Interpretation ID: 8781
President
The Electric Bicycle Company
27426 Pacific Coast Highway
Malibu, CA 90265
Re: Petition for Exemption
Dear Mr. Bricklin:
We have received your letter of March 20, 1995, asking for an exemption from two provisions of Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 123 on the basis that "compliance with the standards, in this instance, will constitute a greater hazard to the general public and will result in more accidents caused by operator error than the alternatives that we propose."
I am sorry to inform you that we cannot consider your request in its current form. For your guidance, I enclose a copy of our temporary exemption regulation, 49 CFR Part 555. I suggest that the appropriate basis for your petition under that regulation is section 555.6(d): that you are otherwise unable to sell a vehicle whose overall level of safety is the equivalent of, or exceeds, the overall level of safety of a nonexempted vehicle.
When you have filed a petition that provides the information required by Part 555, we shall be pleased to consider this matter further. Because of the need to afford the public an opportunity to comment, a decision is rarely reached until three to four months after a petition is received.
If you have any questions on the regulation, Taylor Vinson of this Office will be glad to answer them (202- 366-5263; FAX: 202-366-3820).
Sincerely,
Philip R. Recht Chief Counsel
Enclosure
ref:555 d:4/3/95