Interpretation ID: Bruno 2954

Mr. Dick Keller

Director of Business Development

Bruno Independent Living Aids

1780 Executive Drive

PO Box 84

Oconomowoc, WI 53066

Dear Mr. Keller:

This responds to your letter in which you asked whether Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 403, Platform lift systems for motor vehicles, is applicable to a mobility device manufactured by your company. Based on the information you provided and the analysis below, Ive concluded that FMVSS No. 403 is not applicable to the devices as you have described.

By way of background, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has authority to prescribe safety standards applicable to new motor vehicles and new items of motor vehicle equipment (49 U.S.C. Chapter 301). Under this authority, NHTSA adopted FMVSS Nos. 403 and 404, which establish minimum performance standards for platform lifts designed for installation on motor vehicles and motor vehicles installed with platform lifts, respectively. The purpose of the standards is to protect individuals who may be aided by canes or walkers as well as persons seated in wheelchairs, scooters and other mobility aids, when entering and exiting a motor vehicle. The standards were established December 27, 2002. Compliance with FMVSS No. 403 has been required as of April 1, 2005. Compliance with FMVSS No. 404 has been required as of July 1, 2005.

In your letter, you ask whether FMVSS No. 403 is applicable to a mobility device manufactured by your company, the Turning Automotive Seating system. You explain that the Turning Automotive Seating is manufactured in three basic models known as the Turny, the Turnout, and the Lift-Up Power Mobility Seat. You state that all three models are essentially a swivel seat base mechanism that rotates approximately 90 degrees with articulation to clear the B-pillar during vehicle entry and exit. You further stated that the Turny and Lift-Up add an elevating feature allowing access to taller vehicles. Under all three models the Turning Automotive Seating user is seated in the automotive vehicle seat during operation.

In a final rule published in the Federal Register (69 FR 58843) on October 1, 2004, the agency clarified that FMVSS No. 403 applies only to platform lifts that are designed to transport standing passengers as well as passengers in mobility aids. The application section was revised to read as follows:

This standard applies to platform lifts designed to carry standing passengers, who may be aided by canes or walkers, as well as, persons seated in wheelchairs, scooters and other mobility aids, into and out of the vehicle. (S3 of FMVSS No. 403).

This clarification (along with a corresponding one in the application section of FMVSS No. 404) was in response to comments from manufacturers of lifts and lift equipped vehicles in which the lifts were designed to transport occupants in gurneys and incubators. The commenters stated that such lifts could not accommodate a standing individual or an individual aided by a mobility device, such as a wheelchair or scooter. In the October 2004 final rule, we emphasized that the intent of FMVSS Nos. 403 and 404 is to protect lift users that occupy lifts while aided by canes or walkers, as well as lift users seated in wheelchairs, scooters and other mobility devices (69 FR 58844).

We note that we have discovered that due to a drafting error in a subsequent rule concerning the compliance dates for FMVSS Nos. 403 and 404, the clarifying language in the application sections of the two standards was inadvertently removed. We plan to correct this error and, in the meantime, continue to interpret the standards consistent with that clarification.

The mobility devices described in your letter rely on the motor vehicle seat to accommodate a vehicle occupant. You stated that the Turning Automotive Seating system does transport occupants into and out of motor vehicles, but that the system cannot accommodate a standing individual, or an individual while he or she remained in his or her mobility device. Given that the system as you described transports individuals while they are seated in the motor vehicle seat and is unable to accommodate standing individuals or permit individuals to remain in a wheelchair or other mobility device, your system would not be subject to FMVSS No. 403.

The issue of the intent of Standard No. 403 is further evidenced by the specific requirements of the standard. As Standard No. 403 was developed to address platform lifts designed to carry standing individuals and persons seated in wheelchairs or other mobility aids, many of the requirements are not relevant to a device such as the Turning Automotive Seating system. For example, Standard No. 403 contains requirements and test procedures for Threshold Warning Systems that warn passengers in mobility devices and standing passengers when they are near the edge of the vehicle floor and the lift platform is not at vehicle floor level. FMVSS No. 403 also contains requirements and test procedures for edge guards, wheelchair retention devices, surface protrusions, platform gaps, platform size, and platform handrails. These requirements and test procedures help assure that the platform has ample room to accommodate mobility devices and that passengers in mobility devices and standing passengers are retained and stabilized on the platform during operation. Also, the requirements and test procedures prevent excessive gaps and protrusions that must be traversed by passengers in mobility aids and standing passengers as they move onto the platform and into the vehicle. As we interpret the functionality of your system, these requirements are not relevant to your product.

If you have any additional questions, please contact Mr. Ed Glancy of my staff at (202) 366-2992.

Sincerely,

Anthony M. Cooke

Chief Counsel

ref:403&404

d.1/18/07