Interpretation ID: nht76-3.7
DATE: 05/18/76
FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; Frank A. Berndt; NHTSA
TO: Arent, Fox, Kintner, Plotkin & Kahn
TITLE: FMVSS INTERPRETATION
TEXT: This is in response to your March 26, 1976, letter concerning the application of @ 108(a)(2)(A) of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, as amended (the Act), to aftermarket installations of trailer hitches.
Section 108(a)(2)(A) specifies that:
No manufacturer, distributer, dealer, or motor vehicle repair business shall knowingly render inoperative, in whole or part, any device or element of design installed on or in a motor vehicle or item of motor vehicle equipment in compliance with an applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standard. . .
You have requested clarification of the following sentence appearing in our March 1, 1976, letter to General Motors Corporation:
Therefore, aftermarket trailer hitches must also be installed in such a way that compliance with Standard No. 301-75 is preserved.
A more precise characterization of the law on this subject is that aftermarket trailer hitches must be installed in such a way that compliance with the standard is not knowingly compromised.
You are correct in your understanding that trailer hitch manufacturers are not required to certify that their products comply with Standard No. 301-75, Fuel System Integrity. Despite the effect of @ 108(a)(2)(A), this standard applies only to vehicles. There is no Federal motor vehicle safety standard that applies to trailer hitches. Further, there is no duty on the part of hitch manufacturers, distributors, dealers, or installers to certify that the installation of a trailer hitch on a used vehicle does not compromise the vehicle's compliance with Standard No. 301-75. Please note that the installation of a trailer hitch on a certified vehicle before the vehicle's first purchase in good faith for purposes other than resale is governed by @ 108(a)(1)(A) of the Act and the alterer provisions in 49 CFR Part 567, Certification.
SINCERELY,
ARENT, FOX, KINTNER, PLOTKIN & KAHN
March 26, 1976
Robert L. Carter Associate Administrator for Motor Vehicle Programs National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Re: Request For Formal Interpretation On behalf of the Trailer Hitch Manufacturers Association (THMA), which we serve as legal counsel, we respectfully request the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's interpretation as to certain legal obligations imposed upon the marketing of trailer hitches by the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, as amended.
Specifically, THMA requests (a) confirmation that the following language accurately states the law applicable to the aftermarket manufacture, distribution, and installation of trailer hitches and (b) incorporation of the substance of this legal interpretation in the NHTSA's official Federal Register responses to the General Motors and Chrysler petitions to amend FMVSS 301-75 with respect to trailer hitches:
Trailer hitches must not be installed in such a way that compliance with Standard No. 301-75 is knowingly compromised. Aftermarket hitches are not, however, subject to certification to Standard 301-75, nor are hitch manufacturers, distributors, dealers, or installers required to certify, or undertake testing to assure, that the installed hitch does not interfere with Standard 301-75 compliance.
We deeply appreciate the Safety Administration's assistance in clarifying present industry confusion in this area.
ARENT, FOX, KINTNER, PLOTKIN & KAHN
Lawrence F. Henneberger
Robert W. Green
CC: THOMAS W. HERLIHY; MARK I. SCHWIMMER