21391.0gm | NHTSA

Dear Mr. McLaughlin:

This responds to your letter and recent telephone call requesting permission to modify the lap and shoulder belt of a 1996 Nissan Altima that serves as a company mail vehicle and is used on a daily basis by a disabled employee of Circus Circus. You explain that the employee has a very limited use of her right arm and, due to her stature and her disability, finds that the existing combination lap/shoulder belt restricts her ability to drive. In order to accommodate this employee, you ask if the vehicle may be modified so that the existing lap/shoulder belt be replaced with separate lap and shoulder belts that would allow the employee to use only a lap belt when driving the car.

We would like to explain that the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is authorized to issue Federal motor vehicle safety standards that set performance requirements for new motor vehicles and items of motor vehicle equipment. Manufacturers are required to certify that their products conform to our safety standards before they can be offered for sale. Standard No. 208, Occupant Crash Protection, requires vehicles to be equipped with specific manual and automatic restraint systems (e.g., seat belts and air bags) and to not exceed specified injury criteria during a test. In the instant case, Nissan certified that the vehicle met all applicable safety standards with an occupant protection system that includes a one piece lap and shoulder belt at the driver's seating position.

In order to accommodate the special needs of your employee, your company may, as explained below, modify the existing belt system or, in the alternative, install a separate lap belt for use by the disabled employee while leaving the existing original equipment belt system in place.

After the first sale of the vehicle, manufacturers, distributors, dealers, and repair businesses are prohibited from "knowingly making inoperative" any device or element of design installed on or in a motor vehicle in compliance with an applicable standard. In general, the "make inoperative" prohibition (49 U.S.C. 30122) requires businesses which modify motor vehicles to ensure that they do not remove, disconnect, or degrade the performance of safety equipment installed in compliance with an applicable standard. Violations of this prohibition are punishable by civil penalties of up to $1,100 per violation.

If your company chooses to install a separate lap belt system in addition to the existing lap and shoulder belt provided by Nissan, the installation of such a belt, provided it did not interfere with the operation of the original equipment belt system, would not violate the prohibition on making a required safety device or feature inoperative. However, the seller of the belt, which in this case is presumably the repair business performing the modification, must ensure that the belt meets the requirements of Standard No. 209, Seat Belt assemblies (copy enclosed). Although we urge that care be taken in the installation of a second belt system, including selection of the belt and strength and position of the belt anchorages, Federal standards for those aspects of performance would not apply to such an additional voluntarily installed belt. The belt system itself, would still have to meet the requirements of Standard No. 209, since it would be considered a "seat belt assembly."

The other course that may be pursued in resolving this issue is to modify the original equipment belt system to accommodate the particular disability of the employee. Currently, there is no procedure by which businesses petition for and are granted permission from NHTSA to modify a motor vehicle. Businesses may modify vehicles without obtaining permission from NHTSA to do so, but are subject to the make inoperative provision of 49 U.S.C. 30122. In certain limited situations, we have exercised our discretion in enforcing our requirements to provide some allowances to a business which cannot conform to our requirements when making modifications to accommodate the special needs of persons with disabilities.

If your company chooses to have the existing belt system modified, this letter provides the relief you seek. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will not institute enforcement proceedings against a commercial entity that replaces the existing combination lap/shoulder belt with separate lap and shoulder belts to accommodate the Circus Circus employee's condition

As noted above, in situations such as yours where a vehicle must be modified to accommodate the needs of a particular disability, we have been willing to consider violations of the "make inoperative" prohibition to be justified by public need. Accordingly, NHTSA will not institute enforcement proceedings against a business that modifies the existing seat belts to accommodate your employee's condition. We caution, however, that only necessary modifications should be made. Nissan should be able to provide information on how the modification can be safely performed. In addition, if the vehicle is sold, we urge you to advise the purchaser that the vehicle has been modified and consider reinstalling the removed safety equipment if appropriate.

We do not have specific information regarding how the occupant protection system for a Nissan Altima with separate lap and shoulder belts will perform in a crash. We note, however, the installation of separate lap and shoulder belts increases the possibility that the vehicle will be operated with one or more of these belts disconnected. The lap/shoulder belt provided with the vehicle was provided as one component of the overall restraint system and operation of the vehicle with the either just the lap belt or shoulder belt fastened may have a serious safety consequences, particularly since the vehicle is equipped with an air bag. In air bag equipped vehicles, the seat belts are designed to work in conjunction with the air bag and serve an important role in reducing or preventing injuries, including those that may result when an occupant is in close proximity to a deploying air bag. You may wish to ask Nissan what effect replacing the existing lap/shoulder belt with separate lap and shoulder belts may have on the vehicle, which may influence your decisions regarding modification of the seat belts.

You may be interested to know that the agency is considering regulating the aftermarket modification of vehicles for persons with disabilities by setting out exemptions from the make inoperative prohibition only for certain standards, including Standard 208, and under certain conditions. In place of the agency's current approach where each request for exemption from the make inoperative prohibition is reviewed case-by-case, this rulemaking would give clear guidance to modifiers about principles to follow when considering vehicle modifications to accommodate someone's disabilities. We published a notice of proposed rulemaking on September 28, 1998, in the Federal Register and expect to issue a final rule in the near future.

If you have other questions or require additional information, please contact Otto Matheke of my staff at this address or by phone at (202) 366-2992.

Sincerely,

Frank Seales, Jr.
Chief Counsel

cc: Mr. James Cirone
RCS Conversions
#3 East Freeport Blvd.
Sparks, NV 89431

ref:208
d.10/17/00

Interpretation ID: 21391.0gm