Interpretation ID: conagl3

Mr. Thomas S. Conigliaro
Safe-Gard Interlocks Company
26 Theodore Road
Shelton, CT 06484

Dear Mr. Conigliaro:

This responds to your recent telephone conversation with Mr. Otto Matheke of this office seeking information on how the laws and regulations administered by this agency would apply to an item of motor vehicle equipment. In your telephone conversation you describe the item as a sensor system that would alert the operator of a vehicle and law enforcement personnel if the vehicle is being operated while one or more of the occupants do not have their seat belt fastened. Inside the vehicle, a set of light emitting diodes (LED's) would be mounted on the dashboard.

An LED would be provided for each seating position and would illuminate if that seating position were occupied by a person with their seat belt unfastened. In addition, you indicate that the system would have an additional set of indicator lights that would be visible from outside the vehicle. These lights would illuminate to alert law enforcement personnel that a belt law was being violated.

I am pleased to have this opportunity to explain our laws and regulations to you. Chapter 301 of Title 49 of the United States Code (49 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.) authorizes this agency to issue motor vehicle safety standards for new motor vehicles and new items of motor vehicle equipment. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has no authority to "approve" motor vehicles or motor vehicle equipment, nor do we endorse any commercial products. Instead, Chapter 301 establishes a "self-certification" process under which each manufacturer is responsible for certifying that its products meet all applicable safety standards.

We have exercised our authority under Chapter 301 to establish Standard No. 208, Occupant Crash Protection (49 CFR 571.208). This standard requires new motor vehicles to be equipped with safety belts and requires a warning system for seat belts located at the driver's seating position that activates when the key is turned to the "on" or "start" position. This warning, among other things, "activates a continuous or intermittent audible signal for a period of not less than 4 seconds and not more than 8 seconds and that activates a continuous or flashing warning light visible to the driver for not less than 60 seconds," to warn that the driver's belt is not in use.

Vehicle manufacturers wishing to install your device would be required to certify that their vehicles meet all applicable safety standards with the devices installed. While we do not have sufficient information to identify all the standards that might be relevant to your device, the provisions of several standards would impact on the installation of the system you describe. These are Standard No. 201, which specifies requirements to protect occupants from impact with interior components, Standard No. 108, Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment, which applies to lights visible from the outside of the vehicle, Standard No. 101, specifying requirements for the location, identification, and illumination of motor vehicle controls and displays, and, as discussed above, Standard No. 208.

If your product was sold as aftermarket equipment, no standards would apply to it. However, after a vehicle is sold at retail, Federal law limits the modifications made to it by manufacturers, distributors, dealers, and repair businesses. These entities are prohibited under 49 U.S.C. section 30122 from "knowingly making inoperative" any device or element of design installed on or in a motor vehicle in compliance with an applicable safety standard. In general, the "make inoperative" prohibition would require a business which modifies motor vehicles to ensure that they do not remove, disconnect, or degrade the performance of safety equipment installed in compliance with an applicable safety standard. Violations of this prohibition are punishable by civil fines up to $1,100 per violation.

If your interest is in having the unfastened belt warning system you describe become a required safety feature in new vehicles, you may submit a petition requesting that this agency initiate rulemaking to consider this new requirement. The requirements and procedures for submitting such a petition may be found in Part 552 of Volume 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations (49 CFR Part 552). We note that the agency has recently denied a similar petition filed by Mr. Les Boyd, regarding a system which used a radio transmitter rather than lights or LEDs to alert law enforcement personnel that a vehicle was being operated while an occupant did not have his or her seat belts fastened. We are enclosing a copy of the denial notice for your information.

I hope you find this information helpful. If you have any other questions, please contact Otto Matheke of my staff at this address or by phone at (202) 366-5253.

Sincerely,
Frank Seales, Jr.
Chief Counsel
Enclosure (Petition Denial, Mfr's Info.)
ref:108
d.6/8/99