A recently introduced Senate bill reacting to the Ford/Firestone tire recall includes one small provision that could threaten the truck equipment industry, according to the National Truck Equipment Association.
Senate bill S 3059, sponsored by John McCain (R-AZ), contains the phrase "A person may not affix a certification label or tag to a motor vehicle or an item of motor vehicle equipment under this section unless that person has established, through testing or engineering analyses, that the vehicle or equipment complies with all applicable motor vehicle safety standards prescribed under this chapter."
Depending on how one defines engineering analyses, this could mean serious trouble for the entire multistage manufacturing industry, the NTEA says. Under the current system, multistage vehicle manufacturers can certify completed vehicles without testing. They do so by completing those vehicles according to guidelines that the vehicle manufacturer has proved (through testing) will enable the completed vehicle to comply.
This "pass-through" certification process, however, could be jeopardized by S 3059, requiring the final-stage manufacturer to certify vehicles by conducting their own tests. This would open violators to corporate civil penalties as high as $15 million for standard noncompliances and no maximum for willful violations. In addition, new criminal penalties would be enacted, subjecting willful and knowing violators to fines of up to $50,000, 15 years in jail, or both. NTEA urges members to phone, write, or fax their legislators. For a summary of obligations under S 3059, HR 5154, and HR 5164, visit the NTEA web site www.ntea.com and look under "Legislative Issues."