CHAPTER 340
VEHICLES — GENERAL PROVISIONS
340.01 Words and phrases defined.
340.01
340.01
Words and phrases defined. In
s. 23.33 and
chs. 340 to
349 and
351, the following words and phrases have the designated meanings unless a different meaning is expressly provided or the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
340.01(1m)
(1m) "Adverse weather lamp" means a lamp specially designed to provide road illumination under conditions of rain, snow, dust or fog.
340.01(1q)
(1q) "Alcohol" means any substance containing any form of alcohol including, but not limited to, ethanol, methanol, propanol and isopropanol.
340.01(1v)
(1v) "Alcohol concentration" means any of the following:
340.01(1v)(a)
(a) The number of grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of a person's blood.
340.01(1v)(b)
(b) The number of grams of alcohol per 210 liters of a person's breath.
340.01(2)
(2) "Alley" means every highway within the corporate limits of a city, village or town primarily intended to provide access to the rear of property fronting upon another highway and not for the use of through traffic.
340.01(2g)
(2g) "All-terrain vehicle" means an engine-driven device which has a net weight of 900 pounds or less, which is originally manufactured with a width of 50 inches or less, which is equipped with a seat designed to be straddled by the operator and which is designed by the manufacturer to travel on 3 or more low-pressure tires.
340.01(2m)
(2m) "Articulated bus" means a bus constructed in 2 sections and supported by 3 or more axles with the sections of the vehicle hinged in the horizontal plane and so designed that passengers may move freely from either section to the other.
340.01(2q)
(2q) "Auction company" means any person who, for compensation, takes possession, whether on consignment or in the form of a bailment or any other arrangement, of a motor vehicle owned by a motor vehicle dealer and offers it for sale at an auction that is open only to motor vehicle dealers or wholesalers.
340.01(3)
(3) "Authorized emergency vehicle" means any of the following:
340.01(3)(a)
(a) Police vehicles, whether publicly or privately owned, including bicycles being operated by law enforcement officers.
340.01(3)(b)
(b) Conservation wardens' vehicles, foresters' trucks, or vehicles used by commission wardens, whether publicly or privately owned.
340.01(3)(c)
(c) Vehicles of a fire department or fire patrol.
340.01(3)(d)
(d) Privately owned motor vehicles being used by deputy state fire marshals or by personnel of a full-time or part-time fire department or by members of a volunteer fire department while en route to a fire or on an emergency call pursuant to orders of their chief or other commanding officer.
340.01(3)(dg)
(dg) Privately owned motor vehicles being used by an organ procurement organization, or by any person under an agreement with an organ procurement organization, to transport organs for human transplantation or to transport medical personnel for the purpose of performing human organ harvesting or transplantation immediately after the transportation.
340.01(3)(dh)
(dh) Privately owned motor vehicles being operated in the course of a business and being used, in response to an emergency call from a treating physician or his or her designee declaring the transportation to be an emergency, to transport medical devices or equipment to a hospital or ambulatory surgery center, or to pick up medical devices or equipment for immediate transportation to a hospital or ambulatory surgery center, if the medical devices or equipment are to be used for human implantation or for urgent medical treatment immediately after the transportation.
340.01(3)(dm)
(dm) Privately owned motor vehicles that are all of the following:
340.01(3)(dm)1.
1. Designated or authorized by an ambulance service or rescue squad chief in writing annually.
340.01(3)(dm)2.
2. Used by an emergency medical technician licensed under
s. 256.15 or an ambulance driver or first responder authorized by the chief of an ambulance service or rescue squad.
340.01(3)(e)
(e) Emergency vehicles of municipal or county departments or public service corporations that are designated or authorized by the local authorities to be authorized emergency vehicles.
340.01(3)(f)
(f) Emergency vehicles of state departments that are designated or authorized by the heads of those departments to be authorized emergency vehicles.
340.01(3)(g)
(g) Publicly owned ambulances that are designated or authorized by local authorities to be authorized emergency vehicles.
340.01(3)(h)
(h) An emergency vehicle authorized by the county board of supervisors of any county for use by the county coroners or medical examiners for traveling to the scene of a fatal accident or a death and on any other occasions that are authorized under
par. (e).
340.01(3)(i)
(i) Privately owned ambulances that are operated by their owners or by their owners' agents and that are authorized in writing by the sheriff or others designated by the county board as emergency vehicles. The authorization is effective throughout the state until rescinded. The sheriff or others designated by the county board may designate any owner of ambulances usually kept in the county to operate those ambulances as authorized emergency vehicles. The written authorization shall at all times be carried on each ambulance used for emergency purposes. The sheriff shall keep a file of authorizations made under this paragraph in the sheriff's office for public inspection, and all other persons permitted to issue authorizations under this paragraph shall file a copy of all authorizations issued with the sheriff.
