ID: 10723-2

Ms. Merridy R. Gottlieb
4 Duchess Court
Baltimore, MD 21237

Dear Ms. Gottlieb:

This responds to your letter of February 14, 1995, requesting an "exemption" from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to allow a business to modify your motor vehicle. Your letter states:

I am disabled and need 3-4" of additional room for the passenger seat to allow my legs to straighten on long trips. I have two replaced hips and arthritis in my knees. If I leave my legs slightly bent for long periods of time, I suffer too much pain to be active at the end of the drive. By allowing my legs to straighten all the way out, there is no pain at all.

You state that you were told that this modification cannot be done as it would "interfere with the functionality of the air bag."

In summary, our answer is that you may have your vehicle modified. NHTSA will not institute enforcement proceedings against a repair business that modifies the seat on your vehicle to accommodate your condition. A more detailed answer to your letter is provided below.

I would like to begin by clarifying that there is no procedure by which persons petition for and are granted an exemption from NHTSA to have a motor vehicle repair business modify their motor vehicle. Repair businesses are permitted to modify vehicles without obtaining permission from NHTSA to do so, but are subject to certain regulatory limits on the type of modifications they may make. In certain limited situations, we have exercised our discretion in enforcing our requirements to provide some allowances to a repair business which cannot conform to our requirements when making modifications to accommodate the special needs of persons with disabilities. Since your situation is among those given special consideration by NHTSA, this letter should provide you with the relief you seek.

Our agency is authorized to issue Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) that set performance requirements for new motor vehicles and items of motor vehicle equipment. Manufacturers are required to certify that their products conform to our safety standards before they can be offered for sale. Manufacturers, distributors, dealers, and repair businesses are prohibited from "knowingly making inoperative" any device or element of design installed on or in a motor vehicle in compliance with an applicable FMVSS. In general, the "make inoperative" prohibition would require repair businesses which modify motor vehicles to ensure that they do not remove, disconnect, or degrade the performance of safety equipment installed in compliance with an applicable FMVSS. Violations of this prohibition are punishable by civil fines up to $1,000 per violation.

Moving a seat could affect compliance with Standard No. 208, Occupant Crash Protection. Standard No. 208 sets forth requirements for occupant protection at the various seating positions in a vehicles. Standard No. 208 requires that cars be equipped with automatic crash protection at the front outboard seating positions. Automatic crash protection systems protect their occupants by means that require no action by vehicle occupants. Compliance with the automatic crash protection requirements of Standard No. 208 is determined in a dynamic crash test. That is, a vehicle must comply with specified injury criteria, as measured on a test dummy, in a 30 mph barrier crash test. The two types of automatic crash protection currently offered are automatic safety belts (which help to assure belt use) and air bags (which supplement safety belts and offer some protection even when safety belts are not used).

Based on the information in your letter, it appears that the manufacturer of your vehicle installed air bags as the means of complying with Standard No. 208's requirement. Your modifier is concerned that the modification of the seat would "make inoperative" the air bag. I would like to note that accident data would suggest that a person is at greater risk of injury from an air bag from sitting too close to the air bag, rather than further away from the air bag. However, I understand that, due to the dynamic testing requirement, the modifier will be unable to ensure that the vehicle continues to comply with Standard No. 208's requirements.

In situations such as yours where a vehicle must be modified to accommodate the needs of a particular disability, we have been willing to consider any violations of the "make inoperative" prohibition a purely technical one justified by public need. As I have already noted above, NHTSA will not institute enforcement proceedings against a repair business that modifies the seat on your vehicle to accommodate your condition.

We caution, however, that only necessary modifications should be made to the seat, and the person making the modifications should consider the possible safety consequences of the modifications. For example, in moving a seat, it is critical that the modifier ensure that the seat is solidly anchored in its new location. You should also be aware that an occupant of a seat which has been moved rearward may have less protection in a crash if the seat is too far rearward relative to the anchorages of the safety belts for that seat. Finally, if you sell your vehicle, we encourage you to advise the purchaser of the modifications.

I hope this information has been helpful. If you have any other questions or need some additional information in this area, please contact Mary Versailles of my staff at this address or by phone at (202) 366-2992.

