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Mark wrote,
>Can anybody out there quote any actual laws, either federal or state,
>which pertain to this issue?
I'm not an attorney but I have had a wee bit of experience with vehicle
requirements on a Federal level. Many years ago I was trying to import some
Mini's (an English car) from one of those countries that haven't invaded us
yet (Canada). The vehicles at that time had to comply with Federal Vehicle
Laws to be imported. I'm not going to go into the long sorry tale here but
let you know that I found that there were several levels of laws and
requirements. Extremely, simply, put there are;
Requirements for cars
Requirements for trucks
Requirements for large trucks
In addition the requirements are different depending on how large a
manufacturer you are.
Some small specialty manufacturers were exempt from some requirements.
This is why some "kit car" manufacturers could build those cars and not
have all of the features required by the "Big Three".
The Checker Cab Co. (located in Michigan) for example, was exempt
from some Federal vehicle regulations because adhering to all of them would
have put the company out of business.
At that time, the regulations and requirements were for PRODUCING vehicles
and not for operating them. That is, the DOT requirements pertained to
items required to build and/or sell vehicles in the US.
This is why my 1988 Mazda Mx-6 car must have impact bumpers and my 1988
Ford F-250 pick-up truck does not.
Do not confuse the regulations required to manufacture a vehicle
with the regulations required to operate them. They are not the
same. This is why (here in Michigan) you can assemble your own vehicle,
have it inspected by the police, get it titled and licensed and then drive
it on the public highways.
You will have a 2000 Gilmore XZ151TDI Mk. 1 (patent pending) and as
long as you have all the items required by the inspection form you can go
on your merry way. Now, if your gonna build 5,000 of them that's another
story all together.
Just because a vehicle is manufactured as an off road vehicle doesn't
mean you can't make it street legal (in my State). We use to do that with
dirt bikes. Add lights, horn and the other required items, have it
inspected and now it was a street bike.
The point of these ramblings is.......When you are gathering
information on what is or is not required, be sure to determine what laws
and regulations pertain to the problem at hand. When you are told that you
must have collapsible steering column, impact bumpers, smog control, etc,
etc, you have to then ask why and when. Why......do I need them to
operate it on the public highways or to manufacture it?
Do I need them in my State? Did it need them when they were
built? Do (did) these vehicles have an EXEMPTION (very important) from the
requirements when they were built?
When....when are these items needed? Now or when it was
assembled? When did my State start to require these? Do these items
pertain to Federal or State requirements.... for use OR manufacture?
You get the idea........Question Authority (and show it to me in writing!)
BTW.......Jim W...... (re. "legs akimbo").....have we so quickly
forgotten Christine Keeler? <g>
Jim Gilmore MVPA # 5843
Member Ist Michigan AOD Chapter MVPA
Great Lakes Chapter MVPA
Ohio Motor Pool Chapter MVPA
Red Ball Chapter MVPA
Ontario Military Vehicle Association
Midwest Military Vehicle Assocation
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