Interpretation ID: 17895-1.pja

Mr. Mike Crabb
President
Diamond Trailer
Rt. 9, Box 1440
Mt. Pleasant, TX 75455

Dear Mr Crabb:

This responds to your letter requesting an interpretation on whether the line of dump body trailers your company manufactures would be excluded from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) rear impact protection (underride guard) regulations. We apologize for the delay in responding.

Your letter and the sales literature you enclosed refers to one trailer in your line that has a gross vehicle weight rating of over 10,000 pounds, Model 22WFD-L14. This trailer has a dump box on the back, which when dumping is hoisted up at the front by hydraulic lifts located under the box. You believe that this trailer would be classified as a special purpose vehicle. You state that installing an underride guard would make this trailer useless. As explained below, no exclusions apply to this trailer.

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 224, Rear impact protection, requires most trailers and semitrailers weighing over 10,000 pounds to be fitted at the rear with a rear impact (underride) guard meeting the requirements of Standard No. 223, Rear impact guards (49 CFR 571.223 and 571.224, published on January 24, 1996 at 61 FR 2004). However, certain kinds of vehicles are excluded. One of these exclusions is for special purpose vehicles, which is defined in S4 of Standard No. 224 as "a trailer or semitrailer having work-performing equipment that, while the vehicle is in transit, resides in or moves through the area that could be occupied by the horizontal member of the rear underride guard, as defined by S5.1.1 through S5.1.3." NHTSA has interpreted this area to be anywhere under the vehicle, within 305 mm (one foot) forward of the rear of the vehicle.

The literature you enclosed shows only a partial view of the rear of your trailer. Based on that view and on the statement in you letter that the trailer "does not meet the 22 [inch] requirement," it does not appear that any part of your trailer would reside in the area that could be occupied by the rear underride guard, while the vehicle is in transit. If there is something there, it would have to be work-performing equipment in order for the vehicle to be considered a special purpose vehicle. NHTSA has interpreted the words "work-performing" to mean that the equipment must actively perform its function, and that the function must involve exerting force or moving something else. Unless you have work performing equipment there that meets that description, the vehicle does not meet the definition of a special purpose vehicle.

Since your trailer is not in an excluded category, it would have to be equipped with an underride guard meeting our standards. We cannot provide specific guidance on how your trailer might be redesigned to accommodate a guard. We note, however, that other manufacturers of tilt bed trailers have told us that they have found engineering solutions that would meet the requirements of the standard without compromising the function of their vehicles. Some of them are using guard designs that deploy when in the lowered configuration and automatically retract when in the tilted configuration. Perhaps this solution would work for you. We emphasize that you, as the manufacturer of the vehicle, are responsible for the vehicle's compliance.

The agency would consider a petition for temporary exemption from Standard No. 224. Under one of our regulations (49 CFR Part 555), vehicle manufacturers may apply for a temporary exemption from the Federal motor vehicle safety standards. Under Sec. 555.6(a), a manufacturer whose yearly production is not more than 10,000 units may ask for an exemption of up to three years on the basis that compliance would cause it substantial economic hardship and that it has attempted in good faith to comply with the standard from which it has asked to be excused. We have enclosed a copy of Part 555 for your information. We have also enclosed a copy of our regulations relating to the protection of confidential business information. Most of the trailer manufacturers submitting petitions for temporary exemption have requested that their financial information remain confidential.

Please note Part 555 requires the agency to publish a notice in the Federal Register seeking public comment on each exemption petition before a decision can be made on such a request, and then publish a second notice either granting or denying the petition. This process normally takes three to four months from the date of submittal.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact Paul Atelsek of my staff at this address or by telephone at (202) 366-2992.

Sincerely,
Frank Seales, Jr.
Chief Counsel
Enclosures: Parts 555, 512
ref:224
d.3/11/99