Sincerely,

John Womack Acting Chief Counsel

ref:VSA#207#208 d:4/25/95

ID: 10731

Ms. Tamera Reuvers
Quality Assurance Manager
Viracon/Curvlite
500 Park Drive
Owatonna, MN 55060

Dear Ms. Reuvers:

This responds to your request for an interpretation of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 205, Glazing Materials, with respect to the marking of automotive glazing manufactured by two different companies. According to your letter, your company, Viracon/Curvlite, purchases bent tempered AS-2 glazing from a fabricator. Your company then laminates a piece of "SenryGlas" to the bent tempered product, thereby making it AS-15B glazing.

You asked how Viracon/Curvlite's glass-plastic glazing should be marked under S6.1 of the standard. Specifically, you asked whether there should be marking information about both the first company (the glass fabricator/temperer) and additional marking information about the second company (Viracon/Curvlite, the laminator). You believe only Viracon/Curvlite need mark the product, since the company, as the laminator, would be fully responsible for its compliance.

We agree with your assessment. Viracon/Curvlite, as the manufacturer of the tempered glass-plastic glazing, would mark the product with the AS-15B designation. The glazing would not contain the marking of the supplier of the bent tempered product.

I hope this information is helpful. Please feel free to contact Marvin Shaw of my staff at this address or by telephone at (202) 366-2992 if you have any further questions or need additional information.

Sincerely,

Philip R. Recht Chief Counsel

ref:205 d:4/10/95

ID: 10732

Mr. Lee Rabie
President
Enerco, Inc.
9615 West Marginal Way, So.
Seattle, WA 98108

Dear Mr. Rabie:

This responds to your letter of February 15, 1995, requesting information on any Federal regulations concerning recycling or remanufacturing vehicle air bags.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is authorized 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, however, does not approve motor vehicles or motor vehicle equipment, nor do we endorse any commercial products. Instead, each manufacturer is responsible for "self-certifying" that its products meet all applicable safety standards at the time of the product's first purchase for purposes other than resale; i.e., the first retail sale of the product.

NHTSA has exercised its authority to establish Standard No. 208, Occupant Crash Protection (49 CFR '571.208). Standard No. 208 requires that many vehicles provide automatic crash protection. Vehicles equipped with automatic crash protection protect their occupants by means that require no action by vehicle occupants. Compliance with the automatic crash protection requirements of Standard No. 208 is determined in a dynamic crash test. That is, a vehicle must comply with specified injury criteria, as measured on a test dummy, when tested by this agency in a 30 mph barrier crash test. One type of automatic crash protection currently offered on new vehicles is air bags. A recent amendment of Standard No. 208 makes air bags mandatory in all passenger cars and light trucks by the late 1990's.

Please note that the automatic crash protection requirement applies to the performance of the vehicle as a whole, instead of setting requirements for the air bag as an individual item of equipment. This approach permits vehicle manufacturers to "tune" the performance of the air bag to the crash pulse and other specific attributes of each of their vehicle models. However, this approach also means that the Federal standards do not specify specific performance attributes for air bags such as inflated dimensions, actuation time, and the like.

Strictly speaking, manufacturers are not required to certify that air bags, as items of equipment, meet any motor vehicle safety standards. However, section S9 of Standard No. 208 specifies

requirements for pressure vessels and explosive devices for use in air bag systems. Therefore, manufacturers of pressure vessels and explosive devices must certify that they comply with the requirements of S9 of Standard No. 208. In addition, you could not sell a recycled or remanufactured air bag with these components replaced unless the new components were certified as meeting the requirements of S9.

It is unclear from your letter if the recycled or remanufactured air bags will be reinstalled in the original vehicle or if the air bags will be sold as replacement air bags for other vehicles with deployed air bags or as retrofit air bags for vehicles which do not have air bags as original equipment. Therefore, I will discuss these scenarios separately.

Re-installation or installation in a vehicle with a deployed air bag.

