Search Interpretations

Interpretation ID: tractor23131



    Mr. Mark Ireland
    Senior Engineer - Engineering Standards and Legislation
    JCB Research
    Rocester Saffordshire
    England ST 1 4 5JP


    Dear Mr. Ireland:

    This responds to your letter received on May 18, 2001, asking for information about the application of glazing marking requirements to a range of construction, industrial and agricultural equipment. More specifically, you ask whether you should use "uniform/zone Toughened or Laminated glazing in the windshield and other cab areas in your machines and, also, whether glazing requirements change with the design speed of the machine." The following generally discusses:1) the applicability of our laws to your machines, and 2) glazing requirements based on the facts set forth in your letter. However, without specific information on a particular machine, we cannot provide an opinion as to whether our glazing standard is applicable to a particular machine as a "motor vehicle."

    Motor Vehicle

    By way of background information, the National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA) issues and enforces the Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS). NHTSA's statute defines the term "motor vehicle" as follows:

      [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 USC' 30102(a)(6).

    Whether NHTSA considers various pieces of construction, industrial or agricultural equipment to be motor vehicles depends on their use. In the past, we have concluded that this statutory definition does not 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-road use of the equipment is merely incidental and is not the primary purpose for which they were manufactured. Other construction 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, since the on-highway use is more than "incidental."

    Based on the information provided in your letter, we do not have sufficient information about the use of the equipment to determine whether they are motor vehicles. If, however, certain equipment is used frequently on the highways, they would be considered motor vehicles and would be required to comply with all applicable FMVSSs, including that pertaining to glazing as discussed below. If you write us again with more information about a particular vehicle, we would be happy to provide an interpretation as to whether it is a motor vehicle.

    FMVSS No. 205

    FMVSS No. 205, Glazing Materials (49 CFR 571.205), establishes performance, location, certification, and marking requirements for all glazing installed in motor vehicles. The standard incorporates by reference the requirements of Standard ANS Z26, "Safety Code for Safety Glazing Materials for Glazing Motor Vehicles Operating on Land Highways," of the American National Standard Institute (Standard ANS Z26). Standard ANS Z26 specifies performance requirements for various types of glazing (called "items") and specifies the locations in vehicles in which each item of glazing may be used.

    Standard ANS Z26 requires that glazing for windshields must pass a specified group of test requirements. ANS Z26 specifies that glazing materials that comply with these test requirements for windshields must be marked with AS1. To date, the only glazing materials that have been marked with AS1 have been laminated safety glass. Unless the non-laminated glazing material cited in your letter can meet the requirements for AS1 glazing and are marked AS1, they do not comply with the requirements for windshields specified in Standard ANS Z26 or FMVSS No. 205. Finally, you should also be aware that FMVSS No. 205 permits glass-plastic glazing.

    For your further information, I am enclosing a fact sheet we prepared entitled Information for New Manufacturers of Motor Vehicles and Motor Vehicle Equipment, and Where to Obtain NHTSA's Safety Standards and Regulations.

    I hope this information is helpful. If you have any questions or need additional information, feel free to contact Nancy Bell of my staff at (202) 366-2992.

    Sincerely,

    John Womack
    Acting Chief Counsel

    Enclosure
    ref:205
    d.6/26/01