Interpretation ID: 20080.ztv

Mr. Mike Spencer
Timpte, Inc.
1827 Industrial Drive
David City, NE 68632-2201

Dear Mr. Spencer:

This is in reply to your letter of May 19, 1999, to Taylor Vinson of this Office asking for an "evaluation of clearance and identification lamp location on [two bulk commodity] trailers" in view of our interpretive rule of April 5, 1999 (64 FR 16358). You have enclosed drawings and photographs of these trailers.

Clearance and identification lamps are required by Table II of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108 to be located as close to the top of a vehicle as practicable. Our interpretive rule states that, if under all the circumstances, it would be practicable to locate identification and clearance lamps above the rear doors, the manufacturer must do so, and that we will presume that it is practicable to locate lamps on the header of a vehicle when the header extends at least 25 mm (1 inch) above the rear doors.

You tell us that "most bulk commodity trailers are equipped with an arched roll tarp kit," and that "it is not practical to install identification lamps in the purchased roll tarp cap."

Our response is that, for purposes of compliance with Standard No. 108, we do not consider a roll tarp cap to be part of a vehicle's header.

The first type of bulk commodity trailer about which you have inquired is one with a fixed rear header. From the drawing and photograph you have enclosed, we see that the identification lamps are already located in the header area. The clearance lamps appear located on the same horizontal plane as well. We therefore regard the present location of the identification and clearance lamps as conforming to Standard No. 108.

The second type of bulk commodity trailer is one that is equipped with a removable or swinging type rear header. You state that installing identification lamps on these headers exposes the harness system to the product being discharged. The identification lamps on these vehicles, according to your drawing and photographs, are located on the lower sill. The centers of the front and rear clearance lamps are located, respectively, 12 and 34 1/8 inches below the crown of the roll tarp cap.

We believe that the qualification we expressed in the interpretive rule should be applied in this instance, i.e. whether, under all the circumstances, it would be practicable to locate the identification and clearance lamps above the rear doors. Inasmuch as the header above the rear doors on the second type of trailer is designed to be swinging or removable and that the potential exists to threaten the integrity of the wiring of header-mounted identification lamps, we will not contest your determination that these circumstances render it impracticable to locate rear lamps in the header area of these trailers, and that the sill-mounted identification lamps are "as close as practicable to the top of the vehicle" as required by Table II.

Table II also requires that clearance lamps be located "as near the top [of a vehicle] as practicable." Your drawing shows that the center of the rear clearance lamps on the bulk commodity trailers with non-fixed headers are 34 1/8 inches below the highest point of the vehicle. At this location, they may not conform to Standard No. 108. Although it may not be practicable to locate these lamps on the header, it should be practicable to locate them higher than 34 1/8 inches below the highest point of the vehicle, preferably at the same height as the clearance lamps on the front of the vehicle, with centers 12 inches below the highest point.

If you have any questions, you may call Taylor Vinson at 202-366-5263.

Sincerely,
Frank Seales, Jr.
Chief Counsel
ref:108
d.10/18/99