Summary Descriptions of The Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards

Title 49, Codes of Federal Regulations, Part 571

Standard No. 301: Fuel System Integrity
Scope and Purpose:
This standard specifies requirements for the integrity of motor vehicle fuel systems. Its purpose is to reduce deaths and injuries occurring from fires that result from fuel spillage during and after motor vehicle crashes.

Application:
Passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, school buses and other buses with a GVWR of 4,536 kg (10,000 lb) or less

Standard No. 302: Flammability of Interior Materials
Scope and Purpose:
This standard specifies burn resistance requirements for materials used in the occupant compartments of motor vehicles. Its purpose is to reduce deaths and injuries to motor vehicle occupants caused by vehicle fires, especially those originating in the interior of the vehicle from sources such as matches or cigarettes.

Application:
Passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, and buses

Standard No. 303: Fuel System Integrity of Compressed
Natural Gas Vehicles
Scope and Purpose:
This standard specifies requirements for the integrity of motor vehicle fuel systems using compressed natural gas (CNG), including the CNG fuel systems of bi-fuel, dedicated, and dual fuel CNG vehicles. The purpose of this standard is to reduce deaths and injuries occurring from fires that result from fuel leakage during and after motor vehicle crashes.

Application:
Passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, and buses that have a GVWR of 4,536 kg (10,000 lb) or less and use compressed natural gas as a motor fuel, and school buses regardless of weight that use compressed natural gas as a motor fuel

Standard No. 304: Compressed Natural Gas Fuel Container Integrity
Scope and Purpose:
This standard specifies requirements for the integrity of compressed natural gas (CNG) motor vehicle fuel containers. The purpose of this standard is to reduce deaths and injuries occurring from fires that result from fuel leakage during and after motor vehicle crashes.

Application:
Containers designed to store CNG as motor fuel onboard any motor vehicle

Standard No. 305: Electric-Powered Vehicles: Electrolyte Spillage and Electric Shock Protection
Scope and Purpose:
This standard specifies requirements for limitation of electrolyte spillage, retention of propulsion batteries during a crash, and electrical isolation of the chassis from the high voltage system, to be met by vehicles that use electricity as propulsion power. The purpose of this standard is to reduce deaths and injuries during a crash, which occur because of electrolyte spillage from propulsion batteries, intrusion of propulsion battery system components into the occupant compartment, and electrical shock.

Application:
Passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks and buses with a GVWR of 4,536 kg (10,000 lb) or less, that use more than 48 nominal volts of electricity as propulsion power and whose speed attainable in 1.6 km on a paved level surface is more than 40 km/h

Standard No. 401: Interior Trunk Release
Scope and Purpose:
This standard establishes the requirements for providing a trunk release mechanism that makes it possible for a person trapped inside the trunk compartment of a passenger car to escape. Instead of a release latch, this standard also permits the installation of an alternative system such as a passive trunk release system that could detect the presence of a human in the trunk and would automatically unlatch the trunk lid.

Application:
Passenger cars containing a trunk compartment; This standard does not apply to passenger cars with a back door, a door or door system on the back end of a passenger car through which cargo can be loaded or unloaded, a hatchback or a station wagon

Standard No. 402 [Reserved]


Standard No. 403: Platform Lift Systems for Motor Vehicles
Scope and Purpose:
This standard specifies requirements and performance tests for platform lifts designed to carry standing passengers, who may be aided by canes or walkers, as well as persons seated in wheelchairs, scooters and other mobility aids, into and out of motor vehicles. The purpose of this standard is to prevent injuries and fatalities to passengers and bystanders during the operation of platform lifts installed in motor vehicles.

Application:
Platform lifts designed to carry standing passengers who may be aided by canes or walkers, as well as persons seated in wheelchairs, scooters and other mobility aids, into and out of motor vehicles

Standard No. 404: Platform Lift Installations in Motor Vehicles
Scope and Purpose:
This standard specifies requirements for the installation of platform lifts in motor vehicles. It requires vehicle manufacturers to install platform lifts that are certified to Standard 403 and to install them in accordance with the lift manufacturer’s instructions. The purpose of this standard is to prevent injuries and fatalities to passengers and bystanders during the operation of platform lifts installed in motor vehicles.

Application:
Motor vehicles equipped with a platform lift designed to carry standing passengers, who may be aided by canes or walkers, as well as persons seated in wheelchairs, scooters and other mobility aids, into and out of the vehicle

Standard No. 500: Low-Speed Vehicles
Scope and Purpose:
This standard specifies basic safety equipment including lights, reflectors, mirrors, windshields, windshield wipers, parking brake, and seat belts on motor vehicles whose maximum speed is between 20 and 25 miles per hour. The purpose of this standard is to ensure that low-speed vehicles operated on the public streets, roads, and highways are equipped with the minimum motor vehicle equipment appropriate for motor vehicle safety.

Application:
Low-speed vehicles. A low-speed vehicle is a 4-wheeled motor vehicle, other than a truck, whose top speed is more than 32 km/h (20 mph) and not more than 40 km/h (25 mph).