Search Interpretations

Interpretation ID: LCDDVD.1

    Mr. Harold R. Burke, Esq.
    Philip Russell, P.C.
    71 Lewis Street
    P.O. Box 1437
    Greenwich, CT06836


    Dear Mr. Burke:

    This responds to your letter of January 23, 2003, in which you describe an automobile crash in which your client, a rear seat passenger, suffered serious facial trauma resulting from impact with an LCD screen that was part of a DVD television system incorporated into the rear of the headrest of the front passenger seat. You state that this television system was an aftermarket installation. Your letter then asks five questions seeking clarification of 49 U.S.C. 30122 and Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 201, Occupant Protection in Interior Impact, in the context of this factual scenario.

    Preliminarily, we note that it is the policy of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) not to express any views or advice on the ultimate questions raised in litigation of private incidents or controversies. However, a pending lawsuit will not affect our ability to interpret our statutes and regulations. Accordingly, the following restates each question presented in your letter and provides our response. Please note that we have reordered your questions so as to simplify our response.

      1. Is an entity which installs aftermarket electronic components such as DVD television screens in automobiles considered "a motor vehicle repair business" under 49 U.S.C. Sec. 30122?

      Although NHTSA does not have any safety standards specifically covering television receivers, it is possible that the installation of a television receiver could affect the compliance of a vehicle with some safety standards. 49 U.S.C. 30122 expresses a general prohibition on making safety devices and elements inoperative. Specifically, subsection (b) provides:

      A manufacturer, distributor, dealer, or motor vehicle repair business may not knowingly make inoperative any part of a device or element of design installed on or in a motor vehicle or motor vehicle equipment in compliance with an applicable motor vehicle safety standard prescribed under this chapter [49 USC 30101 et seq.] unless the manufacturer, distributor, dealer, or repair business reasonably believes the vehicle or equipment will not be used (except for testing or a similar purpose during maintenance or repair) when the device or element is inoperative.

      The statute defines "motor vehicle repair business" as "a person holding itself out to the public to repair for compensation a motor vehicle or motor vehicle equipment." 49 U.S.C. 30122(a). The term is further defined in NHTSAs regulations at 49 CFR 595.4 as including "businesses that receive compensation for servicing vehicles without malfunctioning or broken parts or systems by adding or removing features or components to or from those vehicles or otherwise customizing those vehicles." Status as a "motor vehicle repair business" is not dependent upon whether the vehicle or component was previously "broken" or needed to be "repaired," but, rather, it is based upon the commercial relationship between the vehicle owner and the individual or company performing the work on the vehicle or component. Any person who will accept compensation to repair a vehicle is a motor vehicle repair business.

      To the extent that a commercial entity installs aftermarket electronic components in motor vehicles, that entity would be a motor vehicle repair business that would be prohibited from knowingly making inoperative features covered by any FMVSS under 49 U.S.C. 30122. This prohibition applies even if the modifications are to be made pursuant to the vehicle owners instructions. However, because we have not examined the vehicle in the present case, we express no opinion as to whether installation of the television system in question has precipitated a violation of section 30122.

      2. Is the rear portion of a vehicles front headrest considered a "head impact area" pursuant to 49 C.F.R. Sec. 571.201S5?

      The purpose of FMVSS No. 201 is to specify requirements designed to afford interior impact protection to vehicle occupants. Within that standard, paragraph S5.2 specifically deals with requirements for seat backs, providing:

      Except as provided in S5.2.1 [provision applicable to school buses, not at issue here], when that area of the seat back that is within the head impact area is impacted in accordance with S5.2.2 by a 6.8 kilogram, 165 mm diameter head form at a relative velocity of 24 kilometers per hour, the deceleration of the head form shall not exceed 80g continuously for more than 3 milliseconds.

      Paragraph S5.2.2 goes on to provide a demonstration procedure for seat backs. In conducting this test procedure, S5.2.2(d) provides, "For seats having head restraints installed, each test shall be conducted with the head restraints in place at its lowest adjusted position, at a point on the head restraint centerline." However, the requirements of this paragraph are only triggered once it has been determined that a portion of the seat back is within the "head impact area," as defined in the following section.

      Under 49 CFR 571.3, Definitions, NHTSA defines the term "head impact area" as follows:

      Head impact area means all nonglazed surfaces of the interior of a vehicle that are statically contactable by a 6.5-inch diameter spherical head form of a measuring device having a pivot point to "top-of-head" dimension infinitely adjustable from 29 to 33 inches in accordance with the following procedure, or its graphic equivalent:

        (a)At each designated seating position, place the pivot point of the measuring device

          (1)For seats that are adjustable fore and aft, at

            (i)The seating reference point; and

            (ii)A point 5 inches horizontally forward of the seating reference point and vertically above the seating reference point an amount equal to the rise which results from a 5-inch forward adjustment of the seat or 0.75 inch; and

          (2)For seats that are not adjustable fore and aft, at the seating reference point.

