Interpretation ID: nht93-5.43

TYPE: Interpretation-NHTSA

DATE: August 2, 1993

FROM: John Womack -- Acting Chief Counsel, NHTSA

TO: Charles Jennings

TITLE: None

ATTACHMT: Attached to letter dated 7/21/93 from Charles Jennings to Office of Chief Counsel, NHTSA

TEXT:

This responds to your letter received in this Office on July 2, asking for an opinion of your invention, the Alternating Wavelength Low-Beam (AWL).

The AWL "connects to the already existing low beam headlights, by just plugging it between the electrical sockets and the lights." The effect of the device is to create "light modulations of less than 17 per second, alternating from one of the two existing low-beam headlights to the other, and at the same time, changing wavelengths slightly, from one to the other (not flashing on and off)."

We have no opinion on the safety merits of your invention but can provide you with an interpretation of its relationship to Federal law. The AWL appears intended as an aftermarket device. There are no Federal restrictions on the sale of this device. Nor is there any Federal restriction upon installation of the AWL when it is installed on a vehicle by its owner. Such an installation appears a distinct possibility from your brief description of it. At this point, the question of the legality of its use is determined under the laws of the States where the AWL is operated. You represent that its operation in Texas is acceptable to the Department of Public Safety. However, this opinion would not be binding on other States. We are unable to advise you on the legality of using the AWL in the various States and suggest that you ask for an opinion from the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, 4600 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22203.

However, the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act (the Act) prohibits most persons other than the owner (specifically, manufacturers, distributors, dealers, and motor vehicle repair businesses) from acts that may "knowingly render inoperative", in whole or in part, safety equipment that the vehicle manufacturer has added pursuant to a Federal motor vehicle safety standard. The lower-beam headlamps are original equipment installed by the vehicle manufacturer under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108 Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment. Standard No. 108 requires headlamps to be steady-burning in use, though means may be provided to flash them on and off automatically for signalling purposes. Because the modulation created by the AWL results in a headlamp beam that is neither steady burning nor an on-off signal flash, the vehicle's headlamp system would no longer be in compliance with Standard No. 108. In our view, the headlamp system's performance would have been rendered partially inoperative within the meaning of the Act's prohibition when the AWL is sold in the aftermarket and installed by a manufacturer, distributor, dealer, and motor vehicle repair business. The Act provides for a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for each violation of the prohibition.

We hope that you find this information useful.