Motor Vehicle Parts Suppliers Submit Petition Asking for Reconsideration of NHTSA Lighting Regulations

January 24, 2008, RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. – The Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA), the Transportation Safety Equipment Institute (TSEI) and the Motor Vehicle Lighting Council (MVLC) jointly submitted a petition asking the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to reconsider certain changes made to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 108, which specifies requirements for motor vehicle lighting.

“MEMA, TSEI and MVLC thank NHTSA for completing the complex task of rewriting the lighting regulations to create a more user-friendly standard, which should lead to increased compliance and enhanced motor vehicle safety,” said Ann Wilson, senior vice president of government affairs for MEMA. “However, there are several areas within the final rule where substantive changes have been made that warrant further action from NHTSA,” she added.

The petition asks NHTSA for reconsideration of several issues that represent a significant departure from the current law and for correction of minor clerical errors and omissions.

The associations are also working closely with the University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute to modernize these regulations with a future performance based standard.

About TSEI

The Transportation Safety Equipment Institute (TSEI) is a non-profit trade association serving the needs of manufacturers of OEM and aftermarket motor-vehicle safety devices and associated equipment. TSEI provides government representation and market research services, monitors proposed and enacted legislation and regulations, and serves as a technical forum to resolve industry problems. TSEI is a product line group of the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA).

About MVLC

The Motor Vehicle Lighting Council is a coalition of the leading global automotive lighting and component manufacturers and related education and research institutions committed to bringing new lighting advancements to market in order to increase vehicle performance as well as vehicle and pedestrian safety. MVLC’s members represent a market segment valued at approximately $2.2 billion and produce nearly 100 percent of the headlamps used for vehicles manufactured and sold in North America. The Council – a product line group of MEMA – supports ongoing research initiatives to improve the understanding of headlight glare and to inform the motoring public on lighting issues and emerging technologies. For more information, visit www.mvlc.info.

About MEMA

MEMA (www.mema.org) represents an industry of more than 8,000 manufacturers of motor vehicle parts, components, technology, tools and related products. MEMA’s members manufacture the products and technology used in the production of more than 12 million cars and trucks in the U.S. annually, as well as the aftermarket products used to repair and maintain the over 214 million vehicles currently on American roads and highways. The automotive and heavy duty supplier industry directly employs over 783,000 American workers in nearly 12,000 plants with an impact on 4.5 million workers in all 50 states and is the largest manufacturing sector in the U.S. MEMA supports its members through its three market segment associations: Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association (AASA), Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association (HDMA) and Original Equipment Suppliers Association (OESA).

Source: MEMA

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