Interpretation ID: Alliance 114
Mr. Robert Strassburger
Vice President Safety
Vehicle Safety and Harmonization
Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers
1401 Eye Street, N.W., Suite 900
Washington, DC 20005
Dear Mr. Strassburger:
This letter responds to your May 14, 2010 request, on behalf of the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers, Inc. (AIAM) and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (Alliance), for clarification regarding the brake transmission shift interlock (BTSI) provisions of the Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act of 2007 (K.T. Safety Act). NHTSA incorporated the BTSI provisions into Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (Standard) No. 114, Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention (49 CFR 571.114, S5.3), by a final rule dated March 30, 2010 (75 FR 15621).
You ask for confirmation that the BTSI requirement does not apply to the gear selection control override option permitted by S5.2.4 of Standard No. 114. Our answer is the BTSI requirement would not apply to a gear selection control override.
Background
Currently, S5.2.2 of Standard No. 114 requires that a vehicle with a park position must be designed so that the transmission or gear selection control cannot be moved from the park position unless the key is in the starting system. An exception to this requirement is provided in S5.2.4, to allow a gear selection control override option. Specifically, S5.2.4 states, in pertinent part: The vehicle may have a device by which the user can move the gear selection control from park after the key has been removed from the system. This device must be operable by one of [three specified options].
In August 2006, the Alliance and the AIAM developed a voluntary agreement requiring full implementation of a BTSI system not later than September 1, 2010. A BTSI system requires that the service brake pedal be depressed before the transmission can be shifted out of the park position and must function in any starting system key position. A BTSI system is designed to prevent an unattended child from shifting the transmission out of the park position when the child is left in a vehicle with the vehicles key.
The voluntary agreement was substantially incorporated into a self-executing provision of the K.T. Safety Act.[1] The Act specifies in Section 2(d)(1):
Each motor vehicle with an automatic transmission that includes a park position manufactured for sale after September 1, 2010, shall be equipped with a system that requires the service brake to be depressed before the transmission can be shifted out of park. This system shall function in any starting system key position in which the transmission can be shifted out of park.
In August 2009, NHTSA issued an NPRM that proposed to incorporate the text of the BTSI requirement from the K.T. Safety Act into new paragraph S5.3 of Standard No. 114.[2] AIAM commented on and generally supported that proposal, but requested a gear selection control override option analogous to that provided in S5.2.4, which would override the BTSI system and allow a vehicle to be shifted out of park without depressing the service brake.
In the final rule, NHTSA rejected the AIAMs request, citing three reasons.[3] First, NHTSA noted that it was not clear that such an override is permissible within the language of the K.T. Safety Act. Second, NHTSA stated that it was outside the scope of the rulemaking to incorporate the override. Third, AIAM did not make clear why the lack of override would create the consumer backlash it had said would occur.
On May 11, 2010, representatives from the AIAM and the Alliance met with NHTSA staff to explain what AIAM representatives characterized as unclear text in AIAMs comment, which you thought could have led to a possible misunderstanding by the agency of the comment. In a follow-on letter dated May 14, 2010, you wrote NHTSA clarifying that AIAM was not seeking a separate override of the BTSI system, but was instead seeking to make sure the preexisting override option of S5.2.4 continues.
Discussion
First, we must acknowledge the difference, as we understand it, between the AIAMs comments on the August 2009 NPRM and your current request in the May 14, 2010 letter. It is correct that we understood your comment on the August 2009 NPRM to request that we allow a separate gear selection control override option, similar to that allowed by S5.2.4, for the BTSI requirement in S5.3. We now understand your request to be limited solely to the relationship between the existing gear selection control override option in S5.2.4 and the BTSI requirement of S5.3. We address this issue below.
In the August 2009 NPRM, NHTSA sought comments on four interpretations of various provisions of the K.T. Safety Act. In one in particular, we interpreted the last sentence of section 2(d) of the K.T. Safety Act, which states: This system shall function in any starting system key position in which the transmission can be shifted out of park. We stated in the
preamble that this sentence means that no matter the starting system position the key is in (e.g., lock, accessory, or start) the transmission must only shift out of park when the service brake is depressed.[4]
We believe that the emphasized language above conveyed our understanding that a BTSI system need only function when the key is in the starting system. We do not believe that it is necessary that a BTSI system function when the key is not in the starting system. The BTSI safeguard is unnecessary when the key is not in the system because S5.2.2 of Standard
No. 114 already requires that a vehicle be designed such that the transmission or gear selection control cannot be moved from the park position unless the key is in the starting system. Thus, it would be superfluous to require that a BTSI system be operational when the key is not in the starting system because the vehicle already cannot be shifted out of park in that situation (i.e., without the key in the starting system).
Because the BTSI system applies only when the key is in the starting system, the BTSI requirement does not apply to the operation of a gear selection control override option allowed by S5.2.4 of Standard 114. The gear selection control override is to function (allowing the user to shift out of park) after the key has been removed from the starting system. Thus, a gear selection control override option would not be subject to the BTSI requirement, which applies only when the key is in the starting system.
Although we believe that the foregoing analysis addresses your concerns, we wish to make the following clarification in response to some language in your letter.
In your letter, you express concern that a BTSI system is required to be operational with the key in the vehicle but the starting system in an off position. Included in S5.3 of FMVSS No. 114 is the statement from the K.T. Safety Act: This [BTSI] system shall function in any starting system key position in which the transmission can be shifted out of park. If a vehicle is designed in a manner such that the transmission cannot be shifted out of park when the starting system is in the off position (even if the key is in the starting system), the BTSI system need not function when the starting system is in the off position. As we stated above, if it is not possible to shift out of park, a BTSI system is superfluous.
If a vehicle can be shifted out of park with the key in the starting system in the off position, the BTSI requirement applies to prevent the vehicle from being shifted out of park without applying the service brake.
You requested in your letter that, if we cannot confirm your interpretation that the BTSI requirement does not apply to the gear selection control override option permitted by S5.2.4 of Standard No. 114, we treat your request as a petition for reconsideration of the BTSI final rule. Because we have confirmed your interpretation, we consider this letter to be a complete response to your request.
I hope this information is helpful. An identical response has been sent to Mr. Michael X. Cammisa of the AIAM. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact David Jasinski of my office at (202) 366-2992.
Sincerely yours,
O. Kevin Vincent
Chief Counsel
Dated: 7/20/2010