Interpretation ID: 16926.drn

Mr. Esko Lammervo
Marketing Manager
OY Talmu AB
FIN-24100 Salo
Finland

Dear Mr. Lammervo:

This responds to your letter asking whether your company's (Talmu's) warning triangles are excluded from Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 125, Warning Devices. You state that some of your customers, European car manufacturers, are interested in using Talmu triangles in cars that will be exported to the United States. As explained below, because your warning triangles are designed to be carried in motor vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 10,000 pounds (lb.) or less, they are excluded from the standard. However, since your product is "motor vehicle equipment," your company Talmu, as the manufacturer, may be subject to NHTSA's laws as described below.

NHTSA is authorized to issue Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSSs) for new motor vehicles and new items of motor vehicle equipment. Unlike the practice in many countries, NHTSA does not provide approvals of motor vehicles or motor vehicle equipment. Instead, manufacturers are required to certify that their vehicles and equipment meet applicable standards.

Effective October 31, 1994, NHTSA amended Standard No. 125 so that the standard applies only to warning devices that are designed to be carried in buses and trucks that have a GVWR greater than 10,000 lb. (See 59 FR 49586; September 29, 1994, copy enclosed.) If sold for use with buses and trucks with a GVWR greater than 10,000 lb., your company's warning triangles must meet Standard No. 125's detailed specifications for a warning device. However, if the warning triangle is sold for use with vehicles with a GVWR of 10,000 lb. or less, Standard No. 125 would not apply.

Bear in mind, however, that even if excluded from Standard No. 125, your warning triangle, as an item of "motor vehicle equipment," is regulated by NHTSA. Manufacturers of motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment must ensure that their products are free of safety-related defects. If a manufacturer or NHTSA should determine that the product contains a safety-related defect, the manufacturer would be responsible for notifying purchasers of the defective equipment and remedying the problem free of charge. (This responsibility is borne by the vehicle manufacturer in cases in which your devices are installed on a new vehicle by or with the express authorization of that vehicle manufacturer.)

I hope this information is helpful. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact Dorothy Nakama of my staff at (202) 366-2992.

Sincerely,
John Womack
Acting Chief Counsel
Enclosure
ref:125#VSA
d.2/26/98