United States Department of TransportationInterpretation ID: aiam4918
CA 91365;
"Dear Mr. Nordmeyer: This responds to your September 18, 1991 letter t NHTSA's Rulemaking office concerning your design for an aftermarket sun visor. Your letter has been referred to me for reply. The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act authorizes our agency to issue Federal motor vehicle safety standards that apply to new motor vehicles and items of motor vehicle equipment. The Act also authorizes us to require the recall and remedy of any motor vehicle or item of motor vehicle equipment that contains a safety defect. There is currently no Federal motor vehicle safety standard that applies to an aftermarket sun visor. The safety standards relating to sun visors (Standard 201, Occupant Protection in Interior Impact, and 302, Flammability of Interior Materials) apply only to new motor vehicles and not to items of aftermarket equipment. The sun visor in a new vehicle is regulated by Standard 201, which requires that the visor be 'constructed of or covered with energy-absorbing material' and that the visor's mounting must 'present no material edge radius of less than 0.125 inch that is statically contactable by a spherical 6.5-inch diameter head form.' The purpose of that requirement is to reduce the injuries that occur when unrestrained occupants strike the visor or its mounting with their heads. If your sun visor were installed by the manufacturer of a new motor vehicle, the visor would have to comply with the visor requirements of Standard 201. I am enclosing a copy of the standard for your review. Standard 302 requires sun visors in new vehicles to meet the flammability resistance requirements of the standard. The standard specifies that the material used on the visor must not burn at a rate of more than four inches per minute. A copy of the standard is enclosed. Although your sun visor would be sold in the aftermarket, not as an item of original equipment, Standards 201 and 302 can nonetheless affect persons who install the visor. The Safety Act provides that a person who manufactures, distributes, sells or repairs motor vehicles cannot 'render inoperative' a regulated device such as a sun visor or its mountings. If a repair shop were to remove a vehicle's sun visor and replace it with your visor, the shop would be in violation of the Act unless your visor complied with the standards. An individual owner may install a visor in his or her own vehicle without regard to the standards. You should also be aware that our safety defect authority has a bearing on the manufacture and sale of your visor. Under the Safety Act, your product is considered to be an item of motor vehicle equipment. A manufacturer of motor vehicle equipment is subject to the requirements in sections 151-159 of the Act concerning the recall and remedy of products with safety defects. I have enclosed an information sheet that briefly describes those responsibilities. In the event that NHTSA or a manufacturer determines that the manufacturer's product contain a safety-related defect, the manufacturer would be responsible for notifying purchasers of the defective equipment and remedying the problem free of charge. Please contact us if you have further questions. Sincerely, Paul Jackson Rice Chief Counsel Enclosures";