perimeter with a minimum 3 centimeters wide retroreflective tape, either red, white, or yellow in color, . . .

This requirement was imposed by amendment to FMVSS No. 217 promulgated by a final rule published in the Federal Register on November 2, 1992 (57 FR 49413). In discussing this requirement in the preamble portion of the final rule, we said at 57 FR 49421:

Accordingly, the final rule requires a minimum 1 inch wide strip of retroreflective tape, either red, white, or yellow in color, to be placed around the outside perimeter of the emergency exit opening, not the emergency exit itself (emphasis added).

As you may know, the buses with the tape on the emergency exit doors have been recalled by the manufacturer. For information about the recall, you can contact the bus manufacturer, Thomas Built Buses, P. O. Box 2450, High Point, NC 27261.

Enclosed for your information are two interpretative letters issued by this office on related issues pertaining to the retroreflective tape requirement. See letter to Mr. Thomas D. Turner, Manager, Engineering Services, Blue Bird Body Company, dated July 7, 1993; and letter to Mr. Turner dated March 28, 1994.

I hope the above information is helpful to you. Should you have any further questions or need additional information, please feel free to contact Walter Myers of my staff at this address or at (202) 366-2992.

Sincerely,

Philip R. Recht Chief Counsel

Enclosures

Ref:217 d:3/16/95

ID: nht94-2.40

TYPE: Interpretation-NHTSA

DATE: April 14, 1994

FROM: John Womack -- Acting Chief Counsel, NHTSA

TO: John Rhein -- Fisher-Price, Inc. (East Aurora, NY)

TITLE: None

ATTACHMT: Attached to letter dated 5/3/93 from John Rhein to John Womack (OCC 8639)

TEXT:

This responds to your letter about the consumer registration card required by Safety Standard No. 213, "Child Restraint Systems." I apologize for the delay in responding.

You ask about three features of a registration card you wish to produce, and enclosed a sample card setting forth a "proposed format." You first ask whether you may specify "Please Print" on the card. The answer is yes. NHTSA interpreted Standard 213 as permitting this feature, in an October 20, 1993 letter to Mr. Richard Glover of the Evenflo Juvenile Furniture Company.

You also ask whether you may use "open box spaces" for the consumer's name and address, to encourage consumers to print the information clearer (one character per box space). The answer is yes. NHTSA interpreted Standard 213 as permitting "blocked squa res" for the consumer's name and address in a June 14, 1993 notice (copy enclosed) denying Evenflo's petition for reconsideration of the rule that established the registration card requirement.

Finally, you ask whether you may enlarge the consumer name and address space of the card, to provide consumers more space to print the information and thus increase the likelihood the information will be legible. The answer, with reference to the sample card you provided, is yes. Under S5.8 of Standard 213, the registration form must conform in size, content and format to forms depicted in the standard (figures 9a and 9b). The figures specify a minimum size for the card. Moreover, in the enclosed Ju ne 1993 notice, NHTSA explained that "(f)ormat refers to the general appearance of the form and to aspects such as type size, size and placement of margins, size and placement of the spaces for the consumer's name and address, and overall organization of the printed material."

The sample card you provided meets the minimum size requirement specified in the standard, and the general appearance and overall organization of the card is the same as that depicted in the standard (figure 9a). While the consumer name and address spac e is slightly larger than depicted in the standard, we conclude that this slight deviation is consistent with the standard's format requirements. This conclusion is based on the fact that this slight change does not affect the general appearance or over all organization of the card, and because the change provides consumers more space to print the information, i.e., it will not detract from the utility of the card.

Please contact Ms. Deirdre Fujita of my staff at (202) 366-2992 if you have any questions.