Interpretation ID: aiam4163
Operations Manager
Durnell Engineering
Inc.
Highway 4 South
Emmetsburg
IA 50536;
Dear Mr. Mileham: Thank you for your letter of September 18, 1985, regarding th trailer-mounted aerial personnel left or 'cherry picker' which your company manufactures. I regret the delay in responding to your letter.; You ask whether a vehicle identification number (VIN) is required o these trailers. You state that the sole purpose of the trailer is to take the aerial lift to and from a job site and estimate that the trailer will not spend more than 10% to 15% of its time traveling on the highway.; The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act provides tha vehicles which fall within the statutory definition of the term 'motor vehicle' must comply with applicable safety standards. That definition includes vehicles 'manufactured primarily for use on the public streets, roads, and highways.' (15 U.S.C. 1391(3)). The agency has taken the position that this definition does not encompass mobile construction equipment which uses the highways only to move between job sites, whose job sites are normally located off the public roads, 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, not the primary purpose for which the vehicle is manufactured.; The information in the brochure enclosed with your letter indicate that the job site of your cherry picker is typically in the streets, not off the road. Based on that information, it appears that your cherry picker may spend virtually its entire operating life on public roads. When a vehicle frequently uses the highway going to and from job sites, and its job site is frequently on the road, the agency's position is that the vehicle is a 'motor vehicle.' Therefore, these trailers are required to comply with Standard No. 115, *Vehicle Identification Number-- Basic Requirements*, and other standards applicable to trailers.; You also ask in your letter if these trailers could be considered th same as mobile air compressors, mobile cement mixers, or mobile generators, which the state of Iowa apparently licenses as 'Special Mobile Equipment,' not requiring a VIN. Whether a state requires a VIN on your trailer lifts, for purposes of licensing or registration, is not determinative of Federal regulatory questions. This agency has taken the position that mobile cement mixers, for example, are motor vehicles because of their use of the public roadways in traveling from job site to job site and their typically short time at any particular site. Therefore, they must comply with Standard No. 115 as well as other Federal motor vehicle safety standards.; I hope this information is helpful to you. Sincerely, Erika Z. Jones, Chief Counsel