NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1971 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 485

SENATE BILL 53

 

 

AN ACT TO REQUIRE BUMPERS ON PRIVATE PASSENGER AUTOMOBILES TO MEET CERTAIN SPECIFICATIONS.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact:

 

Section 1.  Chapter 20 of the General Statutes is amended by inserting a new section to be designated G.S. 20-135.4 to read as follows:

"§ 20-135.4. (a)  Definitions. For the purposes of this act, the term 'private passenger automobile' shall mean a four-wheeled motor vehicle designed principally for carrying passengers, for use on public roads and highways, and not designed for use principally as a dwelling or for camping.

(b)        Warranty on Original Sale and Manufacture of Automobile; Energy Absorption System. Every private passenger automobile manufactured on and after August 1, 1973, upon its original sale in the State of North Carolina, shall be sold subject to the manufacturer's warranty that it is equipped with an appropriate energy absorption system and that, without compromising existing standards of passenger safety, it can be driven directly into a standard Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE J-850) test barrier at a forward speed of five (5) miles per hour and a reverse speed of two and one-half (2 1/2) miles per hour without sustaining any damage to the automobile, exclusive of damage to the bumper itself.

(c)        Exceptions. The manufacturer's warranty provisions of this act shall not be applicable with respect to any private passenger automobile as to which the manufacturer files a written certification under oath with the State Department of Motor Vehicles, on a form to be prescribed by that Department, that the particular make and model described therein complies with the applicable standards of this act."

Sec. 2.  All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this act are hereby repealed.

Sec. 3.  This act shall be effective upon ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 2nd day of June, 1971.