Interpretation ID: aiam4059
Executive Vice President
Hino Motors (U.S.A.) Inc.
200 Park Avenue
Suite 4114-12
New York
NY 10166;
Dear Mr. Ishizu: This responds to your letter asking about compliance of a propose seating design with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 207, *Seating Systems*. We apologize for the delay in our response.; By way of background information, the National Highway Traffic Safet Administration does not grant approval of motor vehicles or motor vehicle equipment. Under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, it is the responsibility of the manufacturer to ensure that its vehicles or equipment comply with applicable requirements. The following represents our opinion based on the facts provided in your letter.; According to your letter, you are considering installing a folding sea between the driver's and assistant seats in class 6 and 7 trucks. When the seat back is folded down, the back of the seat can be used as a console box. When the seat back is raised, the seat back is 'automatically locked by the pivot of turning hinge lowering along the guide groove by the weight of the seat back.' To fold the seat back after it has been locked, one must lift the seat back manually, thereby raising the pivot, in order to release the folding lock. You asked whether the seat complies with requirements of section S4.3 of the standard.; Section S4.3 of Standard No. 207 states: >>>Except for a passenger seat in a bus or a seat having a back that i adjustable only for the comfort of its occupants, a hinged or folding occupant seat or occupant seat back shall be equipped with a self-locking device for restraining the hinged or folding seat or seat back and a control for releasing that restraining device.<<<; As discussed below, your proposed seat does not appear to meet sectio S4.3's requirement for a control that releases the restraining device for hinged or folding seats or seat backs. The purpose of that requirement is to ensure that occupants in seats located behind folding seats are able to exit the vehicle.; Section S4.3 requires that your seat: (1) be equipped with self-locking device for restraining the folding seat back, and (2) have a specific control for releasing that restraining device. Your seat appears to meet the first of these requirements, since the seat back is locked automatically when the seat back is raised. However, your seat does not appear to have a specific control for releasing the restraining device. In order to release the restraining device, one must lift the seat back by hands and raise the pivot of the hinge for releasing the folding lock. Standard No. 207 requires a specific control for releasing the restraining device, such as a knob that one can turn or a lever that one can lift.; We recognize, based on the drawing provided with your letter, tha there would be no seats, i.e., no designated seating positions or auxiliary seating accommodations, behind your proposed folding seat. Therefore, the requirement for a specific control to release the restraining device does not appear to be relevant for your proposed design. However, as currently drafted, section S4.3 does not include an exception for such seats. In light of your letter, we plan to initiate rulemaking to propose such an exception. Until the issue is resolved by rulemaking, we will not enforce section S4.3's requirement for a specific control that releases the restraining device for hinged or folding seats or seat backs in vehicles where there are no seats behind the folding seat or seat back.; Sincerely, Erika Z. Jones, Chief Counsel