Interpretation ID: nht79-2.29

DATE: 11/08/79

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; F. Berndt; NHTSA

TO: Veeder-Root Company

TITLE: FMVSS INTERPRETATION

TEXT:

NOA-30

Mr. Alan L. Sinder Manager Vehicle Products Group Veeder-Root Company Hartford, Connecticut 06102

Dear Mr. Sinder:

This is in response to your letter of August 21, 1979, asking whether Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 127, Speed-ometers and Odometers, applies to your product, the Veeder-Root 7-Day Tachograph, and whether the odometer provisions of the standard would apply if your product were installed in vehicles with gross vehicle weight ratings (GVWR) of less than 16,000 pounds. You also asked whether a tachograph installed in a school bus as a replacement for the speedometer and marked with speeds from 0 to 50 mph on both the dial and on the inside chart would comply with Safety Standard 127.

Section 4.1.1 of Safety Standard 127 requires that "each motor vehicle shall have a speedometer that meets the requirements . . ." of the standard. Section 4.2.1 requires that "each motor vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of 16,000 pounds or less shall have an odometer that meets the requirements . . ." of the standard. Therefore a tachograph installed in lieu of the speedometer and odometer in a new vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of 16,000 pounds or less must meet both the speedometer and the odometer requirements of Safety Standard 127. If the new vehicle in which the tachograph were installed had a gross vehicle weight rating greater than 16,000 pounds the speedometer requirements of Safety Standard 127 would apply but the odometer requirements would not.

If the tachograph were installed in a new vehicle as a supplement to an existing speedometer and odometer which meet the requirements of Safety Standard 127, the provisions of Safety Standard No. 127 would not apply to the tachograph.

Section 4.1.4 of Safety Standard 127 provides that:

No speedometer shall have graduations or numerical values for speeds greater than 140 km/h and 85 mph and shall not otherwise indicate such speeds.

Although this section specifies the maximum speed indication which may appear on the dial of a speedometer, it does not prohibit the use of a lower maximum speed indication. Section 4.1.5 of the standard provides that "each speedometer shall include the numeral '55' in the mph scale." However, this provision assumes that the speedmmeter dial will have calibrations for speeds in excess of 55 mph. If the speedometer dial will not include calibrations for speeds of 55 mph and above, then there is no requirement that the numeral 55 be included in the mph scale. This follows from the rationale on which Safety Standard 127 is based, which is to reduce the temptation for drivers to test the top speeds of their vehicles and to induce greater compliance with the national maximum speed limit of 55 mph.

I hope that you will find this response helpful and have not been greatly inconvenienced by our delay in sending it to you.

Sincerely,

Frank Berndt Chief Counsel

August 21, 1979

Ms. Kathleen DeMeter Office of Legal Counsel National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Room 5219 400 7th Street, So. West Washington, D. C. 20591

Dear Ms. DeMeter:

Mr. Kevin Cavey of the Office of Crash Avoidance suggested that I write you seeking a legal opinion concerning the coverage of FMVSS-127 in regards to Tachographs.

The enclosed literature describes our products. The Tachograph sometimes is used by itself and sometimes in conjunction with the existing speedometer. I would like to know if 127 is applicable to these products and whether the odometer sections of 127 would apply if these units were installed on vehicles of less than 16,000 pounds GVW.

We are currently working with a School Bus Authority whose installations specify a unit whose dial face shows from 0 to 50 MPH. It is probable that this unit would replace the current speedometer. Must the Tachograph face show from 0 to 85 MPH with 55 highlighted or can this School District specification stand as written ( 0 to 50 MPH on a dial and 0 to 50 on the inside chart)? The specifications also call for road speed - electro mechanical engine - governors permanently set at 45 MPH maximum.

I would appreciate your response as soon as possible as the specification for this School District requirements are in the process of being finalized.

Please do not hesitate to call me if you have any questions.

Very truly yours,

VEEDER-ROOT COMPANY

Alan L. Sinder Manager Vehicle Products Group

ALS/gsb

Enclosure