Search Interpretations

Interpretation ID: GF004373

    Kelly A. Freeman, Esq.
    Assistant General Counsel
    Quantum Value Management, LLC
    33 Bloomfield Hills Parkway, Suite 240
    Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304


    Dear Ms. Freeman:

    This responds to your June 18, 2004, letter regarding a number of products assembled by subsidaries of your company. You believe that these products would not be classified as "motor vehicles" for the purposes of the Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS). As explained below, based on the information you provided, it is our opinion that two of the products are not motor vehicles for the purposes of our regulations. We are not taking a specific position with respect to the other products, but will identify the relevant factors that should be considered in making such determinations.

    Title 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301 authorizes the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to prescribe Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSSs) applicable to new motor vehicles and new items of motor vehicle equipment. Section 30102(a)(6) 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."

    We have issued a number of interpretations of this language. We have stated that vehicles equipped with tracks, agricultural equipment, and other vehicles incapable of highway travel are not motor vehicles. We have also determined that certain vehicles designed and sold solely for off-road use (e.g. , airport runway vehicles and underground mining vehicles) are not motor vehicles, even if they may be operationally capable of highway travel. Finally, we have concluded that items of mobile construction equipment that use the highways only to move between job sites and that typically spend extended periods of time at a single site are not motor vehicles. However, we do consider vehicles that use the public roads on a necessary and recurring basis to be motor vehicles.

    You asked about the following products:

    • Three Manitex Boom Truck models of various tonnage (models 2601C, 2201 and 3500);
    • One Manitex SkyCrane, LLC Remote, Telescoping Aerial Service Platform and Crane (Skyhoist model RTA120X);
    • One Manitex SkyCrane, LLC (f/k/a Phoenix) Arial Crane;
    • One Manitex SkyCrane, LLC Sponco Arial Ladder;
    • One Noble Construction Equipment Rough Terrain Lift Truck;
    • One Noble Construction Equipment Pull Scraper (model 417B); and,
    • One Noble Construction Equipment Mobile Water Truck.

    It is our opinion that two of the products, the Rough Terrain Lift Truck, and the Pull Scraper, are not motor vehicles. According to your letter, the Rough Terrain Lift Truck is designed to lift items such as brick, beams, building materials in uneven and rough surfaces, such as on construction sites where land has not been leveled. The Pull Scraper is used to clear and/or move earth on a large scale at a construction site. You also indicated that these products are transported to the job site and are not used on the public roads, even for relocation to a new work site. These products are not manufactured for use on the highways and are therefore not motor vehicles.

    The other products appear to be ordinary heavy-duty trucks equipped with special apparatus. You indicated that these products are manufactured mainly for the construction industry and that although capable of being driven on public roads, such use is incidental and is for the purpose of moving the equipment from one worksite to another. You also stated that these products are typically left at a construction site for an extended period of time.

    You further explained:

    The boom trucks, telescoping aerial cranes and aerial ladders have outriggers that slide out horizontally and extend laterally from each side of the bed to stabilize the truck while the boom, crane or ladder (as the case may be) are in operation. They are manufactured for heavy-duty lifting and operation. The aerial platform and crane is a hydraulic crane with the capability of holding three people on its platform combined with heavy duty load-lifting. The boom trucks and aerial cranes are often used to lift large loads of brick, building trusses, steel beams, large signage, billboards and construction equipment, among other uses. . . . The water truck is used to decrease dust and assist in settling the earth, often following in the tracks of the pull scraper.

    You also enclosed copies of a number of brochures.

    We note that, as discussed in two enclosed letters, a March 21, 2001 letter to LeAnn Johnson-Koch, Esq. , and an October 20, 2003 letter to Michael Ogle, our current interpretations regarding mobile construction equipment are based on a court decision in 1978. Subsequent legal developments make the holding of that court decision open for reassessment. Moreover, some mobile construction equipment may be using the public roads with greater frequency than the equipment the court decided were not motor vehicles subject to our jurisdiction. At some point in the future, we may revisit the issue of whether certain mobile construction equipment should be considered motor vehicles. However, if we were to take such action, we would announce it publicly, and address such issues as what standards should apply to the vehicles and what effective date is appropriate.

    As indicated earlier, your products (other than the Rough Terrain Lift Truck, and the Pull Scraper) appear to be ordinary heavy-duty trucks equipped with special apparatus. Moreover, in view of the apparatus and their potential common uses, it appears that some of the products might travel to and from different short-term jobs. This would be different than the mobile construction equipment that has generally been the subject of our previous interpretations, which would commonly be used for extended periods at construction sites. We do not have detailed information concerning the specific usage patterns of each of the products you ask about. Moreover, while we seek to be helpful in providing opinions about our statutes, we do not have the resources to provide a detailed review of the products of each company. We would think, however, that some of these items may be motor vehicles.

    I hope you find this information helpful. If you have any other questions please contact Mr. George Feygin at (202) 366-2992.

    Sincerely,

    Jacqueline Glassman
    Chief Counsel

    Enclosures
    ref:571
    d.8/16/04