23 CFR § 1215.3 - Definitions.

---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t23/s1215.3"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "23 CFR § 1215.3 - Definitions."
title_number: 23
title_name: "Highways"
section_number: "1215.3"
section_name: "Definitions."
chapter_name: "NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION AND FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION"
subchapter_number: "B"
subchapter_name: "GUIDELINES"
part_number: "1215"
part_name: "USE OF SAFETY BELTS—COMPLIANCE AND TRANSFER-OF-FUNDS PROCEDURES"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-03-24"
last_updated: "2026-03-24"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
authority: "23 U.S.C. 153; Secs. 205(e) and 355, Pub. L. 104-59; delegations of authority at 49 CFR 1.48 and 1.50."
regulatory_source: "58 FR 44759, Aug. 25, 1993, unless otherwise noted."
cfr_part: "1215"
---


# 1215.3 Definitions.

As used in this part:

*FHWA* means the Federal Highway Administration.

*Motor vehicle* means any vehicle driven or drawn by mechanical power manufactured primarily for use on public highways, except any vehicle operated exclusively on a rail or rails.

*NHTSA* means the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

*Passenger vehicle* means a motor vehicle which is designed for transporting 10 individuals or less, including the driver, except that such term does not include a vehicle which is constructed on a truck chassis, a motorcycle, a trailer, or any motor vehicle which is not required on the date of the enactment of this section under a Federal motor vehicle safety standard to be equipped with a belt system.

*Safety belt* means, with respect to open-body passenger vehicles, including convertibles, an occupant restraint system consisting of a lap belt or a lap belt and a detachable shoulder belt; and with respect to other passenger vehicles, an occupant restraint system consisting of integrated lap shoulder belts.

*Secretary* means the Secretary of Transportation.

[58 FR 44759, Aug. 25, 1993, as amended at 61 FR 28749, June 6, 1996]