Interpretation ID: aiam5196
Pupil Transportation Tennessee State Department of Education Office of Commissioner Nashville
TN 37243-0375;
Dear Mr. Farmer: We have received your letter of June 25, 1993, wit respect to your plan to retrofit three school buses with strobe lights for 'the traditional incandescent lights currently used in the eight light overhead warning system on school buses.' You ask whether this equipment would 'conflict with the provisions of FMVSS 108.' Yes, the substitute system would not conform to S5.1.4 of Standard No. 108 because it is not a school bus signal lamp system meeting the requirements of SAE J887 School Bus Red Signal Lamps, July 1964. Moreover, section 108(a)(2)(A) of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 1392(a)(2)(A)) prohibits a manufacturer, dealer, distributor, or motor vehicle repair business from knowingly rendering inoperative any device or element of design installed in accordance with a Federal motor vehicle safety standard. However, the prohibition does not extend to the vehicle owner. We assume for purposes of this interpretation that the State is the owner of the school buses, and owns the repair facilities where the conversion will occur. Under these circumstances, there is no Federal legal prohibition against the State's conversion to the strobe light system if the work is performed in its own repair shops. Sincerely, John Womack Acting Chief Counsel;