RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC -- Larry Henneberger, partner at the law firm of Arent Fox in Washington, D.C., was awarded the first ever Henneberger Lifetime Achievement Award by the Transportation Safety Equipment Institute (TSEI) at its Spring Meeting in Tucson, AZ. TSEI is a product line group of the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association.

“Larry has devoted an extraordinary amount of his professional lifetime to TSEI, its members and the industry it serves,” said Dominic Grote, TSEI chairman and vice president, Grote Industries Inc. “This award shows TSEI’s appreciation to Larry and Arent Fox for the time and energy he has devoted to advancing the interests of the commercial vehicular industry’s lighting and safety products.”

Henneberger has been the Counsel of TSEI since 1969, leaving a long and impressive list of accomplishments in his place. Among many other initiatives, Henneberger has personally assisted TSEI in each the following successes:

• Pursued congressional repeal of federal excise tax on members' products in the 1960’s.

• Initiated, shaped and modified Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) 108, 111 and 125 as these federal safety standards apply to members' products.

• Brought successful litigation in several states to confirm the preeminence of the FMVSS self-certification process over state equipment approval programs in the mid to late 1970’s.

• Opposed attempted application of state approval programs to non-federally regulated emergency lighting products in the 1980’s.

• Petitioned NHTSA to pursue a $425,000 civil penalty court action against an importer of non-complaint lighting products.

• Continuous liaison with NHTSA for periodic meetings on non-compliance enforcement activities and agency staff visitations to the "AAPEX" Show and TSEI member company manufacturing facilities.

• Enlisted strong congressional and allied association support of TSEI opposition to NHTSA proposal to eliminate FVMSS 125, which resulted in the agency's retention of Standard 125.

• Actively supported vehicle parts industry efforts to secure passage of federal Trademark Anti-Counterfeiting Act.

• Persuaded the Federal Highway Administration to adopt TSEI Task Force proposals to amend Motor Carrier Safety Regulations to reconcile lighting, mirror and emergency products provisions with the corresponding FMVSS requirements.

• Maintained close coordination with Congress and NHTSA to encourage the agency’s active and continuous enforcement of Standards 108 and 125 against importers of noncompliant lighting and triangle products. Two recent results of these efforts were the $600,000 civil penalty levied by NHTSA on an importer of noncompliant lighting and an agency recall announcement concerning noncompliant warning triangles.

• Leading industry role in supporting NHTSA efforts to rewrite Standard 108 so that it is more user-friendly.

“These successes over the past 40 years have saved TSEI member’s significant burdens in meeting state and federal regulations while simultaneously enhancing the safety of the motoring public,” Grote noted.

This event marks the first Henneberger Lifetime Achievement award given by TSEI, which will not be presented every year, according to Grote, but “based on the merit and character of its namesake.”

“This award was established to recognize truly outstanding contributions to the commercial vehicle safety industry. It has not been, and will not be, presented annually or at regular intervals, but awarded only when a deserving recipient is recognized,” he said.