Interpretation ID: nht71-2.8

DATE: 02/18/71

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; Lawrence R. Schneider; NHTSA

TO: Arctic Enterprises Inc.

TITLE: FMVSR INTERPRETATION

TEXT: This is in response to your letter of January 7 setting forth certain facts about the manufacture and marketing of Arctic mini-bikes, and asking for assurance that Arctic is not a "manufacturer" of "motor vehicles" within the meaning of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966.

The criteria determinative of this question were published in the interpretation on mini-bikes (34 F.R. 15416). Persons who manufacture mini-bikes are not "manufacturers" if they

"(1) do not equip them with devices and accessories that render them lawful for use and registration for use on public highways under State and local laws; (2) do not otherwise participate or assist in making the vehicles lawful for operation on public roads (as by furnishing certificates of origin or other title documents, unless those documents contain a statement that the vehicles were not manufactured for use on public streets, roads, or highways); (3) do not advertise or promote them as vehicles suitable for use on public roads; (4) do not generally market them through retail dealers in motor vehicles; and (5) affix to the mini-bikes a notice stating in substance that the vehicles were not manufactured for use on public streets, roads, or highways and warning operators against such use.

The facts as you state them indicate that Arctic fulfills all but the first criterion. Your letter is not clear on this point,

but it implies that you furnish lighting equipment that is sufficient even without a manufacturer's title documents, to render your mini-bikes registerable in some States. Our position is that a manufacturer who equips his vehicle in such a manner that it is registerable for use on the public roads is a "manufacturer," not withstanding his fulfillment of the remaining criteria, and must comply with all applicable regulations including provision of lighting equipment meeting Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108, appropriate certification, and motorcycle consumer information.