ID: 21211.drn

Mr. Ted Cashion
7 Lowell Street
Travelers Rest, SC 29690

Dear Mr. Cashion:

This responds to your request for an interpretation "regarding the use and safety standards applicable for 11-15 passenger vans." You write that your church is considering whether to purchase a passenger van for its congregation. You did not mention whether your church has a school or will be transporting children to or from school or related events. As explained below, these factors are important in determining the Federal requirements that apply to your purchase of a van (bus). Further, States regulate the use of vehicles, so South Carolina law should be consulted to see if there are regulations about how members of your congregation must be transported.

By way of background, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is authorized to issue and enforce Federal motor vehicle safety standards applicable to new motor vehicles. Our statute at 49 U.S.C. 30112 requires any person selling or leasing a new vehicle to sell or lease a vehicle that meets all applicable standards. Section 30112 takes on special significance when an institutional customer will use the new vehicle to "significantly" provide transportation "to or from school or an event related to school" for school age children.

Persons selling or leasing a new "school bus" must sell or lease a vehicle that meets the safety standards applicable to school buses. Our statute defines a "schoolbus" as any vehicle that is designed for carrying a driver and more than 10 passengers and which, NHTSA decides, is likely to be "used significantly" to transport "preprimary, primary, and secondary" students to or from school or related events. 49 U.S.C. 30125. By regulation, the capacity threshold for school buses corresponds to that of buses -- vehicles designed for carrying more than ten (10) persons. Persons selling or leasing new "buses" for such use must sell or lease a "school bus."

Our longstanding position is that the term "school" does not include church schools such as Sunday schools, or those providing other religious training. However, a regular preprimary, primary or secondary school operated under the auspices of a church would be a "school." New buses (e.g., 11- to 15-person vans) sold to carry students to or from the school must be certified as meeting our school bus standards. Further, even if your church does not operate a school, if your church were purchasing the new bus to use significantly to transport students to or from a school or events related to a school, a dealer knowing of this purpose would be required to sell a school bus.

Because our school bus regulations apply only to manufacturers and sellers of new motor vehicles, we do not prohibit institutions from using non-school buses to transport school children. However, each State has the authority to set its own standards regarding the use of motor vehicles, including school buses. For this reason, South Carolina law should be consulted to see if there are regulations about how children or adult members of a church must be transported.

We believe that vehicles providing the safety of school buses should be used whenever transporting children in buses. This belief is shared by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). At a June 8, 1999, public meeting, the NTSB issued the attached abstract of a special investigative report on nonconforming buses. The NTSB issued the report after investigating four crashes in 1998 and 1999 in which 9 people were killed and 36 injured when riding in "nonconforming buses." NTSB defines "nonconforming bus" as a "bus that does not meet the FMVSSs specific to school buses." Most of the victims, including eight of the fatalities, were children.

In the abstract of its report (a copy of which is provided), the NTSB issued several Safety Recommendations, including the following that was directed to child care providers such as the National Association of Child Care Professionals, the National Child Care Association, and Young Mens' and Young Women's Christian Associations:

Inform your members about the circumstances of the accidents discussed in this special investigation report and urge that they use school buses or buses having equivalent occupant protection to school buses to transport children.

In conclusion, we wish to emphasize that school buses are one of the safest forms of transportation in this country, and that we therefore strongly recommend that all buses that are used to transport school children be certified as meeting NHTSA's school bus safety standards. In addition, using vehicles that do not meet NHTSA's school bus standards to transport students could result in liability in the event of a crash.

In response to your request for information about safety standards applicable to "11-15 passenger vans," I am enclosing NHTSA's publication: "School Bus Safety: Safe Passage for America's Children." This brochure explains the safety enhancements of a school bus that makes school buses safer than non-school buses.

I hope this information is helpful. If you have any further questions about NHTSA's programs, please feel free to contact Dorothy Nakama of my staff at this address or at (202) 366-2992.

Sincerely,
Frank Seales, Jr.
Chief Counsel
Enclosures
ref:VSA#571.3
d.4/6/2000

ID: 21214.ztv

Officer, Richard L. Purvis #4726
Arizona DPS Highway Patrol
District 13
2610 South 16 Street
Phoenix, AZ 85040

Dear Officer Purvis:

This is in reply to your letter of January 16, 2000, with respect to aftermarket clear lamp assemblies.

You report that you have cited motorists for using replacement lamp assemblies that "have totally clear exteriors," having "no red reflectors on the rear product and no amber reflectors on the front product." You would now like to bring enforcement actions against sellers of this equipment, and you have asked "to have any Federal standards reference material that shows clearly that all U.S. vehicles must have the red rear reflective lenses and the amber front reflectors."

