Interpretation ID: aiam1085
Robins
Davis & Lyons
33 South Fifth Street
St. Paul
MN 55101;
Dear Mr. Eisberg: Thank you for your letter of March 16, 1973, concerning fuel tank fire incidental to vehicular collisions.; Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 301, Fuel System Integrity which was effective January 1, 1968, requires that the fuel system of passenger cars shall withstand a 30 mile- per-hour frontal fixed barrier collision with a fuel loss rate no greater than one ounce per minute after impact. A copy of this standard is enclosed for your information, along with a copy of a proposed amendment (*Federal Register*, Volume 35, No. 169, August 29, 1970), which is intended to expand this standard to include rollover situations, as well as rear impacts.; The need for a protective fire wall between the fuel tank and passenge compartment has been studied and is being considered as part of the passive protective measures to insure driver and passenger protection within the occupant compartment. A study by Derwyn M. Severy, et al., 'Postcrash Fire Studies Show Need for Rear-Seat Fire Wall and Rupture-Proof Fuel Tank,' was published in the July 1969 issue of *The SAE Journal.* This article may also be of interest in your research.; If we can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate t contact us.; Sincerely, Robert L. Carter, Associate Administrator, Motor Vehicl Programs;