Chapter 301 |
2019 -- H 5888 Enacted 07/19/2019 |
A N A C T |
RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES - MOTOR VEHICLES - DEFINITIONS AND GENERAL CODE PROVISIONS |
Introduced By: Representatives Ucci, and Morin |
Date Introduced: March 21, 2019 |
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. [Effective January 1, 2019.] |
(a)(1) "Antique motor car" means any motor vehicle 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. 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.". |
(3) For any vehicle that is more than twenty-five (25) years old, the division of motor |
vehicles may also issue or approve, subject to rules and regulations that may be promulgated by |
the administrator, a "year of manufacture plate" for the vehicle that is an exact replica plate |
designating the exact year of manufacture of the vehicle. The year of manufacture plate, as |
authorized by this subsection, need only be attached to the rear of the vehicle. |
(b)(1) "Antique motorcycle" means any motorcycle 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. 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; and |
(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 Association of Fire Chiefs and Rhode Island Association of Police Chiefs Joint Committee |
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 motor 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 bicycle" means a motorized bicycle 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, 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, non- |
tandem two-wheeled (2) device, designed to transport only one person, with an electric |
propulsion system 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 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) A "public bus" 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) A "private bus" 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-wheel (2) vehicles 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, 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 that may be propelled by human power or |
helper motor, or by both, with a motor rated no more than 1.5 brake horsepower 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 that is capable |
of a maximum speed of not more than thirty (30) miles per hour. |
(s) "Motor vehicle" means every vehicle 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) "Natural gas vehicle" means a vehicle operated by an engine fueled primarily by |
natural gas. |
(v) "Park trailer": A camping recreational vehicle that is eligible to be registered for |
highway use and meets the following criteria: (1) Built on a single chassis mounted on wheels; |
and (2) Certified by the manufacturer as complying with ANSI A119.5. |
(w) "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. |
(x) "Pedal carriage" (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 person with a disability, nor shall it include a tricycle built for a child or an |
adult with a seat for only one operator and no passenger. |
(y) "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. |
(z) "Rickshaw" (also known as "pedi cab") 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 person with a disability. |
(aa) "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. |
(bb) "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. |
(cc) "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 that is eligible to be registered for highway use. |
(dd) "Trackless trolley coach" means every motor vehicle that is propelled by electric |
power obtained from overhead trolley wires, but not operated on rails. |
(ee) "Travel trailer": A towable recreational vehicle, not exceeding three hundred twenty |
square feet (320') in area, designed to be towed by a motorized vehicle containing a towing |
mechanism that is mounted behind the tow vehicle's bumper and that is eligible to be registered |
for highway use. |
(ff) "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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LC002217 |
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