Interpretation ID: aiam3822
Hino Motors (U.S.A.) Inc.
200 Park Avenue
Suite 4114-12
New York
NY 10166;
Dear Ms. Oba: This responds to your March 12, 1984 letter regarding the applicabilit of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards to motor vehicles imported into Guam.; Under sections 102(8), 102(9), and 108(a)(1)(A) of the National Traffi and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, 15 U.S.C. 1391(8), 1391(9), and 1397(a)(1)(A), motor vehicles introduced into commerce in Guam are subject to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. In general, the standards apply to the same extent to vehicles imported into Guam as to those imported into the continental U.S. However, as you note in your letter, FMVSS 103 (windshield defrosting and defogging systems) does not apply outside the continental U.S., as specified in section 3 of that standard. See 49 CFR 571.103. Other standards, such as FMVSS 124, which do not limit their applicabilty to specific geographic areas, apply fully in Guam. Therefore, vehicles imported into Guam must have an accelerator control system which returns the throttle to idle over a temperature range of -40 degrees F. to +125 degrees F.; Sincerely, Frank Berndt, Chief Counsel