Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Platform Lifts for Motor Vehicles, Platform Lift Installations in Motor Vehicles

This document responds to petitions for reconsideration of the December 2002 final rule that established two new Federal motor vehicle safety standards, one for platform lifts and one for vehicles equipped with such lifts. The purpose of these standards is to prevent injuries and fatalities during lift operation. The agency received several petitions for reconsideration of the December 2002 final rule from platform lift manufacturers, vehicle manufacturers, and a transportation safety research organization. In response to these petitions, the agency is clarifying the applicability of the standards. This document also amends the definitions of certain operational functions, the requirements for lift lighting on public lifts, the interlock requirements, compliance procedures for lifts that manually deploy/stow, the environmental resistance requirements, the edge guard requirements, the wheelchair test device specifications, and the location requirements for public lift controls.