Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) Guide

Federal Automotive Safety Standards (FMVSS) is a federal regulation that specifies the design, structure, performance, and durability requirements of automobiles, as well as regulated vehicle safety related components, systems, and design functions. They are US counterparts of United Nations regulations developed by the World Automobile Adjustment Rule Forum and are recognized to varying degrees by most countries except the United States. In Canada there is a similar regulation scheme called Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (CMVSS). It has content and structure that is massive but not completely overlapped with FMVSS. Since the requirements of FMVSS / CMVSS are very different from the international requirements of the United Nations, it is difficult or impossible to personally import foreign cars which originally did not meet the specifications of North America.

The highest level of safety performance and results can be achieved with automobiles manufactured in accordance with equivalent European regulations for Federal Automotive Safety Standards (FMVSS) and European Economic Commission (ECE) standards. If the manufacturer establishes applicable FMVSS or ECE standards, it should be able to sell products on a global scale. This is intended to be consistent with the dynamism of the EU to pursue standards worldwide on behalf of the automotive industry and is not intended to replace ECE safety standards. Indeed, as mentioned above, countries are encouraged to accept cars certified by FMVSS and ECE regulations.

All of these safety standards and the like are summarized in the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) and are incorporated in Chapter 301 of Chapter 49 of the US Act. These functions can be used as a list of design requirements, structural requirements, and performance requirements that all vehicles traveling on the US road must meet. Safety standards are part of the broader traffic safety system formulated from the late 1960s to the 1970s. The Federal Department of Transportation (USDOT) was established in 1966, its safety became one of its main duties, the National Traffic Safety Commission quickly followed the investigation of private transportation in 1967, and in 1970 National Highway Traffic Safety authority (NHTSA) was established. The task is to develop and run FMVSS and investigate traffic accidents