Interpretation ID: nht81-3.23
DATE: 10/09/81
FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; Frank Berndt; NHTSA
TO: Jellybean Express
TITLE: FMVSS INTERPRETATION
TEXT: This responds to your letter of September 9, 1981, concerning the Federal flammability requirements applicable to seat covers for child restraints. As explained below, if the seat cover is sold as an item of original equipment on a child restraint system, it must meet the flammability requirements of Safety Standard No. 213, Child Restraint Systems. If the seat cover is sold as an item of aftermarket equipment, it is not covered by the standard. However, we would urge you to consider voluntarily complying with the standard.
Standard No. 213, Child Restraint Systems (49 CFR 571.213), sets performance requirements for child restraints as pieces of motor vehicle equipment. Section 5.7 of the standard provides that, "Each material used in a child restraint system shall conform to the requirements of S4 of Safety Standard No. 302 (S571.302)." Standard No. 302, Flammability of Interior Materials, provides that when tested under specified conditions, material may not have a burn rate of more than 4 inches per minute (copy enclosed). Thus, if your seat cover is sold as a component on a new child restraint, that child restraint must comply with the requirements of S5.7 of Standard No. 213. Under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act (the Act, 15 U.S.C. 1392 et seq., copy enclosed), manufacturers have the responsibility of certifying that they comply with all applicable standards. The agency does not grant prior approval or conduct tests to support a manufacturer's certification. Therefore, I am returning the sample of your seat cover.
Although Standard No. 213 only covers the manufacture of items of original equipment in child restraints, sale of your seat cover as an item of aftermarket equipment is indirectly affected by Section 108(a)(2)(A) of the Act. That section provides:
No manufacturer, distributor, dealer or motor vehicle repair business shall knowingly render inoperative, in whole or part, any device or element of design installed on or in a motor vehicle or item of motor vehicle equipment in compliance with an applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standard. . . .
Thus, none of the persons mentioned could not knowingly install your seat cover on a used child restraint if it renders inoperative the restraint system's compliance with Standard No. 213. However, the prohibitions of the Act and the standard do not cover sale of your cover as an aftermarket device nor its installation solely by the vehicle or equipment owner.
Regardless of whether your seat cover must comply with Standard No. 213, as a manufacturer of motor vehicle equipment you have defect responsibilities under sections 151 et seq. of the Act. Those sections provide that manufacturers of motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment must notify owners of safety-related defects in their products and remedy those defects free of charge. If your covers are highly flammable, this could be regarded as a safety-related defect.
If you have any further questions, please let me know.
ENCLS.
(Illegible Word) EXPRESS
NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION OFFICE OF CHIEF COUNSEL
Sept. 9, 1981
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writting per instructions of the Department of Transportation in San Francisco, CA, Mr. Joe Zemaitis.
We are a business in Sacramento California manufacturing childrens wear and accessories. One of the items we manufacture is a seat cover for childrens car seats. The Department of Consumer Affairs and Department of Transportation have determined that we do not need a special license to manufacture this item but we do need a determination as to the fire proofing requirements.
Mr. Zemaitis suggested that we write to you to request this determination. I have enclosed a sample of our product. Please tell us as soon as possible if we have to meet any fireproofing requirements and if we have to have it noted anywhere that this product meets Federal Fireproof standards.
Your expedious reply would be greatly appreciated as we have orders for our product and would not like to break any laws by putting something out on the market that is unsafe.
Fran Anderson Business Manager
ATTACHS.