Interpretation ID: aiam2479
USM Corporation
P.O. Box 103
Birmingham
MI 48012;
Dear Mr. Kellogg: This is in response to your letter of December 21, 1976, concerning th effective date of 49 CFR Part 581, *Bumper Standard*.; Part 581 was published on March 4, 1976, pursuant to Title I of th Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act (Pub. L. 92-513). It is scheduled to become effective on September 1, 1978, at which time it will absorb Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 215, *Exterior Protection*, the currently effective bumper standard.; There has been no action taken to delay the scheduled implementatio date of the Part 581 bumper standard. If a decision were made to delay the standard's effective date, it would be published in the Federal Register.; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration rulemaking procedure permit the filing of petitions for reconsideration of final rulemaking actions. Such petitions must be filed within 30 days of the date on which the final rule is published and must be either granted or denied by the agency. Petitions for reconsideration of Part 581 were submitted by several manufacturers. The agency is still considering the issues raised in those petitions and has not yet made a decision as to their disposition. The agency response to the petitions for reconsideration will be published in the Federal Register.; Sincerely, John Womack, Assistant Chief Counsel