Interpretation ID: 18892.wkm

Mr. John L'Espoir
President
Enid Drill Systems, Inc.
4510 East Market Street
Enid, OK 73701-9686

Dear Mr. L'Espoir:

Please pardon the delay in responding to your letter to Walter Myers of my staff in which you enclosed informational brochures of different models of water well drilling equipment that your company produces. You stated that your equipment is used off-road to drill water wells, and that some of your designs incorporate tandem axle and triple axle semi-trailers equipped with air brakes. You also stated that you produce buggies that are used exclusively in stone and gypsum mines and that are transported on low-boy trailers. You asked whether your well drilling equipment and buggies are subject to applicable antilock brake system (ABS) requirements as set forth in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (Standard) No. 121, Air brake systems. The answer is no.

Chapter 301 of Title 49, U.S. Code (U.S.C.), hereinafter referred to as the Safety Act, authorizes the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to establish Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS) applicable to new motor vehicles and new items of motor vehicle equipment. Section 30102(a)(6) of Title 49, U.S.C. defines "motor vehicle" as:

[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.

In reviewing the information you provided, including the informational brochures enclosed with your letter, it is our opinion that the water well drilling equipment and the buggies that you produce, as you described and as depicted in the informational material, are not motor vehicles within the statutory definition. The water well drillers are designed to be used primarily at off-road job sites and, although capable of being transported on-road from one job site to another, their on-road use is only incidental to the primary purpose for which they were manufactured. The buggies are used exclusively at stone and gypsum mines and whenever transported, are carried on low-boy trailers. This contrasts with instances in which vehicles such as cement mixer trucks and dump trucks frequently use the public roads going to and from off-road job sites, but remain there for only a limited period of time. Such vehicles are considered motor vehicles for purposes of the Safety Act because their on-road use is more than merely "incidental."

In view of the above discussion, your water well drilling equipment and the buggies used in stone and gypsum mines are not motor vehicles and are therefore not required to comply with the FMVSSs, including the ABS requirements of Standard No. 121.

I hope this information is helpful to you. Should you have any questions or need further information, feel free to contact Mr. Myers at this address or at (202) 366-2992, or by fax at (202) 366-3820.

Sincerely,
Frank Seales, Jr.
Chief Counsel
ref:121
d.4/16/99