Interpretation ID: nht89-2.57

TYPE: INTERPRETATION-NHTSA

DATE: 08/07/89

FROM: STEPHEN P. WOOD -- NHTSA ACTING CHIEF COUNSEL

TO: CLIFFORD ANGLEWICZ -- VICE PRESIDENT MARKETING VERNE CORPORATION

TITLE: NONE

ATTACHMT: LETTER DATED 10/18/88 FROM ERIKA Z. JONES -- NHTSA TO RAYMOND M. MOMBOISSE -- IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE; LETTER FROM CLIFFORD T. ANGLEWICZ -- VERNE CORP TO NHTSA DATED 09/07/88; OCC 2529

TEXT: Dear Mr. Anglewicz:

This is in reply to your letter regarding the Dragon Armored Security Vehicle (ASV), as amplified by a telephone call to you by Mr. Vinson of this Office. The ASV that your company produces is presently used "by the U.S. Armed Forces". You are now consid ering the possibility of selling the ASV "to police departments, U.S. Border Patrol, Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Customs Service to use as a special purpose rescue and utility vehicle", and have asked "to know the procedure for getting t his vehicle classified as a special purpose vehicle."

As Mr. Vinson explained to you, we have no category of "special purpose vehicle". If a vehicle is manufactured primarily for use on the public streets, roads, and highways, it is a "motor vehicle" subject to the jurisdiction of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act. This means that it must comply with all Federal motor vehicle safety standards applicable to its type and be certified as conforming to those standards, and that it is subject to remedial action upon the determination that it d oes not comply with one of those standards or that it contains a safety related defect. If the vehicle is a motor vehicle that has been manufactured for and sold directly to the armed forces in conformity with contractual specifications, it is not requi red to conform to the Federal motor vehicle safety standards. If a motor vehicle is one that is designed to carry 10 persons or less which is constructed either on a truck chassis, or with special features for occasional off-road operation, it is classi fied as a "multipurpose passenger vehicle". A motor vehicle designed for carrying more than 10 persons is classified as a "bus".

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This means that the ASVs sold to the armed forces have not been required to conform to the Federal standards. As Mr. Vinson further explained to you, we provided the Border Patrol with a letter of interpretation under which we concluded that its mission was so similar to that of the armed forces that it could be considered a component of it, and that the "Hummer" vehicle it wished to purchase in fulfilment of that mission need not be manufactured to meet Federal safety standards. I enclose a copy of t hat letter for your information. The ASV appears similar to the Hummer in configuration. Therefore, on the basis of the facts as presented in your letter, ASV's could be sold to the Border Patrol without the necessity of conformance with the Federal mot or vehicle safety standards. On the other hand, we have not been contacted by the Drug Enforcement Administration or the U.S. Customs Service, nor by any police department. In the absence of any interpretation issued in response to these entities, ASVs sold to them must be manufactured to conform with the Federal motor vehicle safety standards. Technically, the 11 and 12 passenger versions of the ASV would be "buses", but the overall configuration of the ASV, with its high approach and departure angl es, its capability of amphibious operation with special equipment, and its suitability for use on rough terrain support its classification as a "multipurpose passenger vehicle" for all passenger configurations.

Obviously, the ASV is not a conventional motor vehicle subject to easy classification or, possibly, conformity with multipurpose passenger vehicle standards (e.g., we understand it uses a military specification brake fluid rather than DOT-3). Because of the facts that your annual production is around 60 units, and that your sales are not to the general public, you might wish to petition for temporary exemption from one or more of the Federal safety standards. If the petition is granted, you would be a ble to sell the ASV to entities other than the armed forces without conforming it to the Federal standards. Mr. Vinson has provided you with the citations to the Federal standards and to the exemption procedures, and you may consult him if you have any questions with respect to them (202-366-5263).

Sincerely,

ENCLOSURE