The basic Federal motor vehicle safety lighting regulation is 49 CFR 571.108 Standard No. 108, Lamps, Reflective Devices and Associated Equipment. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108 applies to both original and replacement lighting equipment. Title 49 U.S.C. 30115 and Standard No. 108 require that all lighting equipment that is intended to replace original lighting equipment be certified as complying with Standard No. 108. Paragraph S5.8.10 allows the certification to be in the form of a DOT symbol on the product. If the certification is not on the product, Section 30115 requires it to be on a label or tag on the item or the box in which the lighting item is shipped. Therefore, in any enforcement action, it is important for us to examine the item or its container for certification to see whether the certification requirement of Section 30115 is being met.

Table I of Standard No. 108 (applicable to trucks, multipurpose passenger vehicles and buses whose overall width is 60 inches or more) and Table III (applicable to motor vehicles whose overall width is less than 60 inches) require front parking lamps to be white or amber, and front turn signal lamps and front side marker lamps and reflectors to be amber, and all rear and rear side lamps and reflectors to be red, (except that amber is permitted as an optional rear turn signal lamp color, and white is required for backup lamps). The colors themselves must meet the requirements of SAE Standard J578c, Color Specification for Electrical Signal Lighting Devices, February 1977. The colors amber and red may be produced by either a white bulb and amber or red inner or outer lens, or by an amber or red bulb and a colorless or clear lens.

Manufacturers are producing amber bulbs that meet the SAE color requirements. Thus, a replacement turn signal lamp incorporating a clear lens and an amber bulb is permitted by Standard No. 108 if it is certified by its manufacturer as discussed above. However, the same lamp with a bulb that is clear, blue, green, or any color other than amber would not be in compliance with Standard No. 108.

The clear lens - red bulb lamp raises different considerations. A red bulb is very expensive to manufacture, as gold must be used in order to meet the color specifications for red imposed by the standard. In fact, we know of no manufacturer who is producing a red bulb that is intended to make signal lamps with colorless lenses comply with Standard No. 108.

Your letter recounts another problem we have encountered with this type of replacement taillamp, i.e., the absence of a red reflex reflector on the lamp, and possibly the absence of a red reflex reflector on the side at the rear. If the original lamp incorporated a red reflex reflector(s) and the replacement lamp does not (and a separate reflector(s) is not provided in the package), the substitution of the new lamp for the old one will create a noncompliance with Standard No. 108, as the vehicle will no longer meet the requirements of Tables I and III, which require red reflex reflectors and side red reflex reflectors. The same would be true for the front, if amber side reflex reflectors were absent. You will be interested to know that one importer, American Products Company of Corona, California, is currently in the process of recalling 28,542 replacement taillamp lenses which were clear in color and lacked side and rear red reflex reflectors.

The removal of the original lamp and substitution of one that does not meet the color specifications for red or any other required color, or the removal of a lamp incorporating a reflex reflector(s) and replacing it with a lamp that has none, would be violations of Federal law, specifically 49 U.S.C. 30122, if performed by a manufacturer, distributor, dealer, or motor vehicle repair business.

You also mention that sales of this replacement equipment may be a violation "of the business license to sell illegal and unsafe safety products," and ask if we have "any federal publications . . . that deal with this issue." We have no publications or advisories that would help you. However, I would like to point out that, under 49 U.S.C. 30112(a), it is a violation of Federal law to sell, or offer for sale, any item of motor vehicle equipment unless it complies with all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards and is certified as complying under Section 30115. Thus, the businesses that you mentioned may be violating this Section.

If you have information indicating that manufacturers or distributors are offering noncomplying signal lamps and that motor vehicle equipment dealers are selling or installing them, please send this information to Ms. Marilynne Jacobs, Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street SW, Washington, DC 20950.

We have seen no insurance industry articles of the nature that concerns you.

If you have further questions, you may phone Taylor Vinson of this Office (202-366-5263).

Sincerely,
Frank Seales, Jr.
Chief Counsel
ref:108
d.4/7/2000

ID: 21236.drf

The Honorable Scott McInnis
Member, U.S. House of Representatives
225 North 5^th Street
Suite 702
Grand Junction, CO 81501

Dear Congressman McInnis:

Thank you for your letter concerning Federal school bus safety regulations. Your letter has been referred to my office for reply, because the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) administers Federal requirements for school buses.

