Interpretation ID: nht93-3.30

DATE: April 30, 1993

FROM: John Womack -- Acting Chief Counsel, U.S. Department of Transportation, NHTSA

TO: Cleo Betts -- Director of Engineering, Coachman Recreational Vehicle Co.

TITLE: None

ATTACHMT: Attached to letter dated 2-22-93 from Cleo Betts to Mary Versailles (OCC 8383)

TEXT: This responds to your letter of February 22, 1993, concerning free standing furniture in motor vehicles. Specifically, you asked whether a dinette table and its chairs must be secured to the floor in a motor home. You also asked whether the chairs would be considered designated seating positions.

I am pleased to have this opportunity to explain our laws and regulations to you. NHTSA is authorized under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act (15 U.S.C. S1381 ET SEQ.; Safety Act) to issue motor vehicle safety standards that apply to the manufacture and sale of new motor vehicles and new items of motor vehicle equipment. NHTSA has not established any safety standards which would apply to the dinette table.

With respect to the dinette chairs, NHTSA has used this authority to establish Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 207, SEATING SYSTEMS (49 CFR S571.207), which specifies strength requirements for occupant seats. An "occupant seat" is defined in S3 of Standard No. 207 as "a seat that provides at least one designated seating position." NHTSA has also exercised its authority under the Safety Act to establish Standard No. 208, OCCUPANT CRASH PROTECTION (49 CFR S571.208), which specifies performance requirements for the protection of vehicle occupants in crashes. These requirements are also directed toward the occupants of "designated seating positions."

The term "designated seating position" is defined at 49 CFR S571.3 as:

any plan 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.

Attached dinette seats in motor homes are "designated seating positions" under this definition and are therefore required to comply with the requirements of Standard No. 207. In addition, Standard No. 208 requires these seats to be equipped with seat belts. The type of seat belt required varies depending on the seating capacity and gross vehicle weight rating of the vehicle.

Your letter raises the question of whether seats that are not attached to the vehicle would be considered "auxiliary seating accommodations" and therefore not "designated seating positions." It is our opinion that attachment is not determinative. A manufacturer cannot escape the responsibilities of Standards Nos. 207 and 208 simply by not attaching the seat. We would look at all relevant factors in determining whether a particular seat is an auxiliary seating accommodation such as temporary or folding jump seat. I also note that 8S.4.4 of Standard No. 207 requires that seats not designated for occupancy

while the vehicle is in motion shall be conspicuously labeled to that effect.

I must emphasize, however, that the concept of free standing furniture in motor vehicles raises a potentially serious safety concern. Unattached items, including but not limited to furniture, could be very dangerous to vehicle occupants if these items are free to move inside the occupant compartment during sudden stops or in a crash. Manufacturers of motor vehicles are subject to the defect provisions of the Safety Act. If a vehicle manufacturer included unattached items that exposed occupants to an unreasonable risk of injury, it could constitute a safety related defect that could require the manufacturer to conduct a safety recall.

I have enclosed an information sheet that identifies relevant Federal statutes and NHTSA standards and regulations affecting motor vehicle and motor vehicle equipment manufacturers, and explains how to obtain copies of these materials.

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.