Interpretation ID: aiam4266
Engineering Director
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited
Crew Cheshire CW1 3PL
ENGLAND;
Dear Mr. Dunn: Thank you for your telefax of December 18, 1986, concernin Rolls-Royce's ability to meet the automatic restraint phase-in requirements of Standard No. 208, *Occupant Crash Protection.* You reported that Rolls-Royce has experienced setbacks in both its automatic belt and airbag programs and faces 'a real possibility of being unable to comply during the 1987 model year to 31 August 1987.' You asked 'whether there would be any restriction imposed on our sales of non-complying 1987 model year cars and the extent of any financial penalty per car if any.'; The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act sets out manufacturer's obligation to produce vehicles that comply with all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards. The Vehicle Safety Act provides for a number of remedies the agency would pursue if a manufacturer has failed to comply with the requirements of the Act. Those remedies are discussed below.; Section 108(a)(1)(A) of the Vehicle Safety Act obligates a manufacture to produce vehicles that conform to the Federal motor vehicle safety standards. That section prohibits a manufacturer from manufacturing, introducing into interstate commerce, selling, or importing a vehicle that does not conform with all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards. Section 114 of the Vehicle Safety Act also obligates a manufacturer to furnish, at the time of delivery of a vehicle to a distributor or dealer, a certificate that the vehicle conforms to all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards. It is a violation of section 108(a)(1)(C) of the Vehicle Safety Act for a manufacturers to issue such a certification if it 'in the exercise of due care has reason to know that such certificate is false or misleading in a material respect.'; The Vehicle Safety Act provides NHTSA with a wide range of remedies th agency can pursue if there is a violation of the Act. Section 109(a) provides for a civil penalty of $1,000 for each violation of a provision of section 108 of any regulation issued under the authority of that section. Section 109(a) further provides that each non-complying motor vehicle constitutes a separate violation and entitles the agency to collect a civil penalty of up to $8000,000 for a series of violations.; Under section 110 of the Vehicle Safety Act, the agency has authorit to seek injunctive relief to restrain 'violations of this title (or rules, regulations or orders thereunder), or to restrain the sale, offer for sale, or the introduction or delivery for introduction in interstate commerce, or the importation into the United States' of non-complying motor vehicles.; Section 111 of the Vehicle Safety Act imposes additional duties o manufacturer of a non- complying vehicle that has been delivered to a distributor or dealer but not yet sold to a retail customer. That section requires the manufacturer to repurchase the non-complying vehicle from the distributor or dealer, and to reimburse the dealer or distributor for a portion of its expenses. As an alternative, the manufacturer can furnish the purchasing distributor or dealer with the necessary conforming parts and reimburse the distributor or dealer for a portion of its expenses. If a non-complying vehicle has been sold to a retail purchaser, sections 151-159 of the Vehicle Safety Act require the vehicle's manufacturer to conduct a non-compliance notification and remedy campaign.; Under the phase-in requirements of Standard No. 208, Rolls-Royce ha the obligation to install automatic restraints in ten percent of its vehicles manufactured during the period September 1, 1986 - August 31, 1987 for sale in the United States. If the agency were to determine that passenger car manufactured by Rolls-Royce for sale in the United States do not conform to the automatic restraint requirements of Standard No. 208, the agency could pursue any or all to the following remedies under the Vehicle Safety Act. To determine the extend of Rolls-Royce's compliance, the agency could require Rolls-Royce to provide information on the number of vehicles produced and the number equipped with automatic restraints. The agency could seek to restrain the sale of the non-complying Rolls-Royce cars that have been imported into the Untied States. In addition, the agency could seek to restrain the further importation of non-complying Rolls-Royce passenger cars into the United States. Further, the agency could seek a civil penalty against Rolls-Royce for each violation of section 108(a)(1)(A) and (C). In addition to seeking those remedies, the agency has authority under section 152 of the Vehicle safety act to determine whether Rolls-Royce should be ordered to conduct a notification and remedy campaign for the non-complying vehicles. While your question and the above discussion are hypothetical, we strongly urge Rolls-Royce to take all necessary steps to assure compliance with the phase-in requirements of Standard No. 208.; If you have any further questions, please let me know. Sincerely, Erika Z. Jones, Chief Counsel