Interpretation ID: 18811.DRN

Mr. Chun Jo
102 Paladin Place
Cary, NC 27513

Dear Mr. Jo:

This responds to your request for an interpretation whether Hyundai mobile construction cranes you wish to import into the United States are "motor vehicles". I regret the delay in this response. This letter confirms that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) does not consider the mobile construction cranes to be "motor vehicles."

You have enclosed photographs of the cranes, Hyundai Hydraulic Truck Crane Operator's manuals (for a 25 ton and for a 50 ton crane), other Hyundai materials describing the cranes and a Mitsubishi Motors Crane Carrier Owner's Handbook.

By way of background information, NHTSA interprets and enforces the laws under which the Federal motor vehicle safety standards are promulgated. NHTSA's statute at 49 U.S.C. Section 30102(a)(6) defines the term "motor vehicle" as follows:

"a vehicle driven or drawn by mechanical power manufactured primarily for use on public streets, roads, and highways, but does not include a vehicle operated only on a rail line."

In the past, we have concluded that this statutory definition does not encompass mobile construction equipment, such as cranes and scrapers, which use the highway only to move between job sites and which typically spend extended periods of time at a single job site. In such cases, the on-highway use of the vehicle is merely incidental and is not the primary purpose for which the vehicle was manufactured.

We have carefully reviewed the photographs and other information you have provided. It is clear that the equipment you wish to import are mobile cranes and therefore are not "motor vehicles" within the meaning of NHTSA's statutory definition. Since construction equipment such as mobile cranes are not motor vehicles, they would not be subject to the Federal motor vehicle safety standards.

Please note that since a State may require an off-road vehicle to be registered, you may wish to contact the Department of Motor Vehicles in any state in which your products will be sold or used about requirements for the use of the vehicles.

I hope this information is helpful. I am returning the materials describing the mobile cranes (except the photographs) back to you under separate cover. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact Dorothy Nakama of my staff at this address or by telephone at (202) 366-2992.

Sincerely,
Frank Seales, Jr.
Chief Counsel
ref:VSA
d.3/11/99