Interpretation ID: 19584.ztv

Mr. Saul Cohen
Chief Executive Officer
Innovative Brake Lighting Systems cc
P.O. Box 968
Morningside 2057
South Africa
FAX +27 11 784-3109

Dear Mr. Cohen:

We have received your letter of February 16, 1999, in which you informed us about your "intelligent" brake light, and asked that we confirm the legality of it.

We cannot do so as it is presently configured. As you describe it, the device is a center high-mounted stop lamp, with extensions which progressively activate from the outside of the lamp towards the center as foot pressure increases on the brake pedal. You state that "At all times, when the brake switch is activated, at least the outer segments are constantly illuminated without any flashing or flickering, and intensity is maintained." You conclude by saying that "the additional segments will illuminate incrementally towards the middle as braking pressure is increased.

In the United States, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108 Lamps, Reflective Devices and Associated Equipment is the regulation governing motor vehicle lighting equipment. Standard No. 108 requires a center high-mounted stop lamp as original equipment for certain motor vehicles, and specifies requirements for the lamp which must be met by replacement equipment as well. The center lamp must activate when the brake pedal is applied. Your letter indicates that the center of the lamp is the last portion of your device to be activated when the brake pedal is applied, thus, the design does not comply with Standard No. 108.

However, your device could be redesigned to comply in the following manner. There must be a central separate lamp that illuminates first and that meets Standard No. 108's requirements in and of itself, including photometrics. This lamp must not be combined with any other lamp, including the adjacent lamps. The adjacent lamps can illuminate outward from the center lamp as brake pressure is applied, but must not be brighter than the center lamp. As we see it, the illuminated extensions of the device are supplementary lighting equipment. Paragraph S5.1.2 of Standard No. 108 allows supplementary lighting equipment if it does not impair the effectiveness of required lighting equipment. The test for aftermarket equipment is similar; it must not "make inoperative" any lighting equipment required by the standard. If you follow the guidelines set forth in this paragraph, then your device would be an acceptable lighting supplement under S5.1.2. We have previously given an opinion that a center lamp with adjacent extensions may be acceptable under Standard No. 108 (see enclosed letter of May 8, 1991, to Keith Salsman).

Sincerely,
Frank Seales, Jr.
Chief Counsel
Enclosure
ref:108
d.4//21/99