§ 595.8 Modifications by rental companies. ( a ) A rental company that modifies a motor vehicle temporarily in order to rent a covered rental vehicle to a person with a disability to operate, or ride as a passenger in, the motor vehicle is exempted from the “make inoperative” prohibition in 49 U.S.C. 30122 to the extent that those modifications make inoperative any part of a device or element of design installed on or in the motor vehicle in compliance with the Federal motor vehicle safety standards or portions thereof specified in paragraph (d) of this section. Modifications that would make inoperative devices or elements of design installed in compliance with any other Federal motor vehicle safety standards, or portions thereof, are not covered by the exemption in this paragraph (a).
( b ) The exemption described in paragraph (a) of this section extends only for the period during which the covered rental vehicle is rented to a person with a disability and a reasonable period before and after the rental agreement in order to perform and reverse the modification described in paragraph (d) of this section.
( c ) Any rental company that temporarily modifies a motor vehicle to enable a person with a disability to operate, or ride as a passenger in, the motor vehicle in such a manner as to make inoperative any part of a device or element of design installed on or in the motor vehicle in compliance with a Federal motor vehicle safety standard or portion thereof specified in paragraph (d) of this section must affix to the motor vehicle a label of the type and in the manner described in paragraph (e) of this section and must retain documents of the type and in the manner described in paragraph (f) of this section.
( d ) (1) 49 CFR 571.208, in the case of the disablement of a knee bolster air bag to allow the installation of hand controls. ( 2 ) [Reserved]
( e ) The label required by paragraph (c) of this section shall: ( 1 ) Be affixed within the passenger compartment of the vehicle;
( 2 ) Be affixed in a location visible to the driver in a manner that does not obstruct the driver's view while operating the vehicle;
( 3 ) Contain the statement “WARNING—To accommodate installation of hand controls, this rental vehicle has had its knee bolster air bag temporarily disabled;” and,
( 4 ) Be removed when the modifications described in paragraph (d) of this section are reversed.
( f ) The retained documents required by paragraph (c) of this section shall: ( 1 ) Contain the name and physical address of the rental company and any entity making or reversing the temporary modifications on behalf of the rental company;
( 2 ) Be kept in original or photocopied paper form, or retained electronically, by the rental company for a period of not less than five years after the conclusion of the rental agreement for which the modification is made;
( 3 ) Be clearly identifiable as to the vehicle that has been modified; and
( 4 ) Identify the devices or elements of design installed on or in a motor vehicle in compliance with a Federal motor vehicle safety standard made inoperative by the rental company.
(Authority: 49 U.S.C. 322, 30111, 30115, 30117, 30122 and 30166; delegation of authority at 49 CFR 1.95)
[87 FR 14419, Mar. 15, 2022]