Interpretation ID: aiam4130
Postfach 50
7000 Stuttgart 1
Germany
Attention: Herr Berg;
Gentlemen: This is in response to a letter from Robert Bosch GmbH dated March 13 1986, with reference to 'Approval for exemption from Humidity test S6.8' of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108.; You have asked that vented replaceable bulb headlamps produced b Robert Bosch be exempted from compliance with paragraph S6.8 of Standard No. 108 on the grounds that failure to comply would be inconsequential noncompliance. You request that this exemption continue until such time as S6.8 is modified, presumably in accordance with the petition for its amendment which you filed in October 1985. The purpose of your request is to allow you 'to test headlamps with ventilation openings pursuant to the procedure described on page 4' of your petition, and in the event that that test is successful 'we request authority to use the headlamps in motor vehicles.'; I should like to explain briefly our exemption authority because we ca not consider your request. You have asked us to excuse prospective conduct that would otherwise be a noncompliance with a Federal motor vehicle safety standard. Our laws and regulations do not permit this course of action. The inconsequentiality regulations (Part 556) excuse past conduct under which noncompliances have already occurred but which have ended at the time the petition is filed. A grant of an inconsequentiality petition means that the manufacturer of motor vehicles or of motor vehicle equipment is relieved of its obligation to notify purchasers of the existence of the noncompliance, and to remedy it.; Your petition for rulemaking is under evaluation, and you will b notified of the agency's decision in the near future. Until such time as the standard may be amended, all manufacturers are required to comply with all the requirements contained therein. Thus, an exemption such as you request is not possible.; As an aside, we note that the letter appears to have been signed by Herr Berg and another Bosch representative whose signature is illegible. It would be helpful to us if your letters to us would contain the name and title of the signers below their signatures, so that we can address our replies to the proper office. You may also wish to note for your records that Ms. Steed is the Administrator of NHTSA (since 1983, in fact) and that her first name is Diane, rather than Diana.; Sincerely, Erika Z. Jones, Chief Counsel