Interpretation ID: 19337.ztv

Mr. Bill Carpenter, Jr.
The Carpenter Group, USA
514 Chestnut Street
Pacific Grove, CA 93950-3916

Dear Mr. Carpenter:

This is in reply to your recent letter to Taylor Vinson of this Office, asking for a clarification of our letter to you dated November 20, 1998.

With reference to the security device as described in your letter to us of August 3, 1998, we informed you that "The manufacture and sale of this accessory is not subject to any Federal motor vehicle safety standard." We continued by cautioning that its installation had a "theoretical potential of affecting compliance" with Safety Standard No. 111, the Federal rearview mirror standard. You wish us to restate our advice to read "The manufacture, sale, and use of the Auto Tracker (TM) Security Beacon does not violate any current U.S. Federal motor vehicle safety standard." The purpose of your request is "so that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration review of the product can be stated in a concise, direct, and easily understandable manner for the general public."

We cannot furnish the interpretation you seek. You have gone beyond our letter in asking us to state that the "use" of the product is not subject to any Federal motor vehicle safety standard, when our letter clearly indicated that installation of the product had the potential of affecting compliance with Standard No. 111.

I am sorry you feel that we have not stated our views "in a concise, direct, and easily understandable manner for the general public." However, our opinion was directed to you, a manufacturer who sought to understand the relationship of your product to applicable Federal requirements, and was not intended to facilitate its advertising. If you wish to use our letter for such purpose, we have no objection to your stating, as we did in

our letter of November 20, that "The manufacture and sale of this accessory is not subject to any Federal motor vehicle safety standard."

Sincerely,
Frank Seales, Jr.
Chief Counsel
ref:108#111
d.1/28/98