Interpretation ID: nht73-4.38

DATE: 07/30/73

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; R. B. Dyson; NHTSA

TO: Glen Tillotson

TITLE: FMVSS INTERPRETATION

TEXT: This is in reply to your letter of July 6, 1973, concerning problems that you foresee for your company under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 121. The primary problem you describe is the need to test brakes on vehicles that you produce in very small quantities.

The standards promulgated by this agency under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act do not impose a mandatory level of testing on regulated manufacturers. If we purchase a manufacturer's product, test it, and find that it fails an applicable standard, to avoid liability for noncompliance, the manufacturer must then establish that he exercised due care in assuring himself that the product conformed to the standard. The most common method by which manufacturers assess their product's conformity with a standard is by testing the products in accordance with the procedures of the standard. A manufacturer may, however, contract to have this testing done by an outside laboratory, may rely on adequate information provided him by a supplier, or use other reasonable means to make sure that his products comply.