You have contacted us on behalf of a public school official who asks about a regulation that requires transportation of students to sporting events by school bus. Your constituent is concerned that such a regulation would be financially burdensome on schools with small enrollments. The official would prefer using private vehicles and vans supplied by automobile dealers on a temporary basis. You ask three questions: (1) Do such regulations exist? (2) Do the regulations apply regardless of the size of the school or team? (3) Can private vehicles or dealership-supplied vehicles that have required restraint systems, adequate seating, be used instead of school buses? Each of these questions is addressed below.

Some background information may be helpful in answering your questions. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is authorized to issue and enforce Federal motor vehicle safety standards applicable to new motor vehicles. Our statute at 49 U.S.C. 30112 requires any person selling or leasing a new vehicle to sell or lease a vehicle that meets all applicable standards. Accordingly, persons selling or leasing a new "school bus" must sell or lease a vehicle that meets the safety standards applicable to school buses. Our statute defines a "schoolbus" as any vehicle that is designed for carrying a driver and more than 10 passengers and which, NHTSA decides, is likely to be "used significantly" to transport "preprimary, primary, and secondary" students to or from school or related events. 49 U.S.C. 30125. Persons selling or leasing new "buses" for such use must sell or lease a "school bus."

By regulation, the capacity threshold for school buses corresponds to that of buses: vehicles designed for carrying more than ten (10) persons. For example, a 15-person van that is likely to be used significantly to transport students is a "school bus." Persons selling or leasing new 15-person vans for such use must sell or lease a van that meets our school bus standards.

You first ask whether our regulations require students to be transported to sporting events by school buses. We require persons selling new "buses" (e.g., 15-passenger vans) for use as school vehicles to sell buses that meet our school bus safety standards. However, we do not require schools to use school buses nor do we prohibit schools from using non-school buses to transport school children. Matters concerning the use of vehicles are set by each State. Thus, Colorado law would determine whether the students must be transported by school buses.

We believe, however, that school buses are one of the safest forms of transportation in this country. Thus, we strongly recommend that all buses that are used to transport school children be certified as meeting our school bus safety standards.

Your second question asks whether school or team size makes a difference in the application of our school bus regulations. Our school bus regulations apply to any person selling a new "bus" that is likely to be used significantly to transport students to or from school or related events. Our regulations do not distinguish between buses sold to large or small schools or between buses sold to carry large or small teams. However, our school bus regulations only apply to transactions involving buses and school buses that are likely to be significantly used for pupil transportation. We permit dealers to sell or lease vehicles other than "buses" for pupil transportation, e.g., passenger cars or vans that carry fewer than 11 persons.

Your third question asks whether schools may use private vehicles or dealership-supplied vehicles instead of school buses. As stated above, requirements concerning which vehicles schools may use are set by each State, and not NHTSA. In addition, our school bus regulations do not prohibit a rental of a bus on an occasional basis. Such a vehicle would not be used significantly to carry school children and thus would not be a "school bus" under our regulations.

I hope this information is helpful. For your information, I am enclosing NHTSA's publication: "School Bus Safety: Safe Passage for America's Children." This brochure explains the safety enhancements of a school bus that makes school buses safer than non-school buses. If you or your constituent have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,
Frank Seales, Jr.
Chief Counsel
ref:VSA#571
d.2/29/2000

ID: 21249.rbm

Mr. Thomas W. Blasingame
T.W. Blasingame Company, Inc.
P.O. Box 1532
Boise, ID 83701






Dear Mr. Blasingame:

This letter responds to your request that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) authorize you to certify a vehicle as a "modular truck/tractor chassis". I apologize for the delay in NHTSA's response.

Your letter requesting a legal interpretation included a service manual for which you subsequently requested confidential treatment. Your request for confidential treatment was granted on August 29, 2000.

You indicate in your letter that your company wants to market a new vehicle that can operate either as a truck or as a truck tractor. NHTSA does not have a vehicle classification for this type of hybrid vehicle. Rather, our regulations provide for a "truck", which is defined as a motor vehicle with motive power, except a trailer, designed primarily for the transportation of property or special purpose equipment, and "truck tractor", which is a truck designed primarily for drawing other motor vehicles and not so constructed as to carry a load other than a part of the weight of the vehicle and the load so drawn (49 CFR 571.3).

While we do not specifically address hybrid vehicles such as yours in our regulations, nothing in the regulations would prohibit a manufacturer from certifying a particular vehicle as complying with all applicable safety standards for separate vehicle types. Thus, we would not object to your classifying your vehicles as "truck/truck tractors". Please note, however, that such a characterization would require your company to certify compliance with all Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS) that are applicable to both vehicle types. As a practical matter, only FMVSS No. 108 and FMVSS No. 121 currently have requirements for truck tractors that are in addition to or different from the requirements for trucks.

