Interpretation ID: nht71-2.47
DATE: 05/10/71
FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; Lawrence R. Schneider; NHTSA
TO: Fleming; Robinson & Bradshaw
TITLE: FMVSR INTERPRETATION
TEXT: This is in response to your letter of April 14, 1971, concerning the Tire Identification and Record Keeping Regulation. The answers given you by Mr. David Schmeltzer in your telephone conversation are, for the most part, correct. This letter is to confirm those answers where appropriate and reply to the unanswered questions you raised.
The numbered paragraphs correspond to the numbered questions in your letter.
1. The regulation speaks of a three year retention period for the information required by section 574.7(a) and the same three year period would be considered an appropriate length of time to retain the records required by section 574.7(c).
2. The regulation specifies that each manufacturer or brand name owner shall record and maintain the records required by the regulation. Therefore, the regulation allows anyone to maintain those records but the legal responsibility may not be shifted. Thus, a brand name owner may have the manufacturer maintain the required records, but he remains legally responsible for their maintenance.
3. Under the regulation, the distributors and dealers are required to submit the required information to the brand name owner, or the tire manufacturer, whoever has the legal responsibility of maintaining the records or to the manufacturer's designee. In other words, the person responsible for maintaining the records is the person who should receive the records unless he designates someone else to receive them.
4. The tire manufacturer is required to furnish a means of recording the required information to distributors and dealers, but not to brand name owners. However, this does not preclude the possibility of an arrangement whereby the tire manufacturer supplies the brand name owner the means for recording the required information.
5. The records required by Part 574 need not be kept for reclassified tires. However, Standard No. 109, the passenger car tire standard, sets forth requirements for maintaining records for reclassified tires.
6. Under the regulation, the brand name owner has no obligation to supply information to the tire manufacturer.
7. Your understanding that brand name owners are not responsible for keeping records of reclassified tires under Standard No. 109 is correct.
8. Tires which are manufactured for off public road use are not considered to be items of motor vehicle equipment under either the Act or the regulation.
9. The repurchasing obligations for the manufacturer or brand name owner for tires in the hands of dealers and distributors in the event of a defect notification, are contained in Section III of the Act. There are no repurchasing obligations under the Act which relate to the first purchaser for purposes other than resale of the tire involved in the defect notification.
10. Because the legal responsibility for defect notifications rests with the brand name owner, as well as the tire manufacturer (Section 113(f) of the Act) the requirements of Section 113(d) also apply to the brand name owner. We consider copies of notices received from either the manufacturer or the brand name owner as fulfilling the requirements of Section 113(d). It has been our practice to notify both the manufacturer and brand name owner in the event of a defect described as a result of our investigation.
11. The brand name owner will be required to give a defect notification when he receives information that a defect has been determined whether that information comes from the manufacturer or from the Administrator or from his own knowledge.
12. The certification regulations are satisfied, in the case of tires, by the symbol "DOT" embossed on the sidewall of the tire. This is the manufacturer's certification that the tire complies with the tire standard.
13. At this point in time, there are no regulations requiring performance of technical data to be furnished with new or retreaded tires. However, at any time, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has the authority to require such information pursuant to Section 112(d) of the Act.