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Interpretation ID: 22851ogm



    Ms. Shannon Dunn
    Lorensen Toyota
    P.O. Box 427
    Old Saybrook, CT 06475


    Dear Ms. Dunn:

    This responds to your letter requesting information regarding modification of a 2001 Toyota Avalon for a passenger with a urologic condition. Your letter, which was accompanied by a letter from the vehicle owner's physician, indicates that the owner is unable to wear a seat belt due to the aforementioned disability. You request permission to remove or disable a warning light that illuminates whenever the front passenger seat is occupied while the seat belt for that seating position remains unfastened.

    I would like to begin by explaining that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 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 that 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 $5,000 per violation.

    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 meet specified injury criteria during a test. Paragraph S7.3 of Standard No. 208 requires a seat belt warning system with a warning light and an audible signal to warn when the driver's lap belt is not fastened. However, S7.3 applies only to the driver's seating position and does not apply to the passenger seating position.

    The seat belt warning light for the passenger seating position is not required by Standard No. 208 or any other Federal motor vehicle safety standard. Accordingly, a manufacturer, distributor, dealer or repair business would be able to disable or remove the passenger seatbelt warning light described in your letter without violating Federal law. However, such a business could not disable the warning light applicable to the driver's seating position.

    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,

    John Womack
    Acting Chief Counsel

    ref:VSA
    d.6/1/01