STATE OF OHIO
DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE
451 HIGH STREET
George Voinovich COLUMBUS, OH 43210 Ralph G. Pacheco
Governor Phone (614) 445-8627 Director
FAX (614) 445-3225
BULLETIN NO. 91-92
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DATE: January 7, 1992
TO: All Ohio Insurance Agents
FROM: Ohio Department of Insurance
SUBJECT: Automobile Dimmer Switches
Pursuant to the Ohio Department of Motor Vehicles Act No.
97-12, all motor
vehicles sold in the State of Ohio after February 15, 1992,
will be required
to have the headlight dimmer switch mounted to the
floorboard. The dimmer switch must be mounted in a position
accessible to operation by pressing the switch by the left
foot. The switch must be far enough removed from the left
foot pedals to avoid inadvertent operation or pedal
confusion.
Included in the
above act and beginning June 1, 1992, all other vehicles
with steering column mounted dimmer switches must be
retrofitted with a
floorboard mounted dimmer switch of the type described
above. The steering column mounted dimmer switch must be
disabled or removed from the vehicle. Vehicles which have
not made this change will fail the forthcoming Ohio Safety
Inspection program which will begin on this date.
It is
recognized that this will cause some hardship for the
driving public.
However, this change is being made in the interest of public
safety. Ohio
DMV Act 92-13 will revert all Ohio motor vehicles to the
prevalent dimmer
system in use prior to the influx of foreign market
vehicles. A recent
study entitled the "Inflation Sequence in Ohio Night-time
Highway Traffic
Accidents" was conducted jointly by the Ohio Department of
Motor Vehicles
and the Ohio Department of Motor Vehicle Research. It has
shown that
96% of all Ohio night time highway accidents are caused by a
blonde getting her foot caught in the steering wheel........ |
