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Interpretation ID: wagar.ztv



    Mr. Terry W. Wagar
    Vehicle Safety Technical Analyst III
    Technical Services Bureau
    Office of Vehicle Safety & Clean Air
    Department of Motor Vehicles
    State of New York
    6 Empire State Plaza
    Albany, NY 12228
    FAX 518-473-9903


    Dear Mr. Wagar:

    This is in reply to your letter of June 18, 2001, to Thomas M. Louizou, NHTSA Regional Administrator, and confirms our telephone discussion of July 27, 2001.

    You have written to us about several aspects of the relationship between State and Federal requirements for low-speed vehicles (LSV). Under Federal law, a "low-speed vehicle" is defined as a "4-wheeled motor vehicle, other than a truck, whose speed attainable in 1.6 km (1 mile) is more than 32 kilometers per hour (20 miles per hour) and not more than 40 kilometers per hour (25 miles per hour) on a paved level surface." A "truck" is a motor vehicle "designed primarily for the transportation of property or special purpose equipment." These definitions are found at 49 CFR 571.3(b). In addition, the enclosed letter of March 8, 2001, to Neil Mardell clarifies that a truck cannot be a LSV. At this time, we do not have sufficient information about the vehicles you describe as "small trucks" to offer an opinion as to whether they meet the Federal description of low speed vehicle or truck.

    A vehicle that meets the definition of "low-speed vehicle" must be manufactured to conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 500, Low-speed vehicles (49 CFR 571.500). You have informed us that "New York State law and regulation recognize the vehicles that have speeds not to exceed 40 MPH as limited use vehicles and must be uniquely registered and operated." There is no conflict here between State and Federal authority. NHTSA has no authority to prescribe conditions for registration and operation of motor vehicles, and with respect to LSVs (as opposed to other types of motor vehicles), New York may adopt and enforce whatever conditions for registration and operation it deems appropriate, including a total prohibition against the use of these vehicles on public roads.

    You relate your initial understanding that "where equipment was addressed under 500, New York State would be preempted and could not have more stringent standards." However, "more recently, the answer from NHTSA has been that low speed vehicles only have to meet a specific seatbelt and windshield glazing requirement." You ask for a clarification.

    Under Federal law (49 U.S.C. 30103(b)(1)), when a Federal motor vehicle safety standard is in effect, a State may prescribe its own standard "applicable to the same aspect of performance . . . only if the standard is identical to the [Federal] standard. . . ." Standard No. 500 requires LSVs to be equipped with a windshield of AS-1 or AS-5 composition, and a Type 1 or Type 2 seat belt assembly conforming to Standard No. 209. These are performance standards, and New York State's windshield glazing and seat belt standards as they apply to low-speed vehicles (i.e., limited use passenger-carrying vehicles with a maximum speed of more than 20 miles per hour but not more than 25 miles per hour) must be identical to those of Standard No. 500.

    Standard No. 500 also requires LSVs to be equipped with certain items of lighting equipment, mirrors, and parking brakes, but it does not specify that these items must comply with Standards Nos. 108, 111, and 135, the Federal standards establishing performance requirements for lighting equipment, mirrors, and parking brakes. The American Association for Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) petitioned for reconsideration of Standard No. 500 and asked that States be allowed to establish their own performance requirements for these equipment items. We agreed, and on September 1, 2000, we published a notice (65 FR 53219), copy enclosed, saying (at 53221) that States "may adopt and apply their own performance requirements for required LSV lighting equipment, mirrors, and parking brakes until we have established performance requirements for those items of equipment." To date we have neither proposed nor established these requirements.

    You mentioned that the GEM LSV appears to have a SAE "Y" symbol on the lens of its headlamp, indicating that the lamp is a driving light. As noted above, NHTSA has not proposed nor established requirements for the headlamp required by Standard No. 500, although we may do so in the future. A lamp with the SAE "Y" symbol on its lens is one that has been manufactured to comply with SAE Standard J581, Auxiliary Driving Lamps. The SAE defines an auxiliarly driving lamp as "a lighting device . . . intended to supplement the upper beam of a standard headlamp system. It is not intended for use alone or with the lower beam of a standard headlamp system." Thus, while the SAE clearly does not consider a driving lamp to be a headlamp, we have concluded that 49 U.S.C. 30103(b)(1) permits a State to make its own decision as to whether it will accept a driving lamp as a headlamp for low-speed vehicles.

    You also mentioned bumpers. As with the Federal motor vehicle safety standards, "a State or political subdivision of a State may prescribe or enforce a bumper standard for a passenger motor vehicle or passenger motor vehicle equipment only if the standard is identical to" 49 CFR Part 581, Bumper Standard (49 U.S.C. 32511(a)). However, Section 581.3 specifically excludes low-speed vehicles from the applicability of the bumper standard. This means that New York, or any other jurisdiction, may establish a bumper standard for low-speed vehicles until such time as NHTSA may prescribe its own.

    If you have any further questions, you may call Taylor Vinson of this Office (202-366-5263).

    Sincerely,

    John Womack
    Acting Chief Counsel

    Enclosure