I hope this information is helpful. If you have any further questions, please contact Rebecca MacPherson of my staff at (202) 366-2992.





Sincerely,
Frank Seales, Jr.
Chief Counsel

ref:567
d.11/6/00

ID: 21257.ztv

Officer Ron Weeks
Biloxi Police Department
1045 Howard Avenue
Biloxi, MS 39530

Dear Officer Weeks:

We are replying to your email of February 15, 2000, to our Webmaster, asking for information about the substitution of" white" ( clear) lenses on the taillamps of motor vehicles. You report that officers in your locale have started citing drivers of vehicles with white lenses for improper equipment.

As you know, Federal requirements for original and replacement motor vehicle lighting equipment are established by 49 CFR 571.108 Standard No. 108, Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment. Under the preemption authority of 49 U.S.C. 30103(b), Mississippi may enact and enforce its own motor vehicle lighting equipment standard, provided that it is identical to Standard No. 108.

Table I and Table III of Standard No. 108 require taillamps and stop lamps to be red in color. The color red is defined by SAE Standard J578c Color Specifications for Electric Signaling Devices, February 1977 which S5.1.5 of Standard No. 108 incorporates by reference. Although Standard No. 108 does not specifically say that the lens must be red and the bulb clear to achieve the color red, we know of no original equipment manufacturer who is producing and certifying compliance with Standard No. 108 of a taillamp consisting of a red bulb and a white (clear) lens. Nor do we know of any red bulb in production that conforms to Standard No. 108's color specification.

In addition, if any replacement lens is plastic, S5.1.2 requires the plastic material to conform to the specifications of SAE Recommended Practice J576 Plastic Materials for Use in Optical Parts, Such as Lenses and Reflectors, of Motor Vehicle Lighting Equipment, JUL91. Since conformance is judged through a three-year outdoor exposure test, we have substantial doubts that any aftermarket white (clear) plastic lens intended for use on taillamps is manufactured from materials that have been tested in accordance with SAE J576 JUL91. Finally, it has been our experience that most white (clear ) replacement taillamp lenses do not incorporate a red side or rear reflex reflector as contained in the original red taillamp lens. Many vehicle manufacturers use the configuration of a red lens incorporating a reflex reflector to meet the additional requirement of Table I and Table III that vehicles be equipped with two red reflex reflectors on the rear, and one on each side at the rear.

For all the above reasons, we believe it likely that the use of white (clear) replacement lenses and red bulbs will result in a taillamp that does not comply with the specifications of Standard No. 108 for taillamps.

We hope that this information is helpful in your enforcement efforts. If you have any questions, you may call Taylor Vinson of this Office (202-366-5263).

Sincerely,
Frank Seales, Jr.
Chief Counsel
ref:108
d.5/4/00

ID: 21268.ztv

Mr. Lou McKenna
Emergency Vehicle Alarm
2800 N. Hamline Avenue, #130
Roseville, MN 55113

Dear Mr. McKenna:

We are replying to your letter of February 20, 2000, with a copy to Sante Esposito, as you requested. You have written us for an interpretation as to whether the proposed placement of your Emergency Vehicle Alarm (EVA) is acceptable under relevant Federal laws and regulations, as your long-range goal is "to have the EVA installed as an original equipment manufacturer device on all passenger vehicles."

The EVA has three principal features, two in the interior of a vehicle and one on the exterior. Inside the vehicle, a flashing red display of the words "Emergency Vehicle" on the instrument panel is triggered by a signal from an emergency vehicle. At the same time, "an animated siren also sounds inside the car." On the exterior, a "flashing white light" indicates to the driver of an emergency vehicle that the warning has been received. This lamp is located "to the left of the Center Highmounted Stop Lamp (CHMSL)" as viewed from the rear, "equidistant from the CHMSL and the "window corner and equal in height to the CHMSL."

None of the laws and regulations that we administer preclude a flashing red message on the instrument panel or an audible siren in or on a motor vehicle. This means that the legality of such devices must be determined under state and local laws. We are not conversant with these laws.

However, the "flashing white light" is subject to our laws and regulations. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108, Lamps, Reflective Devices and Associated Equipment (49 CFR 571.108), requires all lamps installed on "passenger vehicles" to be steady-burning in use, except for turn signals, hazard warning signals, and headlamps and side marker lamps flashed for signaling purposes. See S5.5.10. This requirement would preclude the use of the flashing-light feature of the EVA system either as original or optional equipment. We are also of the opinion that this feature could not realistically be offered as aftermarket equipment either. Under 49 U.S.C. 30122, a "manufacturer, distributor, dealer, or motor vehicle repair business" may not "make inoperative" any element or device installed in accordance with a Federal motor vehicle safety standard. Because the installation of the flashing white light would result in a noncompliance with Standard No. 108, we would consider that action to be a "making inoperative" within the meaning of that phrase, and a violation of Section 30122 if performed by one of the four persons named in the prohibition. The system appears too complex for installation by a person other than a manufacturer, distributor, dealer, or motor vehicle repair business (e.g., the vehicle owner).