I am enclosing two letters that explain legal obligations to replace air bags which have been deployed. The first letter, dated January, 19, 1990, is to Ms. Linda L. Conrad. The second letter, dated March 4, 1993, is to Mr. Robert A. Ernst. As explained in those letters, Federal law does not require replacement of a deployed air bag in a used vehicle. In addition, there is no Federal law that prohibits selling a used vehicle with an air bag that is inoperable because of a previous deployment. However, our agency strongly encourages dealers and repair businesses to replace deployed air bags whenever vehicles are repaired or resold, to ensure that the vehicles will continue to provide maximum crash protection for occupants. Moreover, a dealer or repair business may be required by state law to replace a deployed air bag, or be liable for failure to do so.

Your letter asks the additional question of whether, if a deployed air bag is replaced, Federal law prohibits use of a recycled or remanufactured air bag as the replacement air bag. The answer to your question is no. As explained in the enclosed letters, Federal law does not require a manufacturer, distributor, dealer, or repair business to return a vehicle to compliance with a standard if a device or element of design has been "made inoperative" by another agent, such as a crash. Thus, Federal law does not regulate the manner in which a deployed air bag is replaced. However, state law may regulate the manner in which a deployed air bag is replaced.

I would like to emphasize that in order for a replacement air bag to provide protection to vehicle occupants, it is essential that the replacement be properly completed. For example, the entire air bag must be replaced, including such things as the crash sensors, the inflation mechanism, and other electronic parts. Moreover, since air bags are designed for specific vehicles, taking into consideration such factors as the seats, steering column crush stroke force resistance, gauge array and location on instrument panel, location and nature of knee bolsters, and compartment acceleration responses in frontal crashes, only air bags which are designed for the vehicle in question should be used. After the air bags are replaced, it is important that the air bag readiness indicator be in good working order to alert the occupants of any future malfunction of the air bag system.

Finally, you may wish to consult a private attorney concerning the state law implications of using recycled or remanufactured air bags for repairing automobiles, including possible tort liability.

Installation in a motor vehicle which did not originally have an air bag.

A Federal requirement that would affect a retrofit air bag is set forth in 49 U.S.C. 30122(b). That section provides that:

A manufacturer, distributor, dealer, or motor vehicle repair business may not knowingly make inoperative any part of a device or element of design installed on or in a motor vehicle ... in compliance with an applicable motor vehicle safety standard.

The "make inoperative" provision would prohibit a commercial business from installing an aftermarket air bag in a manner that would negatively affect the vehicle's compliance with Standard No. 208 or any other safety standard.

Finally, as a manufacturer of replacement parts, you would be subject to federal requirements concerning the recall and remedy of products with defects related to motor vehicle safety (49 U.S.C. 30118-30121).

For your information, I have enclosed a sheet for new manufacturers that identifies the basic requirements of our standards and regulations, as well as how to get copies of those standards and regulations. 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.

Sincerely,

Philip R. Recht Chief Counsel

Enclosures

ref:208 d:4/3/95

ID: 10754

Mr. Truman J. Lothen
1340 42nd Ave. NE
Minneapolis, MN 55421

Dear Mr. Lothen:

This responds to your letter of February 6, 1995, requesting information on requirements applicable to a "van seat/bed for aftermarket installation." Your questions and our response to each follows.

Does your department have safety standards that must (should) be designed into aftermarket vehicles seats?

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is authorized to issue Federal motor vehicle safety standards applicable to new motor vehicles and new items of motor vehicle equipment. Federal law prohibits any person from manufacturing, introducing into commerce, selling, or importing any new motor vehicle or item of motor vehicle equipment unless the vehicle or equipment item is in conformity with all applicable safety standards. NHTSA, however, does not approve motor vehicles or motor vehicle equipment, nor do we endorse any commercial products. Instead, each manufacturer is required to "self-certify" that its products meet all applicable safety standards.

There are five safety standards that are relevant to your inquiry: Standard No. 207, Seating Systems, Standard No. 208, Occupant Crash Protection, Standard No. 209, Seat Belt Assemblies, Standard No. 210, Seat Belt Assembly Anchorages, and Standard No. 302, Flammability of Interior Materials.

Standard No. 209 sets forth strength, elongation, webbing width, durability, and other requirements for seat belt assemblies. This standard applies to all seat belt assemblies for use in motor vehicles, regardless of whether the belts are installed as original equipment in a motor vehicle or sold as replacements. Hence, any seat belts installed on the aftermarket seat have to be certified as complying with Standard No. 209.

