Interpretation ID: 21519.ogm

Mr. Charles E. Rodgers
Five Greenhouse Lane
Cincinnati, OH 45209

Dear Mr. Rodgers:

This responds to your letter requesting permission to move the seat back in your new vehicle. You explain that you have had two total knee replacements and in its present configuration, the seat of your car may not be moved back far enough to prevent your knees from contacting the dashboard. Due to your condition, the contact between your knees and the dashboard makes it painful for you to drive the vehicle. You ask if the vehicle may be modified so that the seat can be moved back to prevent your knees from contacting the dashboard.

This letter provides the relief you seek. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will not institute enforcement proceedings against a commercial entity that modifies the seat location in your vehicle.

We would like to explain that 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. 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.

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.

Standard No. 207, Seating Systems, establishes performance requirements for seats and seat mounting systems. We cannot provide you with specific information regarding how the seat in your vehicle, if moved to a new location, will perform in a crash. We note, however, that the relocation of a seat may also have an impact on the performance of the vehicle's occupant protection system, including the seat belts, air bag and seat belt anchorages. You may wish to ask the manufacturer of your vehicle what effect relocating the seat may have on the seating system and the occupant protection system, which may influence your decisions regarding modification of the seat mounting system.

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 condition.

We caution, however, that only necessary modifications should be made. The vehicle manufacturer 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.

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
ref:VSA
d.5/9/00