Interpretation ID: nht71-2.21

DATE: 03/24/71

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; Lawrence R. Schneider; NHTSA

TO: Distributors Association

TITLE: FMVSR INTERPRETATION

TEXT: This is in response to your letter of March 1, 1971, in which you inquired whether a "crew-cab" truck is classified as a multipurpose passenger vehicle or a truck.

You said in your letter, "It was our reasoning that the prime purpose of an MPV was to carry passengers, rather than to haul something, and that the addition of a crew cab which would accommodate an additional three persons, onto a chassis-cab which contains a dump body or utility body would not necessarily change the classification."

The above statement is essentially correct. A crew-cab truck combines the purposes of both multipurpose passenger vehicle and a truck. Where a vehicle has a significant capability for carrying either persons or cargo, its manufacturer may exercise his own discretion in classifying the vehicle.

We are pleased to be of assistance.