Interpretation ID: 20504.ztv
Mr. Don Thompson
Traffic Manager
Al-Jon, Inc.
14599 2nd Avenue
Ottumwa, IA 52501-9281
Dear Mr. Thompson:
This is in reply to your letters of August 11 and August 12, 1999, regarding the Al-Jon Impact 5 Car Crusher and Al-Jon 400 Baler. Transport Canada has informed you that these vehicles are trailers, must comply with the Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for trailers, and must demonstrate compliance before they can be imported into Canada.
You explained to Taylor Vinson of this Office on August 16 that, until recently, Al-Jon has had no problems exporting its car crusher and baler to Canada without the need to comply with Canadian standards. As Mr. Vinson explained to you, Canada is free to adopt whatever regulatory posture it deems appropriate regarding these vehicles, and is not bound by our views in this matter.
However, we will discuss the status of these vehicles under the laws that we administer. You state that these vehicles are "car crushers" and "balers," and not "trailers." We have no definitions for "car crushers" and "balers." The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration regulates "motor vehicles." In part, a "motor vehicle" is statutorily defined as "a vehicle driven or drawn by mechanical power and manufactured primarily for use on the public streets, roads, and highways." (49 U.S.C. 30102(a)(6)). A "trailer" is defined as a "motor vehicle with or without motive power, designed for carrying persons or property and for being drawn by another motor vehicle."
The type of equipment you produce is not easily categorized under our statutory definition of "motor vehicle." On the one hand, you state that your car crusher was made portable "to allow the scrap dealer to go on location" to crush discarded cars, and that the baler is also portable. Your literature also calls your car crusher "road legal." Both items of equipment therefore appear to be designed to be used on the highways, in the sense of being drawn by another vehicle while moving from site to site. On the other hand, the items of equipment perform their functions off the public roads.
Whether we would consider your equipment to be motor vehicles depends on their use. For example, we interpret our statutory definition not to 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. In contrast are instances where vehicles, such as dump trucks, frequently use the highway going to and from job sites, and stay at a job site for only a limited time. Such vehicles are considered motor vehicles for purposes of the statute we administer, since the on-highway use is more than "incidental."
Similarly, if your items of equipment typically spend extended periods at a job site, and only use the public roads infrequently to move between job sites, we would not consider them to be motor vehicles under our statute. We would instead consider the use of your devices on the public roads to be incidental and not their primary purpose. However, if your items of equipment used the roads more than on an incidental basis, they would be considered motor vehicles and subject to our standards that apply to trailers.
We note that our interpretation of the statutory definition of motor vehicle is partly based on judicial decisions. In the past, we interpreted the term more broadly.
Recently, Transport Canada informed us that the Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Act, in pertinent part, defines "motor vehicle" as "any vehicle that is capable of being driven or drawn on roads by any means other than muscular power exclusively. . . ." This definition differs from ours in that it applies to all trailers, not just those manufactured primarily for use on the public roads. This statutory difference in definitions explains why Canada may regulate vehicles under its law that we do not regulate under our Federal motor vehicle safety law.
You may phone Taylor Vinson again if you have questions (202-366-5263).
Sincerely,
Frank Seales, Jr.
Chief Counsel
ref:571
d.11/5/99