Interpretation ID: nht71-5.50

DATE: 07/01/71 EST

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; Lawrence R. Schneider; NHTSA

TO: Volkswagen of America, Inc.

TITLE: FMVSS INTERPRETATION

TEXT: In your letter of June 7, 1971, you asked for confirmation of your understanding that under the NHTSA regulation (49 CFR @ 553.39) interpreting section 105(a)(1) of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, a petition for judicial review of Standard No. 208 would be considered timely if filed within 60 days after the publication in the Federal Register of the Administrator's decision on any petitions for reconsideration of that standard.

Your understanding is correct. As the standard currently stands, we consider it (that is, the standard as it becomes effective January 1, 1972) a "single rule", to use your phrase, and the judicial review period will not begin to run until the publication of the decision on any timely-filed petitions for reconsideration of any part of it. If at a future date we wish to sever any portion of the standard for judicial review purposes, and consider it "final" despite pending action on other portions, we will give explicit notice of that action in the Federal Register.

We are pleased to be of assistance.