Interpretation ID: nht87-2.58

TYPE: INTERPRETATION-NHTSA

DATE: 07/27/87

FROM: CHARLOTTE E. O'NEIL

TO: ADMINISTRATOR -- NHTSA

TITLE: NONE

ATTACHMT: MEMO DATED 2-16-88, TO CHARLOTTE E. O'NEIL, FROM ERIKA Z. JONES -- NHTSA

TEXT: Could you give me an interpretation of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 101 (copy enclosed) which reads, in part, that the purpose of the standard is to "ensure the accessibility . . . of motor vehicle controls . . . in order to reduce the safety ha zards caused by . . . mistakes in selecting controls." Under S5.1, it states that the location of the controls must be where they are "operable by the driver" (while wearing a seat belt). It does not, however, say specifically that the controls must be placed where they can be reached comfortably, or that they cannot be placed somewhere that would tend to increase the possibility of the driver making a mistake in his or her selection of that particular control.

Therefore, with this wording, would you assume that any control that can be reached at all, even with difficulty, must be considered "operable"?

Perhaps the situation I am concerned about will help clarify my question:

I drive a school bus. My company recently acquired, through corporate merger, several buses that have the seat and the foot pedals lined up so that the seat is about four inches too far to the right. In order to reach the brake pedal I have to cross my right foot over my left. The clutch and accelerator are both moved over proportionately. On several occasions I have gone to hit the clutch and accidentally hit the brakes instead, (no big deal). Once, I missed the brakes completely when I went to put them on (somewhat bigger deal). My concern is that in an emergency situation, a child running in front of the bus, for example, that the driver would react spontaneously and go to slam on the brakes and accidentally hit the accelerator instead, whic h is located where you expect the brakes to be.

I asked my boss to move the seat so that the clutch/brakes/accelerator are in the place they usually are in relation to the seat (or more specifically, to the driver sitting on the seat.) He said he'd like to be able to make the adjustments

I asked for since nobody wants to drive the buses, anyway, but he can't because the manufacturer will not be liable for the structure of the bus if it is modified by the owner.

I looked up all the laws I could find on the subject and not one of them said, exactly, "You have to put the brakes in the right place." 49 CFR Ch. V 571.101 was the closest I could find. If Standard 101 was intended to forbid putting controls in dif ficult to reach locations, could you please state it unambiguously so I can ask a local inspector to check the buses for noncompliance? If not, is there any way I can get the law changed?

If you have any other information or know of any other laws relating to this I would appreciate it if you could let me know about them, too.

Thank you very much for whatever time or thought you give to me on this.