Marvin Mandel, Governor                          1327

12-416.

(A) IT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS SECTION TO PROVIDE
ADDITIONAL SAFETY STANDARDS FOR PRIVATE PASSEN-
GER AUTOMOBILES, NOT ONLY TO AFFORD ADDITIONAL
PROTECTION FOR PASSENGERS THEREIN, BUT ALSO TO
ELIMINATE DAMAGE TO AN AUTOMOBILE AT A SPECI-
FIED SPEED BY MORE ADEQUATE BUMPER PROTECTION
FOR THE CHASSIS OF THE VEHICLE.

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

(b) (C) Every private passenger automobile manufactured on
and after January 1, 1974, sold and licensed , OR TITLED AND
REGISTERED in the State of Maryland, shall be sold subject to
the manufacturer's warranty that it is equipped with an appro-
priate energy absorption system and that, without compromising
existing standards of passenger safety, it can be driven, both front
and rear, directly into a standard Society of Automotive Engineers
(SAE J-850) test barrier at a speed of five (5) miles per hour
without sustaining any damage to the automobile.

(c) (D) Every private passenger automobile manufactured on
and after January 1, 1976, sold and licensed in the State of Mary-
land, 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, both front and rear, directly into a standard Society
of Automotive Engineers (SAE J-850) test barrier at a speed of
ten (10) miles per hour without sustaining any damage to the auto-

mobile.

(d) (D) The warranty provisions of this act, SECTION, shall
not be applicable with respect to any private passenger automobile as
to which the manufacturer files a written certification under oath
with the Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety, 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 SECTION.

SEC. 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, THAT IF THE
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
SHALL ESTABLISH A UNIFORM FEDERAL STANDARD THAT
IS MORE STRINGENT THAN THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT
FOR AN APPROPRIATE ENERGY ABSORPTION SYSTEM,
THEN THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT SHALL BE SUPER-
SEDED TO THE EXTENT THAT THE UNITED STATES DE-
PARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION'S STANDARD IS MORE
STRINGENT.

SEC. 3. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, THAT IF ANY
PROVISION OF THIS ACT OR THE APPLICATION THEREOF
TO ANY PERSON OR CIRCUMSTANCE IS HELD INVALID
FOR ANY REASON, THE INVALIDITY SHALL NOT AFFECT
THE OTHER PROVISIONS OR ANY OTHER APPLICATION OF