Interpretation ID: aiam2162
Vice President
Government Regulations
Motorcycle Industry Council
Inc.
1001 Connecticut Ave.
N.W.
Washington
DC
20036;
Dear Mr. Stahl: This is in reply to your letter of December 30, 1975, asking whethe Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108, which permits the manufacture of motor-driven cycles whose top speed is 30 mph, without turn signal lamps, preempts a State requirement that all motor vehicles be equipped with such lamps.; The answer to your question is yes. Even though a State as in you hypothetical may not have defined 'motor vehicle,' or its definition of a vehicle category differs from a definition in 49 CFR 571.3(b) (e.g. where a State defines a motor-driven cycle as a 'bicycle'), it is preempted by Section 103(d) from establishing or maintaining in effect a safety standard that differs from a Federal standard covering the same aspect of performance. Accordingly, since S 4.1.1.26 of 49 CFR 571.108, Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108, *Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment* excuses low speed motor- driven cycles from the requirement that they be equipped with turn signal lamps, a State cannot require them on identical vehicles.; I hope this answers your question. Yours truly, Richard B. Dyson, Assistant Chief Counsel