340.01(3)(j)
(j) Vehicles operated by federal, state or local authorities for the purpose of bomb and explosive or incendiary ordnance disposal.
340.01(4)
(4) "Automobile" means any of the following:
340.01(4)(a)
(a) Type 1 is a motor vehicle designed and used primarily for carrying persons but which does not come within the definition of a motor bus, motorcycle, moped or motor bicycle.
340.01(4)(b)
(b) Type 2 is a motor vehicle capable of speeds in excess of 30 miles per hour on a dry, level, hard surface with no wind, designed and built to have at least 3 wheels in contact with the ground, a power source as an integral part of the vehicle, a curb weight of at least 1,500 pounds, and a passenger and operator area with sides permanently enclosed with rigid construction and a top which may be convertible.
340.01(4e)
(4e) "Automobile haulaway" means a combination of 2 vehicles specially designed, constructed and used to transport operational motor vehicles.
340.01(5)
(5) "Bicycle" means every vehicle propelled by feet or hands acting upon pedals or cranks and having wheels any 2 of which are not less than 14 inches in diameter.
340.01(5e)
(5e) "Bicycle lane" means that portion of a roadway set aside by the governing body of any city, town, village, or county for the exclusive use of bicycles, electric personal assistive mobility devices, or other modes of travel where permitted under
s. 349.23 (2) (a), and so designated by appropriate signs and markings.
340.01(5m)
(5m) "Bike route" means any bicycle lane, bicycle way or highway which has been duly designated by the governing body of any city, town, village or county and which is identified by appropriate signs and markings.
340.01(5s)
(5s) "Bicycle way" means any path or sidewalk or portion thereof designated for the use of bicycles and electric personal assistive mobility devices by the governing body of any city, town, village, or county.
340.01(6)
(6) "Business district" means the territory contiguous to a highway when 50 percent or more of the frontage thereon for a distance of 300 feet or more is occupied by buildings in use for business.
340.01(6m)
(6m) "Camping trailer" means a vehicle with a collapsible or folding structure designed for human habitation and towed upon a highway by a motor vehicle.
340.01(6r)
(6r) "Car pool vehicle" means a motor truck having a gross weight of 6,000 pounds or less or an automobile or a motor bus when such vehicles are transporting 2 or more persons, or a motorcycle. "Car pool vehicle" does not include any vehicle which is towing a trailer.
340.01(7)
(7) "Clearance lamps" means lamps on the left and right sides of the front and rear of a vehicle which show to the front and rear to mark the extreme sides of the vehicle.
340.01(7m)
(7m) "Commercial driver license" means a license issued to a person by this state or another jurisdiction that is in accordance with the requirements of
49 USC 31301 to
31317, or by Canada or Mexico, and that authorizes the licensee to operate certain commercial motor vehicles.
340.01(7r)
(7r) "Commercial driver license information system" means the information system established pursuant to the federal commercial motor vehicle safety act of 1986,
49 USC 31301 to
31317, to serve as a clearinghouse for information related to the licensing and identification of commercial motor vehicle drivers.
340.01(8)
(8) "Commercial motor vehicle" means a motor vehicle designed or used to transport passengers or property and having one or more of the following characteristics:
340.01(8)(a)
(a) The vehicle is a single vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of 26,001 or more pounds or the vehicle's registered weight or actual gross weight is more than 26,000 pounds.
340.01(8)(b)
(b) The vehicle is a combination vehicle with a gross combination weight rating, registered weight or actual gross weight of 26,001 or more pounds inclusive of a towed unit with a gross vehicle weight rating, registered weight or actual gross weight of more than 10,000 pounds.
340.01(8)(c)
(c) The vehicle is designed to transport or is actually transporting the driver and 15 or more passengers. If the vehicle is equipped with bench type seats intended to seat more than one person, the passenger carrying capacity shall be determined under
s. 340.01 (31) or, if the vehicle is a school bus, by dividing the total seating space measured in inches by 13.
340.01(8)(d)
(d) The vehicle is transporting hazardous materials requiring placarding or any quantity of a material listed as a select agent or toxin under
42 CFR 73.
340.01(8t)
(8t) "Commission" means the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission.
340.01(8u)
(8u) "Commission warden" means a conservation warden employed by the commission.
340.01(9)
(9) "Connecting highway" means a highway designated as such under
s. 86.32.
