Interpretation ID: nht95-2.22

TYPE: INTERPRETATION-NHTSA

DATE: April 8, 1995

FROM: Philip R. Recht -- Chief Counsel, NHTSA; Signature by John Womack

TO: Malcolm Bricklin - President, The Electric Bicycle Company

TITLE: Re: Petition for Exemption

ATTACHMT: ATTACHED TO 3/20/95 LETTER FROM MALCOLM BRICKLIN TO RICARDO MARTINEZ

TEXT: Dear Mr. Bricklin:

We have received your letter of March 20, 1995, asking for an exemption from two provisions of Motor Vehicles Safety Standard No. 123 on the basis that "compliance with the standards, in this instance, will constitute a greater hazard to the general publ ic and will result in more accidents caused by operator error than the alternatives that we propose."

I am sorry to inform you that we cannot consider your request in its current form. For your guidance, I enclose a copy of our temporary exemption regulation, 49 CFR Part 555. I suggest that the appropriate basis for your petition under that regulation is section 555.6(d): that you are otherwise unable to sell a vehicle whose overall level of safety is the equivalent of, or exceeds, the overall level of safety of a nonexempted vehicle.

When you have filed a petition that provides the information required by Part 555, we shall be pleased to consider this matter further. Because of the need to afford the public an opportunity to comment, a decision is rarely reached until three to four months after a petition is received.

If you have any questions on the regulation, Taylor Vinson of this Office will be glad to answer them (202-366-5263; FAX: 202-366-3820).