Interpretation ID: nht79-4.3

DATE: 08/09/79

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; F. Berndt; NHTSA

TO: Webster & Chamberlain

TITLE: FMVSS INTERPRETATION

TEXT: This responds to your letter of August 2, 1979, concerning the requirements of Safety Standard No. 208, Occupant Crash Protection, as applicable to vehicles sold to the U.S. Postal Service.

Under the general requirements of paragraph S4.2.2 for trucks and multipurpose passenger vehicles with GVWR's of 10,000 pounds or less, Type II seat belt assemblies are required for outboard designated seating positions. That paragraph does provide optional requirements, however, for certain vehicles that are designed to be exclusively sold to the U.S. Postal Service. Under the optional requirements, these vehicles can instead meet the requirements of S4.2.1.2 which allow the use of Type I seat belts at outboard designated seating positions in convertibles, open-body type vehicles, walk-in van-type vehicles and for outboard seating positions that do not include the windshield header in the head impact area. Therefore, if the "X-1" vehicles described in your letter are any of these vehicle types and are sold exclusively to the Postal Service, they may legally be equipped with either Type I or Type II assemblies, at the manufacturer's option.

Regarding your second question, whether or not the "X-1" vehicles conform to Postal Service specifications is a matter of contractual agreement that must be determined by the contracting parties. The most the agency can say is that the "X-1" vehicles would be in compliance with Safety Standard No. 208 if they qualify as one of the vehicle types discussed above.

I hope this has been responsive to your inquiry.

SINCERELY,

August 2, 1979

Frank Berndt, Esquire Chief Counsel National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Dear Mr. Berndt:

We would like to respectfully request a ruling from your office concerning the application of Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 S4.2.2, 49 CFR @ 571.208 S4.2.2, to the fact situation set forth below. Since clarification of this issue is necessary to enable the affected parties to submit accurate bids for a government contract by mid-August, we would greatly appreciate a response from your office at the earliest possible time.

The specific fact situation with respect to which this ruling is requested is as follows: Corporation A enters into a contract with the Federal government to sell to the United States Postal Service certain vehicles meeting the specifications set forth by the Postal Service in its request for bids. The Postal Service specifications state, in relevant part, that, "The restraint system hardware, mounting, and performance shall conform to Motor Vehicle Safety Standards No. 208, 209 and 210, . . ." All vehicles sold to the Postal Service by Corporation A (hereinafter referred to as "type X-1" vehicles) have "Type 1" seat belt assemblies in conformance with the requirements of Standard 208 S4.2.1.2. Corporation A sells type X-1 vehicles exclusively to the Postal Service.

Corporation A also manufactures "type X-2" vehicles, which are identical to type X-1 vehicles, with one exception: all type X-2 vehicles have seat belt assemblies which meet the requirements of Standard 208 S4.1.2.1, Standard 208 S4.1.2.2, or Standard 208 S4.1.2.3. Corporation A sells type X-2 vehicles to various public and private purchasers.

The questions with respect to which a ruling is hereby requested are the following:

1. In the fact situation presented above, are all type X-1 vehicles manufactured by Corporation A and actually sold to the Postal Service "vehicles designed to be exclusively sold to the U.S. Postal Service" within the meaning of Standard 208 S4.2.2, so that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration would not require such type X-1 vehicles to be retrofitted with seat belt assemblies which meet the requirements of Standard 208 S4.1.2.1, Standard 208 S4.1.2.2, or Standard 208 S4.1.2.3?

2. Assuming that the "Type 1" seat belt assemblies installed in all type X-1 vehicles conform to Standard 209 and Standard 210, do all type X-1 vehicles sold to the Postal Service conform to Standard 208 by virtue of the provisions of Standard 208 S4.2.2, so that all type X-1 vehicles would be in compliance with the requirement of the Postal Service specification that the seat belt assembly "shall conform to Motor Vehicle Safety Standards No. 208, 209 and 210?

Your assistance in this matter will be greatly appreciated.

Charles E. Chamberlain