Interpretation ID: nht89-2.98

TYPE: INTERPRETATION-NHTSA

DATE: SEPTEMBER 13, 1989

FROM: STEPHEN P. WOOD -- ACTING CHIEF COUNSEL, NHTSA

TO: TAYLOR HONG -- PRESIDENT, FAIR SUN INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD., TAIPEI, TAIWAN

TITLE: NONE

ATTACHMT: Letter dated August 4, 1988 from Taylor Hong, Fair Sun Industrial Co., Ltd., to U.S. Dept. of Transportation is attached; [OCC-2718].

TEXT: This is in reply to your letter with reference to motor vehicle flashers that you wish to sell in the United States.

You have asked the following questions:

1. "How do we get DOT approval?"

2. "Should ask for an application forms from you and sent one lot of samples for your test?"

The Department has no authority to "approve' flashers, and no laboratory of its own in which it tests them. Under our law, the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, the manufacturer of the flashers, not the Department, determines in the first i nstance whether or not they comply with the SAE materials incorporated into Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108. If the manufacturer is convinced that they comply, it certifies that the flashers meet Standard No. 108, either with a statement o n the container in which the flashers are shipped, a tag attached to each flasher, or a DOT symbol on the flasher itself. From time to time, the Department buys flashers for testing. In this manner, the Department has discovered that a number of those manufactured in Taiwan have not met Federal requirements, and lacked the required certification. In some instances, civil penalties have been imposed against the manufacturer or importer of the flashers.

3. "We may send samples to any other Laboratory and get an approval?"

To aid you in reaching a conclusion whether the flashers are designed to conform with Standard No. 108, you may send samples to any test laboratory you wish. Although the standard deems a flasher compliant if not less than 17 of 20 flashers tested meet the requirements, we caution you that you should not accept such a result as a guarantor of compliance. Because of the tolerances involved in production of flashers, we believe that a manufacturer wishing to ensure that at least 17 of 20 flashers will p ass whenever the government tests them should not be satisfied until 20 of 20 flashers submitted for test meet both the performance and durability requirements of Standard No. 108. Further, even obtaining this result on a single occasion is not a guarant ee that flashers will continue to meet Standard No. 108 over time. Accordingly, we urge flasher manufacturers to test their products periodically as an assurance that the flashers remain in compliance.

Although you have no obligation to obtain "approval" from the Department,

there are two requirements that manufacturers of flashers must meet before offering their products for sale in the U.S. You must designate an agent for service of process (49 CFR 551.45) and file an identifica- tion statement (49 CFR Part 566). I enclo se a copy of these regulations for your information.

If you have any further questions we shall be pleased to answer them.

Sincerely,

Enclosures