Interpretation ID: aiam3941
Esq.
101 N. Main
Greensburg
PA 15601;
Dear Mr. Slyman: Thank you for your letter of March 21, 1985 asking how the Nationa Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act affects one of your clients. I hope the following discussion will explain the provisions of the Act.; You explained in your letter and a phone conversation of April 4, 1985 with Stephen Oesch of my staff that your client sold a new 1977 Dodge Van to Mon Valley United Health Services in March 1977. At the time of sale, the van was converted by Braun Corporation from a passenger van to a wheelchair van. Approximately two years after its purchase, Mon Valley requested your client to install a bench seat in the rear of the van. You stated that Mon Valley asked that the new seat not have safety belts and thus your client did not install them. Subsequently, a passenger sitting in the rear seat was injured in a crash and your client was sued for negligence.; I want to emphasize that our comments relate only to our interpretatio of the Safety Act from our vantage point as a Federal enforcement agency. The effect of Safety Act provisions in private products liability and negligence actions is a matter for state courts to determine.; You asked whether your client violated Section 108 and 125 of th Vehicle Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 1397 and 1410) by not installing safety belts in a vehicle when it installed the bench seat in the used van. Because the vehicle involved was a used vehicle at the time the rear bench seat was installed, the prohibitions of Section 108(a)(1)(A) against selling or otherwise introducing into interstate commerce a new vehicle that does not conform to all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards would not apply to your client. This is because Section 108(b)(1) of the Act specifically provides that the prohibitions of Section 108(a)(1)(A) do not apply after the first purchase of a vehicle for purposes other than resale.; Section 108(a)(2)(A) may have an effect on your client's action. Tha section prohibits any manufacturer, distributor, dealer or motor vehicle repair business from knowingly rendering inoperative any equipment or element of design installed on a vehicle in compliance with our standards. The prohibition of 108(a)(2)(A) applies whether the vehicle is a new or used vehicle. Thus if the used van had safety belts in it at the position where your client installed the bench seat and your client removed them, there may have been a violation of Section 108(a)(2)(A). If the used van did not have safety belts at that position, Section 108(a)(2)(A) does not create an affirmative duty under Federal law to install safety belts. However, there may be such a duty under State statutory or common law. The other prohibitions of Section 108 do not apply to the situation you have described. Likewise Section 125 of the Act, which sets forth limitations on the agency's rulemaking authority, does not apply to your client's situation.; Other than Section 108(a)(2)(A), there are no other provisions of th Act that apply to your client's installation of a bench seat on a used vehicle.; If you have further questions, Stephen Oesch of my staff (202-426-2992 would be glad to assist you.; Sincerely, Jeffrey R. Miller, Chief Counsel