Interpretation ID: aiam4673
Esq. Mintz
Levin
Cohn
Ferris
Glovsky and Popeo
P.C. 1825 Eye Street
NW Washington
DC 20006;
Dear Mr. Showhite: This replies to your letters asking for determination 'that the sale into the aftermarket as well as aftermarket installation of the Advanced Brake Light Device ('ABLD')...would not violate' any of this agency's statutes or regulations. As you have described it, the ABLD 'consists of a sensor attached to the accelerator pedal that senses the rate at which the foot releases the accelerator pedal. This signal is sent to a processor unit, which determines whether the brake lights should be turned on, and the duration of the illumination until the brake is applied. The ABLD is set so that the brake light will go off unless the brake is applied within one second of the ABLD's activation....' You believe that this avoids providing a misleading signal. You further indicate the manufacturer's willingness to alter the time interval if NHTSA's favorable opinion is required for it. You have not defined the term 'aftermarket', but we shall assume that you mean sales to vehicle owners of equipment for installation on their vehicles (as contrasted with sales to dealers for installation on new vehicles before their delivery). There is no Federal motor vehicle safety standard that applies to the system described in your letter. This means that there are no Federal restrictions upon the importation, manufacture, or sale of the ABLD. Under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act (specifically, l5 U.S.C. 1397(a)(2)(A)), as you surmise, modifications to vehicles by a person other than the vehicle owner are permissible as long as they do not 'render inoperative, in whole or in part, any device...installed on...a motor vehicle...in compliance with an applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standard....' The essential question then is whether the installation of the ABLD renders partially or wholly inoperative the vehicle's stop lamps. As you know, in our interpretations on lighting equipment, we have noted a close relationship between the statute's rendering inoperative prohibition for the aftermarket with the standard's impaired effectiveness prohibition for supplementary original equipment. Primarily, maintaining that relationship is done in order to avoid regulatory inconsistency with interpretations under which installation of an item of aftermarket equipment might be deemed acceptable under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, while its installation as original equipment would violate Standard No. 108. There are two types of supplementary original, or aftermarket, lighting equipment: those that operate independently of the lighting equipment that Standard No. 108 requires, and those that operate in connection with that equipment. A separate red rear fog lamp would be an example of the former. The ABLD is an example of the latter, because it has a direct effect upon the operation of the stop lamp. An aftermarket device that has an effect upon the operation of required lighting equipment cannot be deemed permissible unless that effect is consistent with the operation and purpose of the required equipment. As you stated, the SAE defines a stop lamp as one whose function indicates 'the intention of the operator of a vehicle to stop or diminish speed by braking'. You have argued that 'The ABLD is consistent because it 'clearly and unambiguously indicates' an operator's intent to apply the brake. Your client, however, does not make that claim for the ABLD, it concedes that 'there will be circumstances in which the brake will not be engaged after the ABLD is activated.' The heart of our concern is that while the standard requires the stop lamp to operate in only one particular circumstance, the ABLD causes the stop lamp to operate at an earlier time when the lamp is supposed to be unlighted. Further, the ABLD's activation of the stop lamp indicates only that the operator has released the accelerator. It does not necessarily follow that the brake pedal will later be applied. Under this fact situation, the stop lamps fulfill a purpose other than for which they are installed. This can only create the potential for confusion and dilution of the effectiveness of the stop signal. For the reasons stated above, we have concluded that installation of the ABLD in the aftermarket would render the stop lamps partially inoperative. Because this conclusion does not depend upon whether the ABLD would be acceptable using the different parameters of performance to which it is apparently capable of being adjusted, there appears to be no reason to discuss this matter with you before completion of this interpretation, which would further delay our response. We would like to discuss several other points. You have stated that 'Illuminations of the brake lights for one second or less occur frequently during normal driving without the ABLD', and have sought to allay our concerns with the manufacturer's willingness to reduce the stop lamp activation time from one second to something less if that is required for a favorable interpretation. You have also provided information that the ABLD comes into operation only when the foot is released from the pedal at a rate consistent with an intent to apply the brake, as in an emergency situation. While we appreciate these arguments, we do not find them persuasive. The short periods of illumination to which you refer are occasioned by application of the brake pedal, no matter how brief that application is. The offer to reduce the activation time of the ABLD if it is not followed by a brake application would reduce but not eliminate stop lamp activation for purposes other than to indicate a stop or diminished speed. As for foot-movement time, there appears to be no indication in the University of Michigan study that you submitted that the ABLD was activated in traffic emergencies. The foot-movement time measurements seem consistent with removal of the foot from the accelerator under ordinary traffic situations, and thus there should have been no instances of ABLD activation. Your most recent letter contained a copy of a report of an independent field study of the ABLD in Israel, which 'found that rear-end accidents were reduced by 75 percent.' However, the report states that the ABLD-equipped vehicles ('except a few') were also equipped with center high-mounted stop lamps. Since any reductions in rear-end accidents that were experienced by the test fleets cannot be attributed solely to the ABLD, the data must be viewed as inconclusive. The acceptability for use of the ABLD must also be determined under the laws of the individual States. We are unable to advise you on these laws, and suggest that you get in touch with the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) for further advice. Its address is 4600 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22203. Sincerely, Stephen P. Wood Acting Chief Counsel;