Interpretation ID: aiam2125
President
Butler Associates
Inc.
Post Office Box K
Washington
DC 20014;
Dear Mr. Butler: I am writing in response to your September 22, 1975, letter concernin safety standards applicable to your 1975 Ford Custom Wagon. Your letter was referred to this agency by Senator Magnuson.; I am enclosing a brochure entitled *Standards* which briefly lists th Federal motor vehicle safety standards and the vehicles to which they apply.; Most of the standards were initially applied to passenger cars becaus they accounted for the vast majority of traffic deaths and injuries. Your Custom Wagon is classified for the purposes of our standards as a multi-purpose passenger vehicle (MPV). Each particular type of vehicle, such as a car, small or large truck, van, bus, or motorcycle, has its own design characteristics and configuration, with widely different causes of crash injury and fatality. Since the original Federal standards were established in 1967, effective January 1, 1968, we have been in the process of extending the applicability of our current standards and of preparing new standards where appropriate to other vehicle types, including MPV's. For example, effective January 1, 1976, all trucks and MPV's with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of 10,000 pounds or less will be required to be equipped with combination lap and shoulder belts with inertial retractors, just as has been required of passenger cars since September 1973. With the constantly improving accident investigation information on how and why particular injuries occur in particular types of vehicles, we expect to be able to determine which safety items are necessary and will do the most good on all vehicles. We will then issue appropriate standards as rapidly as possible.; I appreciate your concern over the safety of our motor vehicles. Sincerely, James B. Gregory, Administrator