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Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards – Background, Brief Overview of Important Standards and Applicability

  • By: Staff Editor
  • Date: August 08, 2010
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Background

The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act came into force on September 9, 1966. The purpose of the Act was to reduce traffic accidents, and deaths and injuries resulting from traffic accidents. The law directed the U.S. Secretary of Transportation to formulate and enforce the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSSs). These were to act as the standards to which manufacturers of motor vehicles and items of motor vehicle equipment must conform and certify compliance.

The FMVSS are defined as the:

 “…minimum standard for motor vehicle performance, or motor vehicle equipment performance, which is practicable, which meets the need for motor vehicle safety, and which provides objective criteria.”

The law further defines motor vehicle safety to mean the performance of motor vehicles or items of motor vehicle equipment in such a manner that:

“…the public is protected against unreasonable risk of accidents occurring as a result of the design, construction, or performance of motor vehicles and is also protected against unreasonable risk of death or injury in the event accidents do occur.”

The Secretary of Transportation delegated the authority to promulgate FMVSS to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which created the first FMVSS in 1967 and made them effective for vehicles manufactured on or after January 1, 1968, for sale or use in the United States. The NHTSA has since created many additional FMVSS and updated or amended nearly all of them. A few have even been rescinded. The FMVSSs, along with other NHTSA regulations, are incorporated into Chapter 5 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations.


Brief Overview of Important Standards

 

Title Applicability Purpose
STANDARD NO. 101 “Controls and Displays” Passenger Cars, Multipurpose Passenger Vehicles, Trucks, and Buses  
STANDARD NO. 104 “Windshield Wiping and Washing Systems” Passenger Cars, Multipurpose Passenger Vehicles, Trucks, and Buses
 
 
STANDARD NO. 105 “Hydraulic Brake Systems” Passenger Cars, Multipurpose Passenger Vehicles, Trucks, and Buses Equipped with Hydraulic Service Brake Systems  
STANDARD NO. 108 “Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment” Passenger Cars, Multipurpose Passenger Vehicles, Trucks, Buses, Trailers, and Motorcycles, and Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment for Replacement  
STANDARD NO. 109 “New Pneumatic Tires” Passenger cars  
STANDARD NO. 111 “Rearview Mirrors” Passenger Cars, Multipurpose Passenger Vehicles, Trucks, Buses, School Buses, and Motorcycles  
STANDARD NO. 121 “Air Brake Systems” Trucks, Buses, and Trailers Equipped with Air Brake Systems  
STANDARD NO. 122 “Motorcycle Brake Systems” Motorcycles  
STANDARD NO. 135 “Passenger Car Brake Systems” Passenger Cars Manufactured On or After September 1, 2000  
STANDARD NO. 208 “Occupant Crash Protection” Passenger Cars, Multipurpose Passenger Vehicles, Trucks, Buses, Pressure Vessels, and Explosive Devices  
STANDARD NO. 213 “Child Restraint Systems” Items of Motor Vehicle Equipment
 
 
STANDARD NO. 218 “Motorcycle Helmets” Items of Motor Vehicle Equipment  

 

Additional Resources:

 

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