Interpretation ID: nht88-3.1

TYPE: INTERPRETATION-NHTSA

DATE: 08/11/88

FROM: ERIKA Z. JONES -- CHIEF COUNSEL NHTSA

TO: JAY V. WRIGHT -- PAGE AVJET CORP.

TITLE: NONE

ATTACHMT: LETTER DATED 04/21/88, TO CHIEF COUNSEL NHTSA, FROM JAY V. WRIGHT, OCC - 1930

TEXT: Dear Mr. Wright:

This is in response to your letter of April 21, 1988, asking whether a vehicle produced by your company is a motor vehicle subject to the requirements of the Federal motor vehicle safety standards. This vehicle, referred to as a hydrant truck, consists of a chassis-cab with an equipment platform mounted on its rear. According to your letter, the platform would be equipped with accessories that allow the vehicle to be used to filter and meter aircraft fuels as fuel is pumped from airport storage tanks i nto aircraft.

Section 102(3) of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 1391(3)) defines a "motor vehicle" as any vehicle driven or drawn by mechanical power manufactured primarily for use on the public streets, roads, and highways, except any veh icle operated exclusively on a rail or rails.

We have interpreted this language as follows. On the one hand, vehicles that are equipped with tracks or are otherwise incapable of highway travel are plainly not motor vehicles. Agricultural equipment, such as tractors, are not motor vehicles. In add ition, vehicles intended and sold solely for off-road use are not motor vehicles, even though they may be operationally capable of highway travel. Examples include airport runway vehicles.

On the other hand, vehicles that use the public roads on a necessary and recurring basis are motor vehicles. For instance, jeep-type utility vehicles are plainly motor vehicles, even though they are equipped with special features to permit off-road oper ation. We have found vehicles to be motor vehicles if their on-road use is substantial, even though these vehicles' predominant intended use is off-road. Further, if a vehicle is readily usable on the public roads and is in fact used on the public road s by a substantial number of vehicle owners, NHTSA has found that the

vehicle is a "motor vehicle." This finding was made in the case of dune buggies, regardless of the manufacturers' stated intent that the vehicles were to be used off-road only.

You stated in your letter that this vehicle is not "perceived as being moved over public roads or from airport to airport in its daily use." It appears that this vehicle is intended and sold solely for off-road use, even though the vehicle appears operat ionally capable of highway travel. Based on the information provided in your letter, we conclude that your company's "Hydrant Truck" does not appear to be a motor vehicle. However, we will reexamine this conclusion if we learn that, for example, the ve hicle is regularly being used on the public roads.

We note that if your vehicle ever came to be regarded as a motor vehicle, there are probably few changes that would have to be made to bring it into compliance with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). NHTSA encourages (but cannot require ) you to make these changes. The chassis-cab used to produce the hydrant truck already has been certified by its manufacturer as an incomplete vehicle. Therefore, in order to achieve compliance, it is likely that few standards would require any changes by your company. One such standard is FMVSS 108, Lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment. Additional changes might also be required if the weight added by the equipment platform exceeds any weight maxima specified by the chassis-cab manufa cturer in making his certification.

Sincerely,