PERMANENT RULES
Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.
Purpose: Provides clarification for frame certification. Removes welding requirements and requires that the builder certify the structural strength of the frame.
Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 204-10-022.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 46.37.005 and 46.37.240.
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 09-15-151 on July 21, 2009.
A final cost-benefit analysis is available by contacting Melissa Van Gorkom, P.O. Box 42600, Olympia, WA 98504-2600, phone (360) 596-4017, fax (360) 596-4015, e-mail WSPRules@wsp.wa.gov.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Date Adopted: August 26, 2009.
John R. Batiste
Chief
OTS-2516.2
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 08-19-079, filed 9/16/08,
effective 10/17/08)
WAC 204-10-022
Body requirements.
(1) Defroster and
defogging devices: Every enclosed motor vehicle must be
equipped with a device capable of defogging and defrosting the
windshield area. Vehicles or exact replicas of vehicles
manufactured prior to January 1938 are exempt from this
requirement.
(2) Door latches: Every enclosed motor vehicle equipped with side doors leading directly into a compartment that contains one or more seating accommodations must be equipped with door latches which firmly and automatically secure the door when pushed closed and which allow each door to be opened both from the inside and outside.
(3) Hoodlatches: A front opening hood must be equipped with a primary and a secondary latching system to hold the hood in a closed position.
Hoods are optional equipment on vehicles defined as street rods and kit vehicles by the Washington state patrol vehicle inspectors.
(4) Enclosed passenger compartment: A motor vehicle with an enclosed passenger compartment and powered by an internal combustion engine must be constructed to prevent the entry of exhaust fumes into the passenger compartment.
(5) Floor pan: A motor vehicle must be equipped with a floor pan under the entire passenger compartment capable of supporting the weight of the number of occupants that the vehicle is designed to carry.
(6) Bumpers: A motor vehicle must be equipped with a bumper on both the front and rear of the vehicle with the exception of motor vehicles where the original or predominant body configuration, provided by a recognized manufacturer, did not include such bumper or bumpers in the design of the vehicle. For the relevant model year, bumpers must accommodate recognized manufacturer impact absorption systems pursuant to applicable SAE Bumper Standards or equivalent standards.
Bumpers are optional equipment on vehicles defined as street rods and kit vehicles by the Washington state patrol vehicle inspectors.
Bumpers, unless specifically exempted above, must:
(a) Be at least four and one-half inches in vertical height.
(b) Be centered on the vehicle's centerline.
(c) Extend no less than the width of the respective wheel track distances.
(d) Be attached to the vehicle in a manner equivalent to the original manufacturer's installation.
(e) Be horizontal load bearing and attach to the vehicle frame to effectively transfer energy when impacted.
(f) Be mounted at a maximum height based on the original gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle, measured from a level surface to the highest point on the bottom of the bumper. For vehicles exempted from the bumper requirement for the reasons stated above, a maximum frame elevation measurement must be made to the bottom of the frame rail. Maximum heights are as follows:
| Front | Back | |
| Passenger Vehicles | 22 Inches | 22 Inches |
| 4,500 lbs. and under GVWR | 24 Inches | 26 Inches |
| 4,501 lbs. to 7,500 lbs. GVWR | 27 Inches | 29 Inches |
| 7,501 lbs. and over GVWR | 28 Inches | 30 Inches |
(g) If an existing bumper from a recognized manufacturer is not used and a special bumper is fabricated, it must be certified as meeting the bumper standards set under 49 CFR 581.
(7) Fenders: All wheels of a motor vehicle must be equipped with fenders designed to cover the entire tire tread width that comes in contact with the road surface. Coverage of the tire tread circumference must be from at least fifteen degrees in front and to at least seventy-five degrees to the rear of the vertical centerline at each wheel measured from the center of the wheel rotation. At no time can the tire come in contact with the body, fender, chassis, or suspension of the vehicle. Street rods and kit vehicles which are more than forty years old and are owned and operated primarily as a collector's item need not be equipped with fenders when the vehicle is used and driven during fair weather on well-maintained, hard-surfaced roads.
(8) Frame: A motor vehicle must be equipped with a
frame. If an existing frame from a recognized manufacturer is
not used and a special frame is fabricated, it must be
constructed of wall box or continuous section tubing, wall
channel, or unitized construction capable of supporting the
vehicle, its load, and the torque produced by the power source
under all conditions of operation. ((All welding on the frame
must be completed by a certified welder and)) The structural
strength of the frame must be certified by ((an engineer)) the
builder as meeting the applicable standards set under 49 CFR
571 Parts 201, 214, 216, and 220 through 224, and the SAE
Standards. Such certification must be made by either:
(a) Certification provided on the vehicle in the form of a label which has been affixed in accordance with FMVSS outlining the portions of the FMVSS which have been met; or
(b) A notarized letter from the builder of the frame outlining the portions of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) which have been met; or
(c) If the vehicle is a kit vehicle, as outlined in RCW 46.12.440, documentation from the manufacturer of the vehicle frame that informs the owner that the frame has not been certified as meeting the applicable federal motor vehicle safety standard set under 49 CFR 571 Parts 201, 214, 216, and 220 through 224, and the applicable SAE Standards.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 46.37.005 and 46.37.320. 08-19-079, § 204-10-022, filed 9/16/08, effective 10/17/08.]