Title 31
Motor and Other Vehicles

Chapter 3.2
Snowmobiles and Recreational Vehicles

R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-3.2-1

§ 31-3.2-1. Definitions.

For the purpose of this chapter, the terms defined in this section have the following meanings ascribed to them:

(1) “Dealer” means a person, partnership, or corporation engaged in the business of selling snowmobiles or recreational vehicles at wholesale or retail.

(2) “Director” means the director of the department of environmental management acting directly or through his or her authorized agent.

(3) “Manufacturer” means a person, partnership or corporation engaged in the business of manufacturing snowmobiles or recreational vehicles.

(4) “Operate” means to ride in, on, and control the operation of a snowmobile or recreational vehicle.

(5) “Operator” means every person who operates or is in actual physical control of a snowmobile or recreational vehicle.

(6) “Owner” means a person, other than a lienholder, having the property in or title to a snowmobile or to a recreational vehicle or entitled to the use or possession of one.

(7) “Person” includes an individual, partnership, corporation, the state and its agencies and subdivisions, and any body of persons, whether incorporated or not.

(8) “Recreational vehicle” means a motor vehicle including minibikes designed to travel over unimproved terrain and which has been determined by the division of motor vehicles as unsuitable for operation on the public way and not eligible for registration for such use. This shall not be construed to include golf mobiles or golf carts, riding lawn mowers, or garden tractors, which are not registered as farm vehicles, but shall include any three (3) wheel driven vehicle and any other four (4) wheel driven vehicle, regardless of type or design, including all classes of all-terrain vehicles.

(9) “Register” means the act of assigning a registration number of a snowmobile or recreational vehicle.

(10) “Roadway” means that portion of a highway improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel.

(11) “Snowmobile” means a motor vehicle designed to travel over ice or snow supported in whole or in part by skis, belts, cleats, or low-pressure tires.

History of Section.
P.L. 1971, ch. 117, § 1; P.L. 1972, ch. 85, § 1; P.L. 1978, ch. 334, § 1; P.L. 1987, ch. 412, § 1; P.L. 1988, ch. 413, § 1.