The remaining four standards apply only to new vehicles. If the aftermarket seat were installed before the vehicle's first purchase for purposes other than resale, the vehicle would have to be certified as complying with all applicable standards, including these four, with the aftermarket

seat installed. Standard No. 207 establishes strength and other performance requirements for vehicle seats. Standard No. 208 sets forth requirements for occupant protection at the various seating positions in vehicles. Standard No. 210 establishes strength and location requirements for seat belt anchorages. Finally, Standard No. 302 specifies burn resistance requirements for materials used in motor vehicles, specifically including seat cushions, seat backs, and seat belts. While aftermarket seats, as items of equipment, are not required to meet these requirements, you may wish to use these standards as design guidelines.

After a vehicle's first purchase for purposes other than resale; i.e., the first retail sale of the vehicle, the only provision in Federal law that affects a vehicle's continuing compliance with an applicable safety standard is set forth in 49 U.S.C. 30122(b). That section provides that:

A manufacturer, distributor, dealer, or motor vehicle repair business may not knowingly make inoperative any part of a device or element of design installed on or in a motor vehicle ... in compliance with an applicable motor vehicle safety standard.

Any violation of this "make inoperative" prohibition would subject the violator to a potential civil penalty of up to $1,000 for each violation. Please note that the "make inoperative" provision prohibits those entities from performing aftermarket modifications that they know or should know will degrade the safety of the vehicle as it was before the modification.

Please note also that the "make inoperative" prohibition does not apply to modifications vehicle owners make to their own vehicles. Thus, Federal law would not apply in situations where vehicle owners install your seat in their own vehicles, even if the installation were to result in the vehicle no longer complying with the safety standards. However, individual States have the authority to regulate modifications that individual vehicle owners may make to their own vehicles.

Finally, as a manufacturer, you would be subject to federal requirements concerning the recall and remedy of products with defects related to motor vehicle safety (49 U.S.C. 30118-30121). I have enclosed a sheet for new manufacturers that discusses the basic requirements of our standards and regulations, including the provisions relating to manufacturers' responsibilities to ensure that their products are free of safety-related defects.

This seat would be provided with a lap seat belt and shoulder belt with one end attached to the seat frame and the other to the vehicle structure similar to what's currently used in automobiles. What safety design standards must be incorporated into this restraint system?

As explained above, the seat belt would have to comply with Standard No. 209. If you install seat belts manufactured by another company, that company should have certified compliance with that standard.

Would this seat require compliance testing to meet safety requirements?

As noted above, if these seats are installed in a vehicle prior to the vehicle's first sale for purposes other than resale, the vehicle must be certified as complying with all applicable safety standards with the seat installed. NHTSA's position on what steps manufacturers must take before certifying that their vehicles or equipment comply with applicable safety standards has been often stated and applies with equal force in your situation.

Our position is as follows. The compliance test procedures set forth in the safety standards must be followed by this agency during our compliance testing. With respect to your company's seats, this means that NHTSA's compliance testing for the vehicle would be conducted using the test procedures set forth in the relevant safety standard or standards. Manufacturers certifying compliance with the safety standards are not required to follow exactly the compliance test procedures set forth in the applicable standard. In fact, manufacturers are not required to conduct any actual testing before certifying that their products comply with applicable safety standards. However, to avoid liability for civil penalties if the vehicle were determined not to comply with a safety standard, the certifying manufacturer is required to exercise "reasonable care" to assure compliance and in making its certification. It may be simplest for the manufacturer to establish that it exercised "reasonable care" if the manufacturer has conducted testing that strictly followed the compliance test procedures set forth in the standard. However, "reasonable care" might also be shown by using modified test procedures, engineering analyses, computer simulations, and the like. Thus, the entity that installs your seat in a vehicle prior to the vehicle's first sale will have to decide for itself, in the first instance, what information it needs to make its certification in the exercise of "reasonable care."

As noted above, if the seat were installed after the first purchase of the vehicle in good faith for purposes other than resale, any manufacturer, distributor, dealer, or repair shop that performed the installation would have to ensure that the installation did not "make inoperative" compliance with any applicable safety standard. Your company should carefully examine your product and the proposed installation instructions and compare those with the requirements of the safety standards, to determine if installing your product in accordance with your instructions would result in the vehicle no longer complying with the standards.

