Interpretation ID: nht75-1.32

DATE: 11/06/75

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

TO: Mercer Machine & Hydraulics, Inc.

TITLE: FMVSS INTERPRETATION

TEXT: I am writing to confirm your October 17, 1975, telephone conversation with Mark Schwimmer of this office concerning the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 106-74, Brake Hoses. I understand that your company manufactures, from hose and end fittings supplied by other manufacturers, hydraulic brake hose assemblies for use in motor vehicles.

For your convenience, I am enclosing a copy of the standard (including two recent Federal Register notices) and an information sheet entitled "Where to Obtain Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and Regulations."

The standard specifies performance and labeling requirements for brake hose, end fittings, and brake hose assemblies. As an assembly manufacturer, you must certify that your assemblies comply with the standard by affixing a band as set out in S5.2.4. A designation of your choice should identify you as the assembler. You need register this designation with the NHTSA only once, even if you also manufacture air brake hose assemblies.

While the standard generally requires assemblies to be manufactured from conforming hose and end fittings, an exception (set out in S12.) permits the use of hose and fittings which meet the performance requirements but not the labeling requirements, until August 31, 1976. (The labeling requirements for hose and fittings became effective September 1, 1974; this exception is designed to facilitate the depletion of inventories of such components manufactured before that date.)

The standard does not specify the testing which you must do; it does specify the performance levels which assemblies must meet when tested by the NHTSA for compliance. The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, as amended, requires you to conduct a notification and remedy campaign with respect to noncomplying assemblies. You are also subject to a civil penalty of up to $ 1,000 for each noncomplying assembly (not to exceed $ 800,000 for each related series of noncompliances). The amount of testing which you perform has no effect on your notification and remedy obligations. If, however, you did exercise due care, you are not liable for the civil penalty. "Due care" is a flexible concept. It is evaluated on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration the size of your company, the amount of testing you perform, and other factors.