Interpretation ID: 1984-2.21

TYPE: INTERPRETATION-NHTSA

DATE: 07/05/84

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; Frank Berndt; NHTSA

TO: Mazda (North America) Inc.

TITLE: FMVSS INTERPRETATION

TEXT:

Mr. H. Nakaya Branch Manager Mazda (North America), Inc. 23777 Greenfield Road Suite 462 Southfield, Michigan 48075

Dear Mr. Nakaya:

This responds, to your letter dated January 20, 1984, concerning Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 101, Controls and Displays. You asked whether the standard would allow "a secondary, redundant control placed in the rear seat area facilitating operation of the heating/ventilation and audio system functions by rear seat passengers." As explained below, the answer to your question is yes.

By way of background information, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) does not pass approval on the compliance of any vehicle or equipment with a safety standard before the actual events that underlie certification. Under the Vehicle Safety Act, it is your responsibility as a manufacturer to determine whether your vehicles and equipment comply with all applicable safety standards and regulations, and to certify your products in accordance with that determination. The following interpretation only represents the agency' s opinion based on the information provided in your letter.

Your letter indicates that controls for the heating and ventilation unit would be placed in the rear seating area. You stated that these controls would be "redundant" and "secondary." NHTSA assumes that there will be additional controls for the various functions of the units that are operable by and visible to the driver of the vehicle which meet all applicable requirements of Standard No. 101.

Section 5.2.1 requires identifications of any hand-operated control listed in column 1 of Table 1 of that section to be visible to the driver. Listed in column 1 are "Heating and/or Air Conditioning Fan," and "Heating and Air Conditioning System."

You asked about illumination requirements in section 5.3 of FMVSS No. 101 that might apply: Again, this section is intended to regulate the controls and displays operable by and visible to the driver, not the controls located in the rear seating area.

In requiring properly located and effectively identified controls and displays under FMVSS No. 101, the agency sought to reduce the safety hazards caused by the diversion of the driver's attention from the road. Locating secondary controls for passengers in the rear seating area for the heating and ventilation system would not distract the driver from the operation of the motor vehicle. The identification and illumination requirements of sections 5.2 and 5.3 were intended to apply only to the controls operable by and visible to the driver.

You should be aware, however, that section 5.3.3 of FMVSS No. 101 provides that "the intensity of any illumination that is provided in the passenger compartment when and only when the headlights are activated shall also be variable in a manner that complies with this paragraph." This section applies to all illumination in the passenger compartment that is dependent on activation of the headlights regardless of whether it shines upon a control display, to enable drivers to reduce the glare in the passenger compartment. Items such as radios and clocks which are not regulated by the location and identification requirements of FMVSS No. 101 are subject to the variable intensity requirements of section 5.3.3 if illuminated when, and only when, the headlights are activated. If the controls located in the rear seating area that operate the heating and ventilation unit are illuminated in this way, the standard requires that the light intensity for such controls must be continuously variable as described in section 5.3.3. You should further note that where you provide a control for the illumination intensity, section 5.1 of FMVSS No. 101 requires that it be operable by the driver, and its identificatian visible to the driver. We interpret this section to require at least one such control to be operable by and its identification visible to the driver. If a manufacturer separately meets the requirement of S5.1 by a properly located and identified control, additional controls that are added voluntarily by the manufacturer are not prohibited.

You indicated in your letter that Mazda is considering placing secondary controls for the audio system in the rear seating area. Controls and displays for audio systems are not regulated by FMVSS No. 101. The location and identification of these controls and displays are left to the discretion of the manufacturer. Once again, however, if the controls are illuminated when, and only when, the headlights are activated, then the same analysis discussed above applies. At least one control for the illumination intensity must be operable by the driver, with its identification visible to the driver.

In conclusion, FMVSS No. 101 does not prohibit placing the secondary controls for the heating and ventilation unit and audio system in the rear seating area. We would like to point out that there are other safety standards which may apply to your proposal that you should consider when you design these features for your automobiles, such as FMVSS No. 201, Occupant Protection in Interior Impact.

Sincerely,

Frank Berndt Chief Counsel

January 20, 1984

Mr. Frank Berndt Chief Counsel National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 400 Seventh Street, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20590

RE: Interpretation of FMVSS 101-80 - Controls and Displays

Dear Mr. Berndt:

Mazda, as well as many other manufacturers, offers a wide variety of vehicles in terms of available equipment. At the extreme end of this spectrum, Mazda endeavors to provide as many comfort and luxury features as possible for both the driver and passengers. One such feature currently under consideration is a secondary, redundant control placed in the rear seat area facilitating operation of the heating/ventilation and audio system functions by rear seat passengers.

Section 5.2.1 of FMVSS 101, however, states that, "The identification shall be placed on or adjacent to the control. The identification shall. . . be visible to the driver. . ." Mazda is concerned that this may preclude the introduction of secondary, redundant controls for rear seat passengers. Please comment on this issue. Also, please comment on any illumination requirements that might apply to this feature from Section 5.3 of the same standard.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

H. Nakaya Branch Manager HN/ab