Interpretation ID: 77-1.29

TYPE: INTERPRETATION-NHTSA

DATE: 02/22/77

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; F. Berndt; NHTSA

TO: General Motors Corporation

TITLE: FMVSS INTERPRETATION

TEXT: This responds to General Motors Corporation's February 2, 1977; request for confirmation that the impact protection requirements contained in S3.1 of Standard No. 201, Occupant Protection in Interior Impact, apply only to the area of the instrument panel that falls within a defined zone and does not apply to other objects installed near the instrument panel, such as the control handle of a spotlight mounted in the right-side windshield pillar, that also fall within the specified zone.

The impact protection requirements of the standard apply only to the instrument panel itself in S3.1. This section references a Society of Automotive Engineers recommended Practice J921 which specifies that the instrument panel assembly be removed from the vehicle for testing. Thus, the presence of objects in the specified impact zone within the vehicle must be disregarded for purposes of judging compliance of the vehicle with the requirement itself.

SINCER