Interpretation ID: nht76-5.26

DATE: 11/24/76

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; Frank A. Bendt; NHTSA

TO: HM Vehicles

TITLE: FMVSR INTERPRETATION

TEXT: This is in reply to your letter of October 15, 1976, to Secretary Coleman asking for copies of our regulations that would apply to a small vehicle, apparently threee-wheeled, which you intend to manufacture in limited numbers.

I enclose a copy of an information sheet that tells where you may obtain copies of the Federal motor vehicle safety standards that apply to motor vehicles, and of the regulations that apply to manufacturers. I also enclose a copy of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, the authority for the safety standards and regulations. If you have any questions after reviewing these materials, I will be happy to answer them for you.

Three-wheeled vehicles are classified, and will be for the foreseable future, as "motorcycles." A proposed redefinition which would have removed enclosed three-wheeled vehicles from the definition is in abeyance and consideration is being given, as you suggested, to establishing standards appropriate for all lightweight motor vehicles.