Interpretation ID: aiam3199
Secretary
Commission on Equipment
State of Washington
General Administration Bldg. AX-12
Olympia
WA 98504;
Dear Lieutenant Dale: This is in response to your letter of January 24, 1980, asking whethe Federal motor vehicle safety standards prevent the installation of aftermarket trailer hitches in a manner which diminishes the damage resistance performance of the vehicle bumper. Section 108(a)(2)(A) of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act (Safety Act) (15 U.S.C. 1397(a)(2)(A)) provides that,; >>>'No manufacturer, distributor, dealer, or motor vehicle repai business shall knowingly render inoperative, in whole or in part, any device or element of design installed on or in a motor vehicle or item of motor vehicle equipment in compliance with an applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standard,...'<<<; However, Federal motor vehicle safety standard (FMVSS) 215, Exterio Protection, applicable to vehicles manufactured between September 1, 1972, and September 1, 1978, permitted the removal of trailer hitches prior to testing for compliance with the regulation (49 CFR S571.215, S6.1.5). Therefore, installation of a trailer hitch on such a vehicle would not be considered to have rendered the vehicle's bumper system inoperative.; Similarly, the Part 581 bumper standard, which replaced FMVSS No. 21 for vehicles manufactured on or after September 1, 1978, provides for removal of trailer hitches prior to testing (49 CFR S581.6(a)(5)). The installation of a trailer hitch which impairs the damage resistance performance of a bumper is then not prohibited by Federal bumper regulations.; Sincerely, Frank Berndt, Chief Counsel