Interpretation ID: 17300.drn

Mr. Bobby Kim
Vice President
American Automotive Research Center, Inc.
1450 S. Havana Street, Suite 312
Aurora, CO 80012

Dear Mr. Kim:

This responds to your letter to U. S. Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton regarding your product, the KimVue 2000, an inside rearview mirror system. Because the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) regulates motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment, Representative Norton forwarded your letter to this agency. Your literature describes the KimVue 2000 as "a dual-safety rearview mirror" that is "designed to eliminate the blind spot on the right side of a vehicle, often needed when changing lanes." I note that your device consists of two mirrors. One mirror is long and flat. The second is a convex mirror about one third the size of the long and flat mirror. The KimVue 2000 can be adjusted for either left-hand or right-hand driving.

By way of background information, Congress has authorized NHTSA to issue Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSSs) for new vehicles and new items of equipment. NHTSA, however, does not approve motor vehicles or motor vehicle equipment. Instead, the law establishes a "self-certification" process under which each manufacturer is responsible for certifying that its products meet all applicable safety standards. The following represents our opinion based on the information provided in your letter.

As you are aware, NHTSA has issued FMVSS No. 111, Rearview Mirrors (49 CFR 571.111). FMVSS No. 111 establishes performance and location requirements for the rearview mirrors in each new motor vehicle. Vehicle manufacturers must certify that each of their new vehicles complies with the applicable requirements in FMVSS No. 111. Vehicle manufacturers may install mirror systems that combine flat and convex mirrors on their new vehicles, provided that the flat mirror portion by itself meets FMVSS No. 111 requirements applicable to the vehicle on which the mirror system is installed. Vehicle manufacturers must also meet other requirements in FMVSS No. 111, such as mounting requirements for the mirrors.

Please note that since FMVSS No. 111 applies to the completed new vehicle, it does not apply to mirrors sold and installed as aftermarket equipment. However, there are other Federal requirements that indirectly affect an aftermarket mirror system. Under NHTSA's enabling statute, the agency considers the mirror to be an item of motor vehicle equipment. Manufacturers

of motor vehicle equipment are subject to our statute's requirements concerning the recall and remedy of products with safety related defects. I have enclosed an information sheet that briefly describes those responsibilities. In the event that you or NHTSA determines that your product contains a safety-related defect, you would be responsible for notifying purchasers of the defective equipment and remedying the problem free of charge.

In addition, manufacturers, distributors, dealers, and motor vehicle repair businesses are subject to a provision in the law, which states: "No manufacturer, distributor, dealer, or motor vehicle repair business shall knowingly make inoperative ... any device or element of design installed on or in a motor vehicle or item of motor vehicle equipment in compliance with an applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standard ...." If the installation of your mirror system resulted in a vehicle no longer complying with FMVSS No. 111, then the manufacturer, distributor, dealer, or motor vehicle repair business that replaced the complying mirror with a noncomplying system would have made inoperative a device (the mirror system) installed in the vehicle in compliance with FMVSS No. 111. The law permits NHTSA to impose a civil penalty of up to $1,100 for each violation of the make inoperative provision.

This provision in the law does not establish any limitation on an individual vehicle owner's ability to modify his or her own vehicle. Under Federal law, individual owners can install any mirror system they desire on their own vehicles, regardless of whether that mirror makes inoperative the vehicle's compliance with the requirements of FMVSS No. 111. However, NHTSA urges vehicle owners not to degrade the safety of any system or device on their vehicles, including the safety of their rearview mirrors. In addition, individual States are responsible for regulating the use of motor vehicles, and a State may have its own requirements with regard to the type of mirrors vehicles must have to be registered in that State.

I note that your product literature states: "The KimVue 2000 passed the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) test No. 111 in March 1997." As earlier stated, Standard No. 111 applies to motor vehicles, not to the mirror system itself. Therefore, it is misleading to state that the KimVue 2000 (by itself) "passed" Standard No. 111. Please do not continue to advertise that the KimVue 2000 "passed" Standard No. 111. A more accurate statement may be that in March 1997, when the KimVue 2000 was placed in a specific motor vehicle (with information specifying the vehicle manufacturer, vehicle type, vehicle model, and model year), the vehicle in which the KimVue 2000 was placed continued to pass Standard No. 111. (This is not to say we agree with the validity of such a statement. Determining whether a vehicle meets Standard No. 111 (in the case of a new vehicle) or continues to meet Standard No. 111 (in the case of a modified vehicle) is the responsibility of the vehicle manufacturer or modifier. NHTSA can assess the validity of the determinations, but does so only in the context of an enforcement proceeding.)

I hope this information is helpful. As earlier noted, I have enclosed an information sheet providing general information about NHTSA's regulations for manufacturers of new motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact Dorothy Nakama of my staff at (202) 366-2992.

Sincerely,

John Womack
Acting Chief Counsel
Enclosure
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