Were the EVA reconfigured so that the white light is steady burning, the question would then arise whether it is acceptable under S5.1.3 of Standard No. 108 as optional new vehicle equipment. The test of permissibility under S5.1.3 is whether a lamp not required by Standard No. 108 impairs the effectiveness of equipment required by Standard No. 108. We believe that the EVA lamp could create confusion in a following driver other than that of an emergency vehicle. In this sense, the CHMSL and other stop lamps would be impaired if the following driver delayed in responding to a stop signal.

We note also that state laws often prohibit a white light to the rear, other than a license plate lamp, as do the Vienna Conventions on motor traffic.

If you have any questions, you may phone Taylor Vinson of this Office (202-366-5263).

Sincerely,
Frank Seales, Jr.
Chief Counsel
Enclosure
ref:108
d.5/4/00

ID: 21269.ztv

Mr. Michael Borbath
US Embassy New Delhi
DCSG
Washington, DC 20521-9000

Dear Mr. Borbath:

We are responding to your letter of February 2, 2000, to our agency, asking several questions relating to importation of an Indian Enfield motorcycle from India. You relate that you are "almost certain that Enfield has no documentation that proves their bikes adhere to US DOT specs."

In order to enter the United States, a motorcycle must have been manufactured to conform with all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS), and bear the manufacturer's certification of compliance with those standards. The process of importing a machine that was not manufactured to conform is not impossible, but it is cumbersome, time consuming, and expensive. First, you will have to contract with a registered importer to act on your behalf. The registered importer must then petition us for a determination that the Enfield is capable of being conformed to meet all applicable FMVSS. If we agree that the Enfield is capable of conversion, you may then import the Enfield under bond, and the registered importer must then conform and certify the vehicle within 120 days of entry. When the registered importer certifies to us that the Enfield has been brought into compliance, it must hold the vehicle until we release the bond, or until 30 days pass, whichever first occurs. At that time, the registered importer can release the vehicle. If we do not agree that the Enfield is capable of conversion, it cannot be imported permanently (If you are only temporarily in the United States before reassignment outside the country, it may be possible for you to import a non-conforming Enfield for the duration of your stay here, provided that it is not longer than one year). I enclose a list of registered importers who have had experience in filing petitions for conformance capability determinations, and some information on the FMVSS that apply to motorcycles.

You also asked about "the conditions for importing a 'classic or historic bike' from India" and how we define those terms. Any motor vehicle that is at least 25 years old, including a motorcycle, is not required to conform to the FMVSS. This means that Enfields manufactured in 1975 and earlier may be directly imported by their owners. We have recently been given the statutory authority to allow permanent importation of noncomplying vehicles for purposes of "show or display" without the necessity of conforming them to the FMVSS. This would apply to vehicles manufactured in 1976 and later. In this circumstance, an importer is not required to use the services of a registered importer, and may directly ask us for approval. We are interpreting this authority as permitting admission of vehicles only of technological or historical significance, according to such arguments as the prospective importer wishes to make. Further, we are not allowing importation under "show or display" of vehicles still in production unless the importer is the manufacturer itself. Under certain circumstances, we will also approve limited use of a "show or display" vehicle on the public roads (e.g., up to 2,500 miles a year).

I have provided you a summary of our programs. If you would like further details on these programs, please call Taylor Vinson of this Office (202-366-5263). You may also e-mail him at Tvinson@nhtsa.dot.gov

Sincerely,
Frank Seales, Jr.
Chief Counsel
Enclosures
ref:591
d.3/21/00

ID: 21271.drn

Major Wayne C. Griswold
General Secretary
The Salvation Army
Kansas & Western Missouri
Divisional Headquarters
3637 Broadway - PO Box 412577
Kansas City, MO 64141-2577

Dear Major Griswold:

This responds to your January 24, 2000, request for an interpretation of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA's) prohibition on dealers selling new 15-person vans for transporting children to or from school or related events. You wish to know whether the prohibition affects your church as well as schools. Our answer is provided below.

