Interpretation ID: nht81-2.16

DATE: 04/22/81

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; F. Berndt; NHTSA

TO: PolyDyne Engineering

TITLE: FMVSS INTERPRETATION

TEXT:

NOA-30

Mr. O. Vandewege, President PolyDyne Engineering Box 3517 Scottsdale, Arizona 85257

Dear Mr. Vandewege:

This responds to your letter of March 6, 1981, to Joseph Zemaitis, Motor Vehicle Program Director, Region IX, regarding Safety Standard No. 125, Warning Devices. You wish to obtain approval of your warning device (the "short stop") for use on trucks and trailers. Your device is a collapsible reflective triangle that is designed to be permanently mounted on the side or rear of a vehicle.

The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, as amended (the Act), authorizes the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to issue Federal motor vehicle safety standards which are applicable to motor vehicles or motor vehicle equipment. Safety Standard No. 125, Warning Devices, establishes requirements for devices that are designed to be carried in motor vehicles and used to warn approaching traffic of the presence of a stopped vehicle. The rule does not apply to warning devices that are designed to be permanently affixed to the vehicle, and thus does not apply to your device. Hence, it is not necessary for you to obtain the "approval" of this agency before you may manufacture or sell a "short stop" or before an owner may use such a warning device on his vehicle.

However, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has promulgated a regulation (49 CFR S 393.95) regarding the use of emergency equipment on heavy duty trucks and buses that are used in interstate commerce. This standard may prohibit the use of warning devices such as the "short stop" on certain types of vehicles. Since the FHWA can best address this issue, we have forwarded your letter to that agency's Chief Counsel for response. The address of that office is Room 4213, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590.

We hope you find this information helpful. Please contact this office if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Frank Berndt Chief Counsel