Interpretation ID: aiam1724
Esq.
Office of the General Counsel
Ford Motor Company
The American Road
Dearborn
MI 48121;
Dear Ms. Kolodny: This is in reply to your letter of June 10, 1975, asking whether Moto Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108 preempts Section 25950 of the California Vehicle Code with respect to Mercury Monarch taillamps.; Section 25950 requires in pertinent part that all lamps visible fro the rear of a vehicle be red, 'whether lighted or unlighted', except that taillamps may be white when unlighted. Standard No. 108 requires passenger car taillamps to be 'red' (Table III), and 'the taillamp indication' to be red (SAE Standard J585, *Tail Lamps*, June 1966, incorporated by reference into Standard No. 108). The taillamps on the Mercury Monarch are covered with amber lenses. Although the lamp meets the color and photometric requirements of Standard No. 108 when lighted, California is of the opinion that use of the amber lens is prohibited by Section 25950.; Section 103(d) of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act o 1966 prohibits a State from establishing or continuing in effect any motor vehicle safety standard applicable to the same aspect of performance of a vehicle or equipment item as a Federal standard which is not identical to it. We interpret Standard No. 108 as requiring only that the color of the taillamp 'indication' be red. The method by which this is accomplished is left to the vehicle manufacturer. The indication could be provided by a combination of a white bulb and a red lens (the conventional taillamp), a red bulb and white lens (permitted by California) or, as in your case, a red bulb and an amber lens. Although the color of the taillamp lens is not directly specified by Standard No. 108, the performance of the lamp as an assembly is covered in detail by the standard, and we consider that the color aspects of taillamps are within the scope of these requirements. If the lamp assembly complies with the Federal standard, then a State may not prohibit its use. We therefore find that in this instance 49 CFR 571.108, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108, renders void the requirement of Section 25950 of the California Vehicle Code that unlighted taillamps be colored red.; Sincerely, James C. Schultz, Chief Counsel