Interpretation ID: nht79-3.31
DATE: 09/11/79
FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; Joan Claybrook; NHTSA
TO: Hon. T. F. Eagleton - U.S. Senate
TITLE: FMVSS INTERPRETATION
TEXT: This responds to your August 23, 1979, letter asking whether brakes installed in vehicles in compliance with Standard No. 121, Air Brake Systems, can be modified or disconnected.
Your question asks whether these brake systems can be rendered inoperative. Section 108(a)(2)(A) of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 (15 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.) states that --
No manufacturer, distributor, dealer, or motor vehicle repair business shall knowingly render inoperative, in whole or in part, any device or element of design installed on or in a motor vehicle or an item of motor vehicle equipment in compliance with an applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standard. . . .
Whether a portion of the air brake system can be rendered inoperative depends, therefore, upon whether that part of the brake system was installed in or on the vehicle in compliance with an applicable safety standard.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has concluded that portions of the braking systems installed in compliance with the sections of Standard No. 121 that were invalidated by the court were not installed in compliance with an applicable safety standard. Accordingly, these devices can be disconnected by a commercial facility. In general, this means that the antilock devices installed on trucks and trailers may be disconnected or removed. However, other components of the braking system that were installed in compliance with the remaining applicable sections of the standard may not be rendered inoperative by a commercial facility. Therefore, entire braking systems cannot be removed from trucks and trailers. The NHTSA recommends that any modification of the braking systems be undertaken only after consulting with the manufacturer about the safest configuration of the particular vehicle.
In a related question, you ask who will bear the cost of disconnecting the braking systems, the manufacturer or the purchaser. We believe that the cost of modifying the braking system, depending on the circumstances, is a matter that may be negotiated between the parties.
SINCERELY,
United States Senate COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
August 23, 1979.
Joan Claybrook Administrator National Highway Traffic Safety Admin. Department of Transportation
Dear Ms. Claybrook: A constituent of mine has written inquiring as to the guidelines for dealing with operative 121 brake systems in view of the recission of the regulation. He is concerned that continued operation of the brakes could be hazardous, but understandably he is reluctant to disconnect the brakes without some assurance he would not be libel.
A related question has to do with the cost of disconnecting and modifying 121 brakes. Does the manufacturer bear this responsibility or is it left to the purchaser of the vehicle?
I'd appreciate having your comments on these questions at the earliest time.
Thomas F. Eagleton United States Senator