Interpretation ID: aiam4393
Vice-President R & D
Think
Inc.
P.O. Box 414
Smyrna
TN 37167;
Dear Mr. Long: This is in reply to your letter of August 20, 1987, to Taylor Vinson o this office. You have enclosed a decal intended to be affixed 'on the outside of the rear window of an automobile, directly in front of the high mounted stop light. You have asked about the relationship of the decal to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108.; Center highmounted stoplamps are required to be designed so that ligh output (candela) may be measured at 13 individual test points, at a distance of not less than 10 feet. With the decal applied to the rear window, it is possible that the requisite minimum or maximum candela specified by Standard No. 108 could not be met at all of the test points. Further, the effective luminous area of the lamp must be not less than 4 1/2 square inches. And while the decal would not be applied to the lens, nevertheless, the lens area when viewed from behind could be effectively reduced. Because a vehicle must meet Standard No. 108 at the time of its initial sale, the vehicle could be delivered to its purchaser with the decal attached only if the vehicle continued to meet the light output and effective luminous area requirements.; Even if a vehicle could not be delivered with the decal attached nothing in Standard No. 108 or the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act prohibits a vehicle owner from applying the decal to his own vehicle, or from taking any other action that might affect the compliance of his vehicle with any of the Federal motor vehicle safety standards. The Act does forbid other persons from such actions, so that after a vehicle is sold, the dealer (or a motor vehicle repair business) could still be prohibited from applying the decal. Regulation of a vehicle in use is a matter of the laws of the States where vehicles are registered and operated. Even though Federal law does not prohibit an owner from applying the decal, a State law might. For advice of State laws, you should write the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, 1201 Connecticut Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036.; Sincerely, Erika Z. Jones, Chief Counsel