340.01(9r)
(9r) "Conviction" or "convicted" means an unvacated adjudication of guilt, or a determination that a person has violated or failed to comply with the law in a court of original jurisdiction or an authorized administrative tribunal, an unvacated forfeiture of property deposited to secure the person's appearance in court, a plea of guilty or no contest accepted by the court, the payment of a fine or court cost, or violation of a condition of release without the deposit of property, regardless of whether or not the penalty is rebated, suspended, or probated, in this state or any other jurisdiction. It is immaterial that an appeal has been taken. "Conviction" or "convicted" includes:
340.01(9r)(b)
(b) An adjudication of having violated a law enacted by a federally recognized American Indian tribe or band in this state.
340.01(9r)(c)
(c) An adjudication of having violated a local ordinance enacted under
ch. 349;
340.01(9r)(d)
(d) A finding by a court assigned to exercise jurisdiction under
chs. 48 and
938 of a violation of
chs. 341 to
349 and
351 or a local ordinance enacted under
ch. 349.
340.01(10)
(10) "Crosswalk" means either of the following, except where signs have been erected by local authorities indicating no crossing:
340.01(10)(a)
(a)
Marked crosswalk. Any portion of a highway clearly indicated for pedestrian crossing by signs, lines or other markings on the surface; or
340.01(10)(b)
(b)
Unmarked crosswalk. In the absence of signs, lines or markings, that part of a roadway, at an intersection, which is included within the transverse lines which would be formed on such roadway by connecting the corresponding lateral lines of the sidewalks on opposite sides of such roadway or, in the absence of a corresponding sidewalk on one side of the roadway, that part of such roadway which is included within the extension of the lateral lines of the existing sidewalk across such roadway at right angles to the center line thereof, except in no case does an unmarked crosswalk include any part of the intersection and in no case is there an unmarked crosswalk across a street at an intersection of such street with an alley.
340.01(10m)
(10m) "Curb weight" means the total weight of a vehicle, including a full load of fuel, oil and water, but without any passengers or cargo.
340.01(11)
(11) "Dealer" means a person who, for a commission or other thing of value, sells, exchanges, buys or rents, or offers or attempts to negotiate a sale or exchange of an interest in motor vehicles, recreational vehicles, trailers or semitrailers, or who is engaged wholly or in part in the business of selling motor vehicles, recreational vehicles, trailers or semitrailers, whether or not such vehicles are owned by that person, but not including:
340.01(11)(a)
(a) A receiver, trustee, personal representative, guardian, or other person appointed by or acting under the judgment or order of any court; or
340.01(11)(b)
(b) A public officer while performing official duty; or
340.01(11)(d)
(d) A finance company licensed under
ss. 138.09 or
218.0101 to
218.0163 who sells or offers for sale motor vehicles repossessed or foreclosed by it under the terms of a security contract.
340.01(12)
(12) "Department" means the department of transportation.
340.01(13)
(13) "Direction signal lamp" means a lighting device used to indicate the intention of the operator of a vehicle to change direction.
340.01(13m)
(13m) "Disqualification" means the loss or withdrawal of a person's privilege to operate a commercial motor vehicle relating to certain offenses committed by the person while driving or operating a motor vehicle or while on duty time with respect to a commercial motor vehicle.
340.01(14)
(14) "Distributor" means a person who in whole or in part sells or distributes motor vehicles, recreational vehicles, trailers or semitrailers to dealers, or who maintains distributor representatives.
340.01(15)
(15) "Divided highway" means a highway with 2 or more roadways separated by spaces not intended for the use of vehicular traffic.
340.01(15c)
(15c) "Division of hearings and appeals" means the division of hearings and appeals in the department of administration.
340.01(15f)
(15f) "Double bottom" means a combination of 3 vehicles consisting of a truck tractor, a semitrailer and a trailer, or of a truck tractor and 2 semitrailers. For purposes of this paragraph, "truck tractor" includes road tractor.
340.01(15m)
(15m) "Drawbar" means a rigid structure forming a connection between 2 vehicles, securely attached to both vehicles by non-rigid means, and carrying no part of the load of either vehicle. The surface to which the drawbar is attached shall be of sufficient strength to prevent failure under all conditions of operation, including the coupling platform and its attaching members or weldments which is attached to the towing vehicle, and shall otherwise comply with
s. 347.47.
340.01(15n)
(15n) "Dual purpose farm truck" means a motor truck owned and operated by a farmer and used for the transportation of supplies, farm equipment and products on the owner's farm or between the owner's farms, the transportation of farm products from the owner's farm to market, and the transportation of supplies to the owner's farm and also used in furtherance of any nonfarm occupation, trade, profession or employment.
340.01(15p)
(15p) "Dual purpose motor home" means a vehicle which can be interