2014 -- S 2730
Enacted 07/03/14
RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES - DEFINITIONS AND GENERAL CODE PROVISIONS
Introduced By: Senators McCaffrey, Felag, Ruggerio, and Goodwin
Date Introduced: March 05, 2014
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 31-1-3 of the General Laws in Chapter 31-1 entitled "Definitions and General Code Provisions" is hereby amended to read as follows:
31-1-3. Types of vehicles. -- (a) (1)
"Antique motor car" means any motor vehicle which that is
more than twenty-five (25) years old. Unless fully inspected and meeting
inspection requirements, the vehicle may be maintained solely for use in
exhibitions, club activities, parades, and other functions of public interest. and may not be used
primarily for the transportation of passengers or goods over any public
highway; The vehicle may also be used
for limited enjoyment and purposes other than the previously mentioned
activities, but may not be used primarily for the transportation of passengers
or goods over any public highway.
(2) After the vehicle has met the requirements of state inspection, a registration plate may be issued to it on payment of the standard fee. The vehicle may be operated on the highways of this and other states, and may in addition to the registration plate retain the designation "antique" and display an "antique plate".
(b) (1) "Antique motorcycle"
means any motorcycle which that is more than twenty-five (25) years old.
Unless fully inspected and meeting inspection requirements, the vehicle shall
be maintained solely for use in exhibitions, club activities, parades, and
other functions of public interest. and may not be used primarily for the transportation of
passengers or goods over any public highway; The vehicle may also be used for limited enjoyment and
purposes other than the previously mentioned activities, but may not be used
primarily for the transportation of passengers or goods over any public
highway.
(2) After the vehicle has met the requirements of state inspection, a registration plate may be issued to it on payment of the standard fee, and the vehicle may be operated on the highways of this and other states, and may, in addition to the registration plate, retain the designation "antique" and display an "antique plate".
(c) "Authorized emergency
vehicle" means vehicles of the fire department (fire patrol), police
vehicles,;
vehicles used by Rhode Island state marshals in the department of corrections,; vehicles
used by the state bomb squad within the division of state fire marshal,; vehicles
of municipal departments or public service corporations designated or
authorized by the administrator as ambulances and emergency vehicles; and
privately owned motor vehicles of volunteer firefighters or privately owned
motor vehicles of volunteer ambulance drivers or attendants, as authorized by
the department chief or commander and permitted by the Rhode Island aAssociation
of fFire
cChiefs
and Rhode Island aAssociation of pPolice cChiefs jJoint cCommittee for volunteer warning light permits.
(d) "Automobile" means, for registration purposes, every motor vehicle carrying passengers other than for hire.
(e) "Bicycle" means every vehicle having two (2) tandem wheels, except scooters and similar devices, propelled exclusively by human power, and upon which a person may ride.
(f) "Camping recreational vehicle" means a vehicular type camping unit, certified by the manufacturer as complying with ANSI A119.2 Standards, designed primarily as temporary living quarters for recreation that has either its own motive power or is mounted on, or towed by, another vehicle. The basic units are tent trailers, fifth-wheel trailers, motorized campers, travel trailers, and pick-up campers.
(g) "Electric motorized
bicycles" means a motorized bicycle which
that may be propelled by human power or
electric motor power, or by both, with an electric motor rated not more than
two (2) (S.A.E.) horsepower, which that is capable of a maximum speed of not more
than twenty-five (25) miles per hour.
(h) "Electric personal assistive
mobility device" ("EPAMD") is a self-balancing, two (2)
non-tandem two-wheeled (2) device, designed to transport only one
person, with an electric propulsion system which
that limits the maximum speed of the
device to fifteen (15) miles per hour.
(i) Fifth-wheel trailer: A towable, recreational vehicle, not exceeding four
hundred (400) square feet in area, designed to be towed by a motorized vehicle
that contains a towing mechanism that is mounted above or forward of the tow
vehicle's rear axle and which that is eligible to be registered for highway
use.
(j) "Hearse" means every motor vehicle used for transporting human corpses. A hearse shall be considered an automobile for registration purposes.
(k) "Jitney or bus" means:
(1) aA
"public bus" which that includes every motor vehicle, trailer,
semi-trailer, tractor trailer, or tractor trailer combination, used for the
transportation of passengers for hire, and operated wholly or in part upon any
street or highway as a means of transportation similar to that afforded by a
street railway company, by indiscriminately receiving or discharging
passengers, or running on a regular route or over any portion of one, or
between fixed termini; or (2) aA "private bus" which that
includes every motor vehicle other than a public bus or passenger van designed
for carrying more than ten (10) passengers and used for the transportation of
persons, and every motor vehicle other than a taxicab designed and used for the
transportation of persons for compensation.
(l) "Motorcycle" means only those motor vehicles having not more than three (3) wheels in contact with the ground and a saddle on which the driver sits astride, except bicycles with helper motors as defined in subsection (n) of this section.