I hope you find this information helpful. I have enclosed information on how to get copies of those standards and regulations. If you have any other questions, please contact Mary Versailles of my staff at this address or by phone at (202) 366-2992.

Sincerely,

Philip R. Recht Chief Counsel Enclosure ref: 207 d:3/31/95

ID: 10755

Mr. David T. Holland
President
Europa International, Inc.
1570A Pacheco Street
Santa Fe, NM 87505

Dear Mr. Holland:

This responds to your letter of February 24, 1995, regarding the passive restraint phase-in requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 208, Occupant Crash Protection. You asked whether an importer which "imports Canadian specification MPV's (multipurpose passenger vehicles), such as the Chrysler Minivan, that meets (sic) the MPV passive restraint requirements of FMVSS 208 ... can count these vehicles toward the required percentage."

Section S4.2.5.6.1(a) states, "(a) vehicle that is imported shall be attributed to the importer." Thus, to determine compliance with the passive restraint phase-in requirements, Europa International should (1) count all trucks, buses, and mpv's with a gross vehicle weight rating of 8,500 pounds or less and an unloaded vehicle weight of 5,500 pounds or less, (2) count all such vehicles which meet the passive restraint requirements of FMVSS 208, and (3) determine if that class of vehicles is a sufficient percentage of the first class of vehicles to satisfy the phase-in requirements. However, as Mary Versailles of my staff cautioned you on the phone, some manufacturers are installing European (face) air bags but are not certifying that vehicles with such air bags meet the passive restraint requirements of FMVSS 208. Therefore, you should verify that any vehicle with an air bag is in fact certified to FMVSS 208's passive restraint requirements.

I hope this information has been helpful. If you have other questions or need some additional information, please contact Mary Versailles of my staff at this address or by phone at (202) 366-2992.

Sincerely,

Philip R. Recht Chief Counsel ref:208 d:4/3/95

ID: 10785

Mr. Terry M. Habshey
Oxytire Incorporated
7000 Highway 25
Montevallo, AL 35115

Dear Mr. Habshey:

This responds to your March 6, 1995 letter to Philip Recht, our former Chief Counsel, and your telephone conversations with Walter Myers of my staff in which you requested a "new D.O.T. number." As discussed below, we are unable to provide you a tire manufacturer's identification mark since the operations you perform on tires are not sufficient to make you the manufacturer of the tires.

You explained that your company is a global exporter of tires, particularly to third world countries, but that you intend to distribute tires domestically in the future. You stated that you obtain new tires from different manufacturers consisting of original equipment overruns, blems, etc., and that by a new process you intend to remove "most" of the information from the tire sidewalls. The new process includes removing a thin layer of rubber from the tire sidewall, then vulcanizing a layer of new rubber onto the sidewall. The new layer will contain a new "registered" trade name, logo, and "identifying marks along with the size, safety information, mounting instructions, maximum and minimum inflating instructions, etc." You emphasized that all tires will be new and meet "all minimum standards established by the Department of Transportation."

Before addressing your request, let me first provide some background information. Chapter 301 of Title 49, U.S. Code (hereinafter Safety Act), authorizes the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to issue Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS) applicable to new motor vehicles and new items of motor vehicle equipment sold in or imported into the United States. Tires are considered motor vehicle equipment. The Safety Act establishes a self-certification system in which manufacturers certify that their products comply with all applicable FMVSSs effective on the date of manufacture. In the case of tires, manufacturers reflect that certification by molding the letters "DOT" into or onto the sidewalls of all their tires manufactured for sale in the United States.

The FMVSSs are not applicable to tires intended solely for export, labeled for export on the tires and on the outside of the container, and exported. See 49 U.S.C. '30112(b)(3); 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 571.7(d)). Accordingly, you are free to export any tires you want, whether or not they comply with the FMVSSs and after whatever modifications you make to them.

