Interpretation ID: 86-2.48

TYPE: INTERPRETATION-NHTSA

DATE: 04/28/86

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; Erika Z. Jones; NHTSA

TO: Doug Cole

TITLE: FMVSS INTERPRETATION

TEXT:

Mr. Doug Cole Director of Public Relations and Membership National Van Conversion Association, Inc. 2 West Main Street, Suite 2 Greenfield, IN 46140

Dear Mr. Cole:

Thank you for your letter of December 2, 1985 to Stephen Oesch of my staff concerning how our regulations would affect the placement of a national Van Conversion Association (NVCA) certification decal on vehicle windows by a van conversion company. The material enclosed with your letter explains that the NVCA certification program is a voluntary effort by the van conversion industry to set minimum safety and quality standards for its products. You explained that the decal, which has a diameter of 2 1/2 inches, would be placed on the lower corner of the passenger's side of the windshield by a manufacturer whose products conform to the NVCA program.

Placement of the decals on a vehicle's windshield would be affected by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 205, Glazing Materials, which specifies performance and location requirements for glazing used in vehicles. These requirements include specifications for minimum levels of light transmittance (70% in areas requisite for driving visibility, which includes the windshield in motor vehicles).

Part 567, Certification, of our regulations requires each vehicle manufacturer to place a plate within the vehicle certifying that the vehicle conforms to all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards. A person, such as a van converter, who makes significant modifications to a vehicle prior to its first sale to a consumer is considered a vehicle alterer under our regulations. Under Part 567.7, an alterer must also add a plate to the vehicle certifying that the vehicle, as altered, still continues to conform to all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards. Thus, no manufacturer or alterer is permitted to install solar films and other sun screening devices or other opaque materials in new vehicles without certifying that the vehicle continues to be in compliance with the light transmittance and other requirements of the standard.

After a vehicle is first sold to a consumer, modifications to a vehicle are affected by section 108 (a) (2) (A) of the Vehicle Safety Act. That section prohibits commercial businesses from tampering with safety equipment installed on a vehicle in compliance with our standards. Thus, no dealer, manufacturer, repair business or distributor can install a sun screen device or other opaque material for the owner of the vehicle, if the device would cause the window not to meet the requirements of Standard No. 205. Violation of section 108 (a) (2) (A) can result in Federal civil penalties of up to $1,000 for each violation.

We have not previously ruled on whether these prohibitions apply to the installation of State vehicle inspection and private industry regulatory decals by commercial businesses. In general, these decals are small in size and placed in locations which minimize the obstruction, if any, to the driver's vision. In contrast, tinting films and other sun screening devices are generally applied to the entire window and thus can substantially obscure the driver's vision if they do not meet the light transmittance and other performance requirements of the standard. As with State regulatory decals, your proposed decal is small in size and would be placed in the lower right corner of the vehicle windshield, an area which should minimize any possible obstructing of the driver's vision. Given these considerations, we would consider the placement of the NVCA decal in the lower right hand corner of the windshield to be merely a technical violation of Standard No. 205, and would exercise our prosecutorial discretion and not bring an enforcement action.

I hope this information is of assistance to you. If you have any further questions, please let me know.

Sincerely,

Erika Z. Jones Chief Council

December 2, 1985

Mr. Steve Oeshe NHTSA, Office of the Chief Council 400 7th Street South West Washington, D.C. 20590

Dear Steve:

Will you please provide me a written statement, from your department, that the placement of our Certification decals are not in violation of any Federal Safety Standards?

I have enclosed a rough drawing showing the placement of the decal, on the inside lower passenger side of the windshield. Also enclosed is our information packet about National Van Conversion Association's Van Conversion Manufacturer Certification program.

If you have any questions about the program, or if I can be of service, please call on me.

Sincerely,

Doug Cole Director of P.R. and Membership

DC/lp

Enclosure: