Mr. Bret W. Wolf
    Indiana Vac-Form, Inc.
    2030 North Boeing Road
    Airport Industrial Park
    Warsaw, IN 46580



    Dear Mr. Wolf:

    This responds to your July 10, 2000, letter regarding replacing rear glazing material on a passenger van with a polycarbonate material.

    You state in your letter that you are writing on behalf of a customer, Mr. Charlie Klerner, who is "seeking input to determine the feasibility of a project that entails replacing the right rear glazing material on a Chevrolet Passenger Van for the purpose of replacing it with a Polycarbonate material...so that electronic equipment including a consumer operated touch pad may be installed in the window opening." Mr. Klerner, in correspondence to this office dated July 13, 2000, specifies that the glazing material will be used between the C and D pillar adjacent to the seating of a passenger vehicle. As explained below, glazing made from a polycarbonate material must meet certain performance requirements and may only be used in certain locations on a vehicle.

    By way of background information, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has the authority to issue Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSSs) applicable to new motor vehicles and new items of motor vehicle equipment. Federal law establishes a self-certification system under which motor vehicle and equipment manufacturers themselves certify that their products comply with all applicable standards. For that reason, NHTSA neither endorses, approves, nor conducts testing of products prior to their introduction into the retail market. Rather, we enforce compliance with the standards by purchasing vehicles and equipment and testing them. We also investigate safety-related defects.

    Pursuant to NHTSA's authority, the agency has established FMVSS No. 205, Glazing Materials (49 CFR 571.205), which specifies performance requirements for various types of glazing (called "items"), and specifies the locations in vehicles in which each item of glazing may be used. The standard also incorporates by reference "ANSI Z26," the American National Standards Institute's Safety Code for Safety Glazing Materials for Glazing Motor Vehicles Operating on Land Highways.

    You company's product, as a "polycarbonate" material which would replace the existing glazing material in the right rear window opening of a passenger van, is considered to be item 4A glazing subject to the requirements of S5.1.2.11 of Standard No. 205. S5.1.2.11 specifies the locations in a vehicle where rigid plastic for use in side windows rearward of the "C" pillar are permitted. Item 4A glazing is permitted in the following specific vehicle locations (see S5.1.2.11(a)):

    (1) All areas in which Item 4 safety glazing may be used (these areas do not include the rear side or rear window area of a passenger van).

    (2) Any side window that meets the criteria in (i) and (ii):

      (i) is in a vehicle whose rearmost designated seating position is forward-facing and cannot be adjusted so that it is side or rear-facing; and

      (ii) the forwardmost point on its visible interior surface is rearward of the vertical transverse plane that passes through the shoulder reference point (as described in Figure 1 of § 571.210, Seat belt assembly anchorages (copy enclosed)), of that rearmost seating position.

    NHTSA does not permit Item 4A glazing near rear-facing seats or side-facing seats in any motor vehicle because of the concern that occupants (particularly unbelted ones) riding in those seating locations may be able to contact their heads against Item 4A glazing in a crash. The breaking of rigid plastic windows in a crash could leave sharp, pointed shards in the window frame which could easily be contacted by an occupant's head. There is also concern about occupant injury resulting from large shards of rigid plastic glazing being propelled inward by vehicle impacts with trees, poles, or other vehicles. Accordingly, replacing the right rear glazing material on a Chevrolet passenger van with a polycarbonate material adjacent to a passenger seating is generally not permitted.

    In addition, S5.1.2.11(a) of Standard No. 205 specifies performance requirements for rigid plastic for use in side windows rearward of the "C" pillar. (See Test Procedures for Item 4A - Rigid Plastic for Use in Side Windows Rearward of the "C" Pillar.) These performance requirements would apply to the polycarbonate glazing material.

    Our statute at 49 U.S.C. § 30112 (copy enclosed) (formerly § 108(a)(1)(A) of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act (1)) provides that no person shall "manufacture for sale, sell, offer for sale, or introduce or deliver for introduction into interstate commerce, or import into the United States" any item of new motor vehicle equipment unless the equipment complies with all applicable safety standards and is so certified by its manufacturer. It would be a violation of this section of Federal law for any person to manufacture or sell any glazing material for use in motor vehicles (such as the glazing from the polycarbonate material) unless the products comply with applicable requirements of Standard No. 205. Further, it would be a violation of Federal law for any person to manufacture or sell a motor vehicle whose glazing does not comply with the performance and location requirements of Standard No. 205.

    In addition, our statute at 49 U.S.C. §30122 provides that a manufacturer, distributor, dealer, or vehicle repair business may not knowingly "make inoperative" any device or element of design installed on or in a motor vehicle in accordance with any FMVSS. The polycarbonate glazing material could only be installed by the aforementioned entities if it meets the performance and location requirements of FMVSS No. 205.

    Manufacturers of motor vehicle equipment, such as the glazing you describe, also have responsibilities under our statute for any defects related to motor vehicle safety that are determined to exist in their products. The statute requires such manufacturers to notify purchasers about any defects related to motor vehicle safety and to remedy such defects free of charge.

    In closing, I would like to draw your attention to FMVSS No. 201, Occupant Protection in Interior Impact, which applies to "....multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, and buses, with a GVWR or 4,536 kilograms or less." You should carefully review this standard to determine whether installation of the electronic equipment and touchpad in vehicles subject to FMVSS No. 201 would affect a vehicle's compliance with the standard. While NHTSA has not issued any FMVSSs establishing performance standards directly applicable to an electronic touchpad, the "make inoperative" provision of our statute (§30122) prohibits a manufacturer, distributor, dealer, or vehicle repair business from installing the equipment if the installation would adversely affect the compliance of any FMVSS, including FMVSS No. 201.

    For your further information, I am enclosing a fact sheet we prepared entitled Information for New Manufacturers of Motor Vehicle and Motor Vehicle Equipment, and Where to Obtain NHTSA's Safety Standards and Regulations.

    I hope this information is helpful. If you have any questions or need additional information, feel free to contact Nancy Bell of my staff at (202) 366-2992.

    Sincerely,

    Frank Seales Jr.
    Chief Counsel

    cc:  Charles Klerner
          2 Enclosures

    ref:205
    d.9/25/00

    1. Our statute, formerly the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, was recodified in 1994 without substantive change. It is now codified at Title 49 of the U.S. Code in Chapter 301, Motor Vehicle Safety.)