Interpretation ID: aiam4003
Vice President - Domestic Sales
Hess & Eisenhardt Armoring Company
8959 Blue Ash Road
Cincinnati
OH 45242;
Dear Mr. Burke: Thank you for your letter of July 3, 1985, to Mr. Burdette and Mr Brownlee concerning a new automobile safety package your company is developing. Your letter was referred to my office for reply. You described your product as a number of modifications to a vehicle to improve its security. The modifications include changes to the windows, tires, doors, and fuel tank. I hope the following discussion explains how our regulations would affect your product.; The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act authorizes th National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to issue Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for new motor vehicles and items of motor vehicle equipment. Under that authority, NHTSA has issued vehicle safety standards on a wide variety of subjects, including on tires, windows, doors and fuel tanks. I am enclosing an information sheet explaining how you can obtain copies of our standards. A manufacturer of new vehicles must certify that its vehicles conform to the requirements of all applicable safety standards. Under our certification regulation, Part 567, *Certification* (49 CFR Part 567), a person who modifies a vehicle prior to its first sale to the consumer is considered an 'alterer.' Part 567.7 requires vehicle alterers to certify that the vehicle, as altered, conforms to all of our safety standards. Thus, if your company is modifying vehicles with your security package prior to their first sale to the consumer, it must certify that the vehicles, as altered, conform with all applicable standards. Any person who fails to comply with our certification regulations is subject to civil penalties under the Vehicle Safety Act.; If your company is modifying used vehicles, then its actions would b affected by section 108(a)(2)(A) of the Vehicle Safety Act (15 U.S.C. S1397(a)(2)(A)), which was added to the Act in 1974 to address the problem of persons tampering with safety equipment installed on a motor vehicle. Section 108(a)(2)(A) provides, in part, that:; >>>No manufacturer, distributor, dealer, or motor vehicle repai business shall knowingly render inoperative, in whole or 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.....<<<; Thus, a manufacturer, distributor, dealer, or motor vehicle repai business making the modifications you describe must ensure that those modifications do not 'render inoperative' the compliance of the vehicle with any safety standard. The Vehicle Safety Act provides for civil penalties for persons that 'render inoperative' an element of a safety standard.; I hope this information is of assistance to you. If you have furthe questions, please let me know.; Sincerely, Jeffrey R. Miller, Chief Counsel