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Interpretation ID: 15454.ztv

Mr. David Hutton
Intereurope Regulations Ltd.
21-23 East Street
Fareham
Hampshire PO16 08Z
England

Dear Mr. Hutton:

Thank you for your FAX of June 24, 1997, informing us of an error in the Code of Federal Regulations. I note that your original FAX that was not answered was dated April 22 and addressed to Richard Carter. Mr. Carter has retired from NHTSA and questions regarding the language of the Federal motor vehicle safety standards or interpretations of them should be addressed to the Chief Counsel. The FAX number of this office is 202-366-3820.

Parargraph S7.1 of 49 CFR 571.105 Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 105, Hydraulic Brake Systems, as printed in the October 1, 1996 revision of Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations reads: "Each passenger car, multipurpose passenger vehicle, truck, and bus shall be equipped with a headlighting system designed to conform to the requirements of S7.3, S7.4, S7.5, or S7.6." This is incorrect and should be stricken. At one time, the paragraph was correctly S7.1 of 49 CFR 571.108 Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108, Lamps, Reflective Devices and Associated Equipment. However, paragraph S7.1 of Standard No. 108 as it appears in the October 1, 1996 revision of Title 49 is correct as written.

The correct language for S7.1 of Standard No. 105 is that appearing in the October 1, 1991 revision of Title 49. This reads: "S7.1 Brake warming. If the initial brake temperature for the first stop in a test procedure (other than S7.7 and S7.16) has not been reached, heat the brakes to the initial brake temperature by making not more than 10 snubs from not more than 40 to 10 mph, at a deceleration not greater than 10 fpsps." I enclose a copy as you requested.

When we looked into this matter, we were surprised to find that the incorrect S7.1 appeared in the 1992, 1993, 1994, and 1995 CFR revisions as well as the 1996 one. We have informed the CFR of this error and the correct language is promised for the 1997 revision.

This is the second time within a month that you have spotted errors in the CFR that have otherwise escaped detection, and we are very grateful for it.

Sincerely,
John Womack
Acting Chief Counsel
Enclosure
ref:105
d:7/10/97