Some background information may be helpful. NHTSA is authorized to issue and enforce Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSSs) applicable to new motor vehicles. Our statute at 49 U.S.C. 30112 requires any person selling or leasing a new vehicle to sell or lease a vehicle that meets all applicable standards. Accordingly, persons selling or leasing a new "school bus" must sell or lease a vehicle that meets the safety standards applicable to school buses. Our statute defines a "schoolbus" as any vehicle that is designed for carrying a driver and more than 10 passengers and which, NHTSA decides, is likely to be "used significantly" to transport "preprimary, primary, and secondary" students to or from school or related events. 49 U.S.C. 30125. By regulation, the capacity threshold for school buses corresponds to that of buses -- vehicles designed for carrying more than ten (10) persons. For example, a 15-person van that is likely to be used significantly to transport students is a "school bus." Persons selling or leasing new 15-person vans for such use must sell or lease a van that meets our school bus standards.

In the past, when reviewing a dealer's sale of a new vehicle, NHTSA looked at the nature of the institution purchasing the vehicle. In recent interpretations (see the attached July 17, 1998, letter to Mr. Greg Balmer of the YMCA), we noted that it was more appropriate to consider the extent to which the buses are used to carry children to or from school or related events. In the Balmer letter, we stressed that, even if a bus were sold to a facility that provides custodial care (i.e., to a facility that is not a "school"), if that facility were purchasing the new bus to use significantly to transport students to or from a school or events related to a school, a dealer knowing of this purpose would be required to sell a school bus.

Turning to your letter, you ask about vehicles that would be used to transport children in your residential care units to their school each morning. We believe that such use is a "significant use" of the vehicles to transport students to or from school or related events. A dealer knowing of this purpose that wishes to sell you a new bus (e.g., a 15-person van) would have to sell a bus that meets our school bus standards. This would be the case even if the bus were also to be used for transportation for your character building programs and other social services for youngsters.

Because our laws apply only to the manufacture and sale of new motor vehicles, we do not prohibit schools or other facilities from using large vans to transport school children, even when the vehicles do not meet Federal school bus safety standards. However, each State has the authority to set its own standards regarding the use of motor vehicles, including school buses. For this reason, Missouri law should be consulted to see if there are regulations about how children must be transported.

In conclusion, we wish to emphasize that school buses are one of the safest forms of transportation in this country, and that we therefore strongly recommend that all buses that are used to transport school children be certified as meeting NHTSA's school bus safety standards. In addition, using 15-person vans that do not meet NHTSA's school bus standards to transport students could result in liability in the event of a crash.

I am enclosing NHTSA's publication: "School Bus Safety: Safe Passage for America's Children." This brochure explains the safety enhancements of a school bus that makes school buses safer than "conventional vans." There are small school buses available that seat 15 children. While school buses are more expensive than large vans, we believe that the cost difference is not so large that it should prevent facilities from acquiring school buses. The cost range for 15-person school buses is approximately $30-32,000, compared to $25-28,000 for 15-person vans. The longer service life for school buses will offset a part of this difference.

Our belief that vehicles providing the safety of school buses should be used whenever transporting children in buses is shared by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). At a June 8, 1999, public meeting, the NTSB issued the attached abstract of a special investigative report on nonconforming buses. The NTSB issued the report after investigating four crashes in 1998 and 1999 in which 9 people were killed and 36 injured when riding in "nonconforming buses." NTSB defines "nonconforming bus" as a "bus that does not meet the FMVSSs specific to school buses." Most of the victims, including eight of the fatalities, were children.

In the abstract of its report, the NTSB issued several Safety Recommendations, including the following that was directed to child care providers such as the National Association of Child Care Professionals, the National Child Care Association, and Young Mens' and Young Women's Christian Associations:

Inform your members about the circumstances of the accidents discussed in this special investigation report and urge that they use school buses or buses having equivalent occupant protection to school buses to transport children.

I am also enclosing NHTSA's February 1999 "Guideline for the Safe Transportation of Pre-school Age Children in School Buses." This guideline establishes NHTSA's recommendations for how pre-school age children should be transported in school buses.

I hope this information is helpful. If you have any further questions about NHTSA's programs, please feel free to contact Dorothy Nakama of my staff at this address or at (202) 366-2992.

Sincerely,
Frank Seales, Jr.
Chief Counsel
Enclosures
ref:VSA#571.3
d.3/30/00

ID: 21274airbaglabellocation

Mr. John K. Stipancich
Senior Corporate Counsel
Evenflo Company, Inc.
Northwoods Business Center
707 Crossroads Court
Vandalia, OH 45377





Dear Mr. Stipancich:





This responds to your letter concerning the air bag warning label requirement in S5.5.2(k)(4) of Standard No. 213, "Child Restraint Systems." I apologize for the delay in responding. The standard requires rear-facing child seats to have a specified label "permanently affixed to the outer surface of the cushion or padding in or adjacent to the area where a child's head would rest, so that the label is plainly visible and easily readable."

