Interpretation ID: 17026.drn

Mr. William Shima
Publicita
1090 W. Pender St., Suite 600
Vancouver, British Columbia V6E 2N7
CANADA

Dear Mr. Shima:

This responds to your January 22, 1998, request for confirmation that this agency's

February 7, 1984, interpretation that the Mercedes-Benz Unimog is not a motor vehicle has not changed. Without information about the Unimog as sold in 1998, I am unable to do so.

As you may be aware, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) interprets and enforces the laws under which the Federal motor vehicle safety standards are promulgated. NHTSA's statute defines "motor vehicle" as follows:

Any vehicle driven or drawn by mechanical power manufactured primarily for use on the public streets, roads, and highways, except any vehicle operated exclusively on a rail or rails.

Whether the agency considers any vehicle to be a motor vehicle depends on its use. Certain types of vehicles are not considered "motor vehicles." These include vehicles 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. Vehicles which frequently use the highway going to and from job sites, and stay at a job site for only a limited time, are "motor vehicles," since the on-highway use is more than "incidental."

The February 1984 interpretation letter was based on the then-existing Unimog, fourteen years ago. NHTSA has no information about the features of the 1998 Unimog, or whether the Unimog has significantly changed since 1984. Therefore, if you wish NHTSA to reexamine whether the Unimog is a motor vehicle, please provide us with information about the Unimog's features, as it is sold in 1998. We would need information about the configuration of the 1998 Unimog, and its top speed. As stated in our February 1984 interpretation letter, we would need to know whether the Unimogs are still marketed principally through farm machinery and heavy equipment dealers, and whether the vehicle would have affixed in the cab a label stating that the Unimog is not manufactured for highway use.

Please note also that any opinion NHTSA provides on the Unimog affects new Unimogs sold in the United States only. Transport Canada would determine whether Unimogs sold in Canada are considered motor vehicles.

I hope this information is helpful. If you have any questions, please contact Dorothy Nakama of my staff at (202) 366-2992.

Sincerely,
John Womack
Acting Chief Counsel
ref:VSA
d.2/27/98