(m) "Motor-driven cycle" means every motorcycle, including every motor scooter, with a motor of no greater than five (5) horsepower, except bicycles with helper motors as defined in subsection (n) of this section.
(n) "Motorized bicycles"
means two (2) wheel (2) vehicles which
that may be propelled by human power or
helper power, or by both, with a motor rated not more than four and nine-tenths
(4.9) horsepower and not greater than fifty (50) cubic centimeters, which that are capable of a maximum speed of not more
than thirty (30) miles per hour.
(o) Motorized camper: A camping recreational vehicle, built on or permanently attached to, a self-propelled motor vehicle chassis cab or van that is an integral part of the completed vehicle.
(p) "Motorized tricycles"
means tricycles which that may be propelled by human power or helper
motor, or by both, with a motor rated no more than 1.5 brake horsepower which that
is capable of a maximum speed of not more than thirty (30) miles per hour.
(q) "Motorized wheelchair"
means any self-propelled vehicle,
designed for, and used by, a person with a disability, that is incapable of speed in excess of eight
(8) miles per hour.
(r) "Motor scooter" means a
motor-driven cycle with a motor rated not more than four and nine-tenths (4.9)
horsepower and not greater than fifty (50) cubic centimeters, which that
is capable of a maximum speed of not more than thirty (30) miles per hour.
(s) "Motor vehicle" means
every vehicle which that is self-propelled or propelled by electric
power obtained from overhead trolley wires, but not operated upon rails, except
vehicles moved exclusively by human power, an EPAMD and electric motorized
bicycles as defined in subsection (g) of this section, and motorized
wheelchairs.
(t) "Motor vehicle for hire" means every motor vehicle other than jitneys, public buses, hearses, and motor vehicles used chiefly in connection with the conduct of funerals, to transport persons for compensation in any form, or motor vehicles rented for transporting persons either with or without furnishing an operator.
(u) Park trailer: A camping
recreational vehicle that is eligible to be registered for highway use and
meets the following criteria: (1) bBuilt on a single chassis mounted on wheels; and
(2) cCertified
by the manufacturer as complying with ANSI A119.5.
(v) "Passenger van" means every motor vehicle capable of carrying ten (10) to fourteen (14) passengers plus an operator and used for personal use or on a not-for-hire basis. Passenger vans may be used for vanpools, transporting passengers to and from work locations, provided that the operator receives no remuneration other than free use of the vehicle.
(w) "Pedal carriages" (also known as "quadricycles") means a nonmotorized bicycle with four (4) or more wheels operated by one or more persons for the purpose of, or capable of, transporting additional passengers in seats or on a platform made a part of, or otherwise attached to, the pedal carriage. The term shall not include a bicycle with trainer or beginner wheels affixed to it, nor shall it include a wheelchair or other vehicle with the purpose of operation by or for the transportation of a handicapped person, nor shall it include a tricycle built for a child or an adult with a seat for only one operator and no passenger.
(x) Pick-up camper: A camping recreational vehicle consisting of a roof, floor, and sides designed to be loaded onto and unloaded from the back of a pick-up truck.
(y) "Rickshaws" (also known as "pedi cabs") means a nonmotorized bicycle with three (3) wheels operated by one person for the purpose of, or capable of, transporting additional passengers in seats or on a platform made a part of or otherwise attached to the rickshaw. This definition shall not include a bicycle built for two (2) where the operators are seated one behind the other, nor shall it include the operation of a bicycle with trainer or beginner wheels affixed thereto, nor shall it include a wheelchair or other vehicle with the purpose of operation by or for the transportation of a handicapped person.
(z) "School bus" means every motor vehicle owned by a public or governmental agency, when operated for the transportation of children to or from school; or privately owned, when operated for compensation for the transportation of children to or from school.
(aa) "Suburban vehicle" means every motor vehicle with a convertible or interchangeable body or with removable seats, usable for both passenger and delivery purposes, and including motor vehicles commonly known as station or depot wagons or any vehicle into which access can be gained through the rear by means of a hatch or trunk and where the rear seats can be folded down to permit the carrying of articles as well as passengers.
(bb) Tent trailer: A towable
recreational vehicle that is mounted on wheels and constructed with collapsible
partial side walls that fold for towing by another vehicle and unfold for use
and which that
is eligible to be registered for highway use.
(cc) "Trackless trolley
coach" means every motor vehicle which
that is propelled by electric power
obtained from overhead trolley wires, but not operated on rails.
(dd) Travel trailer: A towable
recreational vehicle, not exceeding three hundred twenty (320) square feet in
area, designed to be towed by a motorized vehicle containing a towing mechanism
that is mounted behind the tow vehicle's bumper and which
that is eligible to be registered for
highway use.
(ee) "Vehicle" means every device in, upon, or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, except devices used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC005005
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