You ask whether the standard would permit you to locate the warning label in a particular location on the back of the seat. You attach a photograph of a convertible restraint on which the label is "located on the back of the seat, a few inches below the lowest set of harness strap openings" (your words).

The label may be located in the location you suggest. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requires the label to be where the child's head rests or adjacent to that area "to ensure that parents see the label each time they place the [rear-facing child] seat in a vehicle." 61 FR 60206, 60214. We agree that, in your proposed location, the label would be in or adjacent to the area where a child's head would rest, and that it would be plainly visible and easily readable.

If you have any further questions, please contact Deirdre Fujita of my staff at (202) 366-2992.

Sincerely,






Frank Seales, Jr.
Chief Counsel
ref:213
d/7/31/00

ID: 21278tvneb

Mr. Shigeyoshi Aihara
Project Manager, Regulation and Compliance
Engineering Administration Department
Ichikoh Industries, Ltd.
80 Itado Ischara City
Kanagawa - Pref 259-1192
JAPAN

Dear Mr. Aihara:

This responds to your December 23, 1999, letter regarding the acceptability of the Safety Vision Camera Monitor System for use in the North American automotive market.

You stated in your letter that your company produces the Safety Vision Camera Monitor System, which is a camera and display monitor system that provides visibility directly behind a vehicle on which the system is installed. The system you describe is composed of a camera and monitor display. The monitor display, which has two variations (Type A: LCD monitor built into the interior rearview mirror and Type B: 5.8 inch monitor display), is automatically switched on when the ignition switch and the reverse gear are engaged and allows the driver to see the area behind the truck. The intent is to make visible the area behind the vehicle where a "blind spot" typically exists. As you state, the system will be installed in multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, and buses as an aftermarket product. If a vehicle has an inside rearview mirror, you intend the monitor to replace the mirror. Otherwise, the monitor display will be newly installed.

As a preliminary matter, the laws and regulations that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) administers are applicable only in the United States. You should contact the officials of other North American countries to answer your questions about the acceptability of your system in those countries.

By way of background information, the NHTSA has the statutory authority to issue Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSSs) applicable to new motor vehicles and new items of motor vehicle equipment. Federal law establishes a self-certification system under which motor vehicle and equipment manufacturers themselves certify that their products comply withy all applicable standards. For that reason, NHTSA neither tests, approves, disapproves, endorses, nor grants letters of approval of products prior to their introduction into the retail market. Rather, we enforce compliance with the standards by purchasing vehicles and equipment and testing them. We also investigate safety-related defects.

We would classify the Safety Vision Camera Monitor System as an item of motor vehicle equipment regulated by NHTSA. Our statute defines "motor vehicle equipment" in 49 U.S. Code (U.S.C.) 30102(a)(7)(B) in relevant part as any system, part, or component "sold ... as an accessory or addition to a motor vehicle." An item of equipment is an accessory if it meets the following criteria:

a. A substantial portion of its expected uses are related to the operation or maintenance of motor vehicles; and

b. It is purchased or otherwise acquired, and principally used by ordinary users of motor vehicles.

After reviewing your letter and its enclosed product brochure, we conclude that the Safety Vision Camera Monitor System is an accessory. It was designed with the expectation that a substantial portion of its expected use will be with motor vehicles. Further, the pictures of the Safety Vision Camera Monitor System in the brochure make it clear that the Safety Vision Camera Monitor System is intended to be purchased and principally used by ordinary users of motor vehicles, mostly truck drivers, to monitor the area behind the truck which is typically a "blind spot."

While the Safety Vision Camera Monitor System is a motor vehicle accessory, NHTSA has not issued any FMVSSs establishing performance standards directly applicable to this product. We have ongoing rulemaking considering establishing performance for rear object detection systems (e.g., video, sonic, mirror systems, etc.). We expect to publish an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) on this in the near future. However, the manufacturer, whether you or a licensee, is subject to the requirements of 49 U.S.C. 30118-30121 (copy enclosed) which set forth the notification and remedy (recall) requirements for products with defects related to motor vehicle safety. Thus, if NHTSA or the manufacturer determines that the product contains a safety-related defect, the manufacturer is responsible for notifying purchasers of the defective equipment and for remedying the problem free of charge. The installation of the Safety Vision Camera Monitor System by a commercial entity is also subject to certain restrictions, as discussed below.

Our statute at 49 U.S.C. 30122 (copy enclosed) provides that a manufacturer, distributor, dealer, or vehicle repair business may not knowingly "make inoperative" any device or element of design installed on or in a motor vehicle in accordance with any FMVSS. Therefore, the Safety Vision Camera Monitor System could not be installed by any of those entities if such use would adversely affect the compliance of a vehicle with any FMVSS.

NHTSA has issued Standard No. 111, Rearview Mirrors, to establish performance and location requirements for rearview mirrors in each new motor vehicle. "Inside" rearview mirrors are required for "multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, and buses, other than school buses, with GVWR of 4,536 kg or less," under one alternative of the standard (paragraph (a) of S6.1). If a vehicle manufacturer met Standard No. 111's requirements by way of an inside rearview mirror, an entity listed in 49 U.S.C. 30122 could not replace the mirror with your camera monitor system, unless the system continued to meet the performance and scope of view requirements of the standard. Inside rearview mirrors are not required for multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, and buses with GVWR greater than 4,536 kg. The installation of your camera monitor system in those vehicles would not interfere with the operation of a required "inside" rearview mirror and thus would be permitted. However, the vehicles will continue to be subject to the rearview mirror requirements of sections S6, S7 and S8 of Standard No. 111 and all other relevant requirements.

Next, I would like to draw your attention to one requirement of Standard No. 101, Controls and Displays. Section S5.3.5 of that standard reads as follows:

Any source of illumination within the passenger compartment which is forward of a transverse vertical plane 110 mm rearward of the manikan "H" point with the driver's seat in its rearmost driving position, which is not used for the controls and displays regulated by this standard, which is not a telltale, and which is capable of being illuminated while the vehicle is in motion, shall have either (1) light intensity which is manually or automatically adjustable to provide at least two levels of brightness, (2) a single intensity that is barely discernible to a driver who has adapted to dark ambient roadway conditions, or (3) a means of being turned off. This requirement does not apply to buses that are normally operated with the passenger compartment illuminated.

The purpose of this requirement is to prevent glare visible to the driver. The monitor's glare should be controlled as described in S5.3.5.

Also, I would like to draw your attention to Standard No. 201, Occupant Protection in Interior Impact, which applies to "....multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, and buses, with a GVWR of 4,536 kilograms or less." You should carefully review this standard to determine whether installation of the Safety Vision Camera Monitor System in vehicles subject to Standard No. 201 would affect a vehicle's compliance with the standard.

The "make inoperative" provision does not apply to equipment attached to or installed on or in a vehicle by the vehicle owner. However, NHTSA urges vehicle owners not to degrade the safety of any system or device on their vehicles, including those required by Standard Nos. 101, 111 and 201, as discussed above.

I note that the Department's Office of Motor Carrier Safety has jurisdiction over interstate motor carriers operating in the U.S. You should contact that office at (202) 366-4012 for information about any requirements that may apply to your product. In addition, states have the authority to regulate the use and licensing of vehicles operating within their jurisdictions and may prohibit monitor displays. Therefore, you should therefore check with the Department of Motor Vehicles in any state in which the equipment will be sold or used.

Also, there is a procedural regulation that you need to meet to import your Safety Vision Camera Monitor System into the United States. 49 CFR Part 551, "Procedural Rules," requires the actual manufacturer of foreign-manufactured motor vehicle equipment to designate a permanent resident of the United States as the manufacturer's agent for service of process in this country. The designation of the agent for the service of process must contain the following six items in order to be valid under section 551.45:

1. A certification that the designation is valid in form and binding on the manufacturer under the laws, corporate by-laws, or other requirements governing the making of the designation at the time and place where it is made;

2. The full legal name, principal place of business, and mailing address of the manufacturer;

3. Marks, trade names, or other designations of the origin of any of the manufacturer's products which do not bear its name;

4. A statement that the designation shall remain in effect until withdrawn or replaced by the manufacturer;

5. A declaration of acceptance duly signed by the agent appointed, which may be an individual, a firm, or a U.S. corporation; and

6. The full legal name and address of the designated agent.

In addition, the designation must be signed by one with authority to appoint the agent, and the signer's name and title should be clearly indicated beneath his or her signature. This designation should be mailed to the address shown in section 551.45(b).

For your further information, I am enclosing a fact sheet we prepared entitled Information for New Manufacturers of Motor Vehicles and Motor Vehicle Equipment, and Where to Obtain NHTSA's Safety Standards and Regulations.

I hope this information is helpful. If you have any questions or need additional information, feel free to contact Nancy Bell of my staff at (202) 366-2992.

Sincerely,
Frank Seales, Jr.
Chief Counsel
Enclosures
ref:111#101#201
d.4/21/2000