Interpretation ID: aiam5041
FL 32728;
"Dear Ms. McFadden: This responds to your June 23, 1992 lette requesting information on Federal regulations concerning safety belts and seating in vehicles manufactured by your company. These vehicles are the 'Mini Trolley,' the 'Road Train,' and the 'Trolley Tram.' You indicated that these vehicles can be used on the highway and are motorized, licensed vehicles. I am pleased to have this opportunity to explain our regulations to you. Some background information on Federal motor vehicle safety laws and regulations may be helpful. Our agency is authorized, under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 1381 et seq., Safety Act), to issue safety standards applicable to new motor vehicles and items of motor vehicle equipment. NHTSA, however, does not approve motor vehicles or motor vehicle equipment, nor do we endorse any commercial products. Instead, the Safety Act 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 facts provided in your letter. NHTSA's safety standards specify different requirements for different types of motor vehicles. Therefore, in order to answer your specific questions, it is necessary to determine how each of your vehicles is classified under our regulations. NHTSA defines a 'bus' as 'a motor vehicle with motive power, except a trailer, designed for carrying more than 10 persons.' Your literature indicates that the 'Mini Trolley' has a passenger capacity of 18, and that the power unit of the 'Trolley Tram' has a passenger capacity of 22. Therefore, both of these vehicles would be considered a 'bus' for the purpose of Federal regulations. NHTSA defines a 'truck' as 'a motor vehicle with motive power, except a trailer, designed primarily for the transportation of property or special purpose equipment.' The power unit of the 'Road Train' has seating capacity for only one passenger, and the primary use appears to be to draw the coaches. Therefore, it appears that this vehicle is a 'truck' for the purpose of Federal regulations. NHTSA defines a 'trailer' as 'a motor vehicle with or without motive power, designed for carrying persons or property and for being drawn by another motor vehicle.' The coaches for the 'Road Train' and the 'Trolley Tram' would be considered trailers for the purpose of Federal regulations. Your specific questions and the answers to each follow. You asked us to answer these questions for vehicles manufactured both before and after September 1, 1991. 1. Our small unit has a GVW of 12,300, we understand that we need seat belts for the driver only, this small unit is an eighteen passenger. Our largest is a thirty-two passenger unit with a GVW of 17,000 lbs. The safety belt installation requirements are set forth in Standard No. 208, Occupant Crash Protection. This standard specifies requirements based on vehicle type and seating position within the vehicle. Different requirements also apply depending on the GVWR of the vehicle. The discussion which follows is limited to vehicles with a GVWR greater than 10,000 pounds. As explained below, buses such as the 'Mini Trolley' and the power unit of the 'Trolley Tram' are required to have, at a minimum, a lap belt at the driver's position, trucks such as the power unit of the 'Road Train' are required to have, at a minimum, a lap belt at every designated seating position, and trailers such as the coaches for the 'Road Train' and the 'Trolley Tram' are not required to have any type of safety belt at any seating position. The requirements for buses with a GVWR of more than 10,000 pounds are contained in S4.4 of Standard No. 208. Section S4.4.1 gives vehicle manufacturers a choice of two options for providing occupant crash protection in buses manufactured on or after January 1, 1972 and before September 1, 1990. Option 1, set forth in S4.4.1.1, requires vehicle manufacturers to provide an automatic protection system at the driver's seating position that meets the frontal and lateral crash protection and rollover requirements. Option 2, set forth in S4.4.1.2 requires vehicle manufacturers to install a lap or lap/shoulder belt at the driver's seating position. Buses manufactured on or after September 1, 1990 are allowed the same two options, however, S4.4.2.2 specifies that, if a manufacturer chooses to comply with Option 2, the lap belt or pelvic portion of the lap/shoulder belt must have either an emergency locking retractor (ELR) or an automatic locking retractor (ALR). The requirements for trucks with a GVWR of 10,000 pounds or more are contained in section S4.3 of Standard No. 208. Section 4.3.1 gives vehicle manufacturers a choice of two options for providing occupant crash protection in trucks manufactured on or after January 1, 1972 and before September 1, 1990. Option 1, set forth in S4.3.1.1, requires vehicle manufacturers to provide an automatic protection system at all seating positions that meets the frontal and lateral crash protection and rollover requirements. Option 2, set forth in S4.3.1.2 requires vehicle manufacturers to install lap or lap/shoulder belts at every seating position. Trucks manufactured on or after September 1, 1990 are allowed the same two options, however, S4.3.2 specifies that, if a manufacturer chooses to comply with Option 2, the lap belt or pelvic portion of a lap/shoulder belt must have either an ELR or an ALR. Standard No. 208 does not apply to trailers. Therefore, the coaches for the 'Road Train' and the 'Trolley Tram' are not required to have safety belts. 2. As you can see on our Tram specs we do have oak seats, is there a ruling on this at all. The seating requirements are contained in Standard No. 207, Seating Systems. This standard includes strength requirements for all 'occupant seats' in passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, and trucks, and for the driver's seats in buses, except that the requirements do not apply to side- facing seats. Therefore, the driver's seat in the 'Mini Trolley' and the power unit of the 'Trolley Tram,' and all 'occupant seats' in the power unit of the 'Road Train' must meet the requirements of Standard No. 207. The standard does not specify that seats must be made of a particular material, therefore, oak seats are permitted if they comply with the standard. As with Standard No. 208, Standard No. 207 does not apply to trailers. Therefore, the seats in the coaches for the 'Road Train' and the 'Trolley Tram' are not subject to the requirements of Standard No. 207. We have one seat on some of our vehicles that we refer to as a jump seat it is located in front of the entrance door, this seats two people and faces the driver. Would the same ruling apply to this seat as for the other passenger seats. As stated above, Standard No. 207 applies only to the driver's seat in buses such as the 'Mini Trolley' or the power unit of the 'Trolley Tram.' If the jump seat is in the power unit of the 'Road Train,' and if it is not a side- facing seat, it must meet the requirements of Standard No. 207 if it is an 'occupant seat' as defined in that standard. Section S3 of Standard No. 207 defines an 'occupant seat' as 'a seat that provides at least one designated seating position.' A 'designated seating position' is defined at 49 CFR 571.3 as any plain view location capable of accommodating a person at least as large as a 5th percentile adult female, if the overall seat configuration and design is such that the position is likely to be used as a seating position while the vehicle is in motion, except for auxiliary seating accommodations such as temporary or folding jump seats. Your letter does not contain enough information to determine whether your seat would be considered an auxiliary seating position. If it is, it is not subject to Standard No. 207. I hope you find this information helpful. If you have any other questions, please contact Mary Versailles of my staff at this address or by phone at (202) 366-2992. Sincerely, Paul Jackson Rice Chief Counsel";