FEDERAL: Sportworks has designed our transit racks and mounting brackets for transit vehicles to satisfy the requirements of the U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS, No. 108 (FMVSS 108). FMVSS 108 covers vehicle lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment, as they pertain to new motor vehicles and new motor vehicle equipment. In 2008, Sportworks submitted several questions to NHTSA (National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration) in an attempt to clarify FMVSS (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard) 108 as it pertains to bicycle racks on transit buses. These interpretive efforts clarified three important things:
1) NHTSA stated that bicycles in racks are temporary loads and not subject to NHTSA requirements:
“1. Neither bicycles, passengers, nor other temporary loads carried by a motor vehicle constitute “motor vehicle equipment” as that term is used in 49 U.S.C. § 30102(a)(7) and the NHTSA regulatory scheme.”
2) NHTSA stated that presence of a rack in and of itself does not violate FMVSS 108, as long as lighting requirements could be met with the rack in place:
“it would not be a violation of 49 U.S.C. §30122 for a manufacturer, distributor, dealer, or motor vehicle repair business to install a bicycle rack in a way that, when used, does not render required lamps or reflectors, or any other item required by a Federal motor vehicle safety standard, inoperative.”
“You state in your current letter that “Sportworks’ racks have many installation configurations, and they are intended to be selected and installed by the manufacturer or operator so that the rack itself does not render any devices inoperative.” If this is so, and your client’s bicycle rack were installed so that a bicycle can be placed on it in such a way that, with or without a bike placed on it in the normally anticipated position, the rack and the bike do not block a required lamp, then installation of the rack would not violate the make inoperative provision.”
3) NHTSA stated that bicycle racks installed by transit agencies and other end users are not subject to FMVSS 108, and instead subject to state law:
“Your understanding is correct that the “make inoperative” provision of §30122 would not apply to a vehicle owner, such as a transit agency, that installs the bicycle rack in its own buses in its own repair and maintenance facility. However, please see our answer to question 5 for a more expansive discussion of §30122. In addition, there may be applicable Federal or State operational requirements relating to transit buses.”
STATE: We have found that some states have adopted FMVSS 108 verbatim into state law to apply to vehicle operation within the state, while others have not. Sportworks does not know which states may have augmented or deleted any portions of FMVSS 108 as adopted into state law. To our knowledge only one state, Pennsylvania, has passed legislation specifically addressing bicycle racks on the front of transit buses with regard to lighting. This legislation, Pennsylvania Vehicle Code Title 75 section 4303 a) states:
Head Lamps – “Every vehicle, except trailers, operated on a highway shall be equipped with a head lamp system in conformance with regulations of the department. The regulations shall not prohibit a bus from being equipped with devices used to carry pedal-cycles on the front of the bus.”
In conclusion, Sportworks designs bicycle racks with many design constraints, both functional and legal, in mind. We are confident our transit rack products, when installed properly, meet federal law. Our intent when configuring a rack is to minimize any effect on installed vehicle safety equipment, including lighting, when the rack is both stowed and loaded with bicycles. Due to the variation of bicycle types and diversity in state law, Sportworks is not in a position to assure, validate or otherwise comment on compliance with state law. Our customers have found that local authorities are amenable to working with transit agencies in resolving any differences of opinion or interpretation of state regulations regarding lighting.