That is not the case, however, with tires distributed for sale in the United States. FMVSS No. 109, New pneumatic tires and FMVSS No. 110, Tire selection and rims, specify performance standards and labeling requirements for new passenger car tires and rims. FMVSS No. 119, New pneumatic tires for vehicles other than passenger cars and FMVSS No. 120, Tire selection and rims for motor vehicles other than passenger cars, specify performance standards and labeling requirements applicable to tires and rims for vehicles other than passenger cars. 49 CFR Part 574, Tire identification and recordkeeping, requires new tire manufacturers to permanently mold into or onto one tire sidewall a tire identification number (TIN) and specifies methods by which new tire manufacturers and new tire brand name owners shall maintain records of tire purchasers. 49 CFR Part 575.104, Uniform tire quality grading standards (UTQGS), requires new motor vehicle and new tire manufacturers and brand name owners to provide information to consumers concerning the relative performance of passenger car tires in the areas of treadwear, traction, and temperature resistance. The UTQGS grades are also required to be molded into or onto the tire sidewall.

The labeling requirements specified in the regulations referred to above apply to the actual tire manufacturers and/or brand name owners, and the required information, including the DOT symbol and the TIN, must appear on all new tires before they can be sold to their first retail purchasers. A tire distributor or dealer cannot legally remove any of the required information from new tire sidewalls. The required information on new tires is intended for safety purposes, purchaser information, and to enable this agency to identify the manufacturer in the event of a noncompliance or defect in a tire line or lot.

A "manufacturer" is defined in 49 U.S.C. '30102(a)(5) as one who manufactures or assembles motor vehicles or equipment or one who imports motor vehicles or equipment for resale. The operations you describe would not be sufficient to make you the manufacturer of the tires in question. According to your letter, you would, for marketing reasons, remove a thin layer of the surface area of the sidewalls of the tires so that most of the existing information is removed. You would then apply a new thin layer of rubber containing new information. Your operations would thus not be changing the basic tire as such but simply changing the labeling. A change in labeling would not change who manufactured the tire. Thus, since you would not be a manufacturer of tires, you may not obtain a manufacturer's identification mark in accordance with 49 CFR '574.6. Only tire manufacturers or retreaders may obtain that mark.

49 U.S.C. '30122(b) prohibits manufacturers, distributors, dealers, and/or motor vehicle repair businesses from knowingly making inoperative any part of a device or element of design installed on or in a motor vehicle or item of equipment in compliance with applicable FMVSSs unless that individual reasonably believes that the vehicle or equipment will not be used when the device or element is inoperative. Thus, removal of the labeling information required to be marked on tire sidewalls in accordance with the standards and regulations discussed above could be a violation of '30122(b), which could subject the violator to civil penalties of up to $1000 per violation, or up to $800,000 for a series of related violations.

In summary, the Safety Act does not apply to tires intended solely for export. Thus, those tires are not required to comply with any FMVSSs. However, all new or retreaded tires sold or imported into the United States for sale must comply with all applicable FMVSSs and regulations as discussed above. Distributors and dealers may not remove any of the labeling information required to be marked on new tires by the actual manufacturers and/or brand name owners of those tires. Removal of that information could make inoperative an element of design on those tires, which could constitute a violation of 49 U.S.C. '30122(b).

I hope this information is helpful to you. Should you need additional information or have further questions, please feel free to contact Mr. Myers at this address or at (202) 366-2992.

Sincerely,

John Womack Acting Chief Counsel

Ref:109#110#119#120#574#575 d:5/24/95

ID: 10786

Ms. Barbara Bailey
Administrative Assistant
Camp Berachah Christian Retreat Center
19830 S.E. 328th Place
Auburn, WA 98092-2212

Dear Ms. Bailey:

This responds to your letter and telephone call to Walter Myers of this office asking two questions about new 15-passenger vans that Camp Berachah leased from a dealer. I apologize for the delay in this response.

You first asked whether we require the leased vans to comply with our Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS) for school buses. You also asked whether we require the vans to comply with those FMVSSs if Camp Berachah loaned or subleased them to a school. Subject to a few considerations, the answer to both questions is no.

Some background information on our school bus regulations would be helpful. Our regulations require any person selling or leasing a new vehicle to sell or lease a vehicle that meets all FMVSSs applicable to that vehicle. Accordingly, persons selling or leasing a new school bus must sell or lease a vehicle that meets the FMVSSs applicable to school buses. Under 49 U.S.C. '30101, et seq. (referred to as Safety Act), a school bus is any vehicle that carries 11 or more persons and which is likely to be significantly used to transport students to or from school or related events. Thus, persons selling or leasing a new vehicle that carries 11 or more persons and which is likely to be significantly used to carry students is selling or leasing a new school bus. That means that the new vehicle must meet the school bus FMVSSs.

The FMVSSs apply only to new vehicles prior to sale to the first retail purchaser. The onus of complying with the school bus regulations is mainly on the seller or dealer to ensure that each new school bus it sells or leases has been certified to the school bus FMVSSs. The purchaser, on the other hand, is

not subject to such constraints. Under our school bus regulations, the purchaser is free to use any vehicle to transport school children. That is because this agency does not regulate the use of vehicles once they have been sold at retail.

Turning to your questions, we answer no to your first question based on the following. It was unclear from your letter whether Camp Berachah is connected with a school. In directing NHTSA to issue its school bus regulations, Congress considered buses used to transport children to camps connected with schools to be subject to the school bus FMVSSs. However, you clarified the nature of Camp Berachah in your conversation with Mr. Myers. You said that Camp Berachah is independent from any school and is not in any way affiliated with a school. Based on that information, Camp Berachah does not appear to be a school. Thus, our school bus regulations do not require the leasing of complying school buses for Camp Berachah purposes.

In your second question, you asked whether the new leased vans had to comply with the school bus FMVSSs if Camp Berachah lent, rented or subleased them to a school. The answer depends on whether the vans are significantly used for pupil transportation, and if so, whether the dealer knew or should have known of such use. New vans that are likely to be significantly used to transport school children would be school buses, and the dealer leasing the new van is required to lease certified school buses. Use of the vans on a one-time or occasional basis would not constitute significant use as a school bus. However, if Camp Berachah were to sublease the vans to a school for long-term use, we believe the use of those vans for school transportation would be significant within the meaning of the Safety Act. Accordingly, the leasing company could not lease a new van for this purpose.

You should also note that the states have the authority to regulate the use of vehicles by motorists. Thus, although NHTSA does not require the sale or use of complying school buses in the situations you described, Washington does have such authority. You may wish to contact the state director of pupil transportation to learn more about any state requirements applicable to vehicles used as school buses.

In closing, we would like to note that school buses are one of the safest forms of transportation in this country. We therefore strongly recommend that all 15- passenger vans that are used to transport school children be certified as meeting the school bus safety standards.

I hope this information is helpful. Should you have any further questions or need additional information, please feel free to contact Mr. Myers at this address or at (202) 366-2992.

Sincerely,

John Womack Acting Chief Counsel

ref:571 d:5/30/95

ID: 10790

Mr. Dietmar K. Haenchen
Manager, Vehicle Regulations
Volkswagen of America, Inc.
3800 Hamlin Road
Auburn Hills, MI 48326

Dear Mr. Haenchen:

This responds to your request for an interpretation of Standard No. 118, Power-operated window, partition, and roof panel systems. You asked whether the "squeezing force limitation" of S5 applies only to the first attempt to close a power operated window, partition, or roof panel system (power-operated system) and not to immediately following attempts to close. You explained that an operator may initiate more than one closing attempt in order to assure the closing of the power operated system under adverse conditions such as low temperature or the presence of ice in the power operated system's track. As discussed below, the S5 squeezing force limitation applies to each closing attempt.

By way of background information, Standard No. 118 requires that a power operated system, while closing, must comply with one of two alternative provisions. The first, S4, generally specifies requirements for situations where a person is expected to be in the immediate vicinity of the vehicle to supervise the closing. The second, S5, covers "unsupervised" closings, i.e., automatic closings or closings where the person initiating the closing is further away from the vehicle.

In the rulemaking establishing S5, NHTSA recognized that unsupervised closings increase the risk that persons, especially children, could be caught between a closing system and the frame. Therefore, to the extent that a power operated system permits unsupervised closings, the agency decided to require an automatic reversal mechanism that reverses the window direction upon its meeting an obstruction. More specifically, if an obstruction is between 4 and 200 mm from any part of the vehicle structure with which the closing system mates, S5 requires window reversal before a force of 100 Newtons is encountered.

S5 does not specify different squeezing force limitation requirements for different closing attempts. Therefore, a

power operated system must meet the same requirements for each closing attempt. We note that since the requirements of S5 address unsupervised closings, the same safety concerns about children being caught between a closing system and frame would be relevant to each closing attempt.

I note that NHTSA decided not to apply the S5 squeezing force limitation requirement to unsupervised closings within the area between 4 mm and any part of the vehicle structure with which the closing system mates. The agency recognized that injury from system closure is not possible in this area, and that unnecessary automatic reversal could result from the system's misalignment or obstruction from ice. Thus, during unsupervised closing, if the system encounters an obstruction less than 4 mm from any part of the vehicle structure with which the closing system mates, the power operated system need not reverse.

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

Sincerely,

John Womack Acting Chief Counsel

ref:118 d:5/17/95

ID: 10804RWKM

January 26, 1996

Mr. Bill Bristol Treadway America, Inc. 1633 East Vine Street, Suite 123 Kissimmee, FL 34744

Dear Mr. Bristol:

This responds to your request for a letter from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) stating that tires with the letters "DOT" molded onto or into the sidewalls comply with all Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS). In the United States, Federal law requires tire manufacturers to certify that tires sold or imported into the United States comply with all applicable FMVSSs. There is no provision in the law for prior certification or approval by NHTSA, the United States agency responsible for the law's implementation. NHTSA enforces compliance with the safety standards by randomly inspecting tires and certification documentation, and by testing selected tires to ensure the validity of the tire companies' self-certification programs.

In response to your request, NHTSA states that all motor vehicle tires of any type or size manufactured by any of the following manufacturers and bearing the symbol "DOT" are recognized by the United States as having been certified by the manufacturers as being in conformity with all applicable FMVSSs:

Dunlop Tire Corporation (including Remington and Centennial) Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc. Michelin (including PBM, Top A Private, Liberator, Defender, and Sears) General Tire (including Neral, GPX, HS Blem, and Semperit) Hercules (including Merit) Siam (including Mustang, Aswin, Extra Mileage, and Bus Special) Electra (including Esprit, Ironman, Turbo HP9000H, and Apache) Stomil (including Winchester) Vikrant

Any questions or requests for additional information regarding this matter may be directed to Walter Myers of my staff at this address or at (202) 366-2992.

Sincerely,

Samuel J. Dubbin Chief Counsel

Ref:571 d:1/26/96

ID: 10811

Mr. Stephen M. Padula
Industry Standards and
Government Regulations
Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Company
P.O. Box 2501
Greenville, SC 29602

Dear Mr. Padula:

This responds to your letter of March 21, 1995, in which you asked whether it is permissible to have a treadwear grade of 00 or 000 on tires under the Uniform Tire Quality Grading Standards (UTQGS), 49 CFR 575.104. The answer to your question is yes.

As you know, the UTQGS currently provide that all new passenger car tires sold in the United States must be graded by their manufacturers or brand name owners for treadwear, traction, and temperature resistance. The grades must be assessed in accordance with paragraphs (d)(1)(i)(A) and (B) of the UTQGS and must be molded into or onto the tire sidewall.

Paragraph (d)(2)(i) requires the treadwear grade to be expressed as 2 or 3 digits, representing the percentage (P) of the NHTSA nominal treadwear value, computed as follows:

Projected P = mileage x 100 30,000

The percentage derived from the above formula is then rounded off to the nearest lower 20-point increment to arrive at the treadwear grade.

In your letter you proposed a hypothetical example of a tire with a projected mileage of 5,000 miles, which would compute as follows:

P = 5,000 x 100 = 16.67 30,000

Rounded off to the nearest lower 20-point increment, the treadwear rating for that tire would be 00 or 000.

Your example would be correct, if tires still exist that have a projected tread life of 5,000 miles. Although NHTSA has not found any tires so rated, under the current provisions of the UTQGS, it is possible, as demonstrated by your example, to have a UTQGS treadwear rating of 00 or 000.

I hope this information is helpful to you. Should you have any questions or need additional information, please feel free to contact Walter Myers of my staff at this address or at (202) 366-2992.

Sincerely,

John Womack Acting Chief Counsel

ref:575 d:5/17/95