Interpretation ID: 17691.wkm

Mr. Fred Peltz
Peltz Manufacturing, Inc.
217 West Street
Post Office Box 301
St. Martin, MN 56376

Dear Mr. Peltz:

This responds to your letter of March 26, 1998, to this office and refers to your telephone conversation with Walter Myers of my staff on April 7, 1998. You stated that your company manufactures recycling equipment and you inquired whether the antilock brake system (ABS) requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (Standard) No. 121, Air brake systems (49 Code of Federal Regulations 571.121) applies to such equipment. You attached a promotional brochure depicting your equipment which you have named Rotochopper. As discussed below, your Rotochopper would not be considered a motor vehicle and would therefore not be subject to the Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS).

You stated that you contract with a company to manufacture axles for your recycling equipment. That company has stated that it can no longer supply such axles without being equipped with ABS unless you have a letter from this agency stating that you are excluded from such requirement. You stated that these axles are installed on your recycling equipment as a base and as a mode of transporting the equipment from your factory to the customer and occasionally from job site to job site. The equipment is designed to spend extended periods of time at off-road job sites and is not intended to be moved around on public highways.

Chapter 301 of Title 49, U. S. Code , which is the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's authority to establish FMVSSs, defines "motor vehicle" as:

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

49 U.S. Code 30102(a)(6).

In analyzing the information you provided, including the brochure, it is our opinion that your Rotochopper is not a motor vehicle within the statutory definition. It is primarily designed to be used off-road and although capable of being transported on-road from the factory to the customer and occasionally thereafter from one job site to another, its on-road use is only incidental and not the primary purpose for which the equipment was manufactured. This is in contrast to instances in which vehicles such as dump trucks frequently use the public roads and highways going to and from off-road job sites, but stay there for only a limited time. Such vehicles are considered motor vehicles for purposes of the Safety Act, since their on-road use is more than "incidental."

In summary, your Rotochopper, not meeting the statutory definition of a "motor vehicle," is not required to comply with the FMVSSs, and in particular, the ABS requirements of Standard No. 121.

I hope this information is helpful to you. Should you have any further questions or need additional information, feel free to contact Mr. Myers at this address or at (202) 366-2992, fax (202) 366-3820.

Sincerely,
Frank Seales, Jr.
Chief Counsel
ref:121#VSA
d.7/23/98