        (b)With the pivot point to "top-of-head" dimension at each value allowed by the device and the interior dimensions of the vehicle, determine all contact points above the lower windshield glass line and forward of the seating reference point.

        (c)With the head form at each contact point, and with the device in a vertical position if no contact points exists [sic] for a particular adjusted length, pivot the measuring device forward and downward through all arcs in vertical planes to 90 each side of the vertical longitudinal plane through the seating reference point, until the head form contacts an interior surface or until it is tangent to a horizontal plane 1 inch above the seating reference point, whichever occurs first.

      It is possible that the rear portion of a front headrest could fall within the "head impact area" as defined within NHTSAs regulations. Such determination would be made by undertaking the necessary calculations under paragraph S5.2.2 of FMVSS No. 201. However, because we have not examined the vehicle in question, we do not express any opinion as to whether the rear of the headrest in the present case is within the "head impact area" under the standard.

      3. Is the rear portion of a vehicles front headrest considered to be a seat back pursuant to 49 C.F.R. Sec. 571.201S5?

      NHTSAs regulations do not define the term "seat back." However, as noted above, under paragraph S5.2.2(d) of FMVSS No. 201, the test procedures clearly contemplate the presence of a headrest when conducting the necessary calculations related to seat backs. Additionally, FMVSS No. 202, Head Restraints, requires motor vehicle manufacturers to install head restraints at each front outboard seating position of light passenger vehicles. In light of the purpose of FMVSS No. 201, it is appropriate to include headrests within the scope of the standards protection, to the extent that they fall within the zone covered under the standard. Consequently, in conducting its enforcement activities, NHTSA has considered head restraints to be part of the seat back when calculating the "head impact area" under FMVSS No. 201.

      4. Is the padded rear portion of a vehicles front headrest considered a "part of a device or element of design installed on or in a motor vehicle or motor vehicle equipment in compliance with an applicable motor vehicle safety standard?"

      In order for a vehicle component to be considered a "part of a device or element of design installed on or in a motor vehicle or motor vehicle equipment in compliance with an applicable motor vehicle safety standard," thereby triggering the "make inoperative" provision of 49 U.S.C. 30122, it must be covered by an existing FMVSS. As discussed in the responses to questions #2 and #3 above, our review of existing FMVSSs suggests that FMVSS No. 201 may be applicable to the rear portion of a headrest, depending upon vehicle design.

      However, because we have not examined the specific vehicle in question and have not conducted the necessary calculations under FMVSS No. 201, we cannot express any opinion as to whether the padded rear portion of a vehicles headrest is a plan view location covered under any FMVSS, and thereby subject to the "make inoperative" provision of 49 U.S.C. 30122.

      5. Would a manufacturer of aftermarket equipment which is installed in accordance with the manufacturers instructions subject the manufacturer to liability under 49 U.S.C. 30122 if 49 C.F.R. Sec. 571.201S5 is violated in the process?

      If NHTSA determines that a business has violated the "make inoperative" provision, it may assess a civil penalty in the amount of $5,000 per violation (not to exceed $15,000,000 in the aggregate). 49 U.S.C. 30165(a)(1). However, the applicability of 49 U.S.C. 30122 to a particular business is dependent upon the product or services that the business provides. As noted above, manufacturers, distributors, dealers, and motor vehicle repair businesses that install a product in a motor vehicle would be subject to 49 U.S.C. 30122.

      In contrast, we have consistently held that producers of equipment, whether or not that equipment is used in a system designed to comply with a particular FMVSS, are component suppliers; as such, they are neither directly subject to the requirements of the standard, nor accountable under the "make inoperative" prohibition of 49 U.S.C. 30122. Consequently, a manufacturer of aftermarket electronic components would not be liable under 49 U.S.C. 30122, if it did not install the equipment alleged to have violated any FMVSS. However, manufacturers of motor vehicle replacement equipment are subject to the notification and remedy requirements for products with defects related to motor vehicle safety (49 U.S.C. 30118-30121). (See 49 U.S.C. 30102(a)(7) for the definition of "motor vehicle equipment," and 49 U.S.C. 30102(b)(1)(D) for the definition of "replacement equipment.")

      In the present case, we have neither examined the television system in question nor have we investigated the incorporation of that system into this specific motor vehicle. In addition, we do not have any information on the manufacturers intended use for the television system (i.e., whether it is recommended for installation in motor vehicles). Consequently, we do not express any opinion as to whether the system is motor vehicle equipment.

    If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact Eric Stas of my staff at this address or by telephone at (202) 366-2992.

    Sincerely,

    Jacqueline Glassman
    Chief Counsel

    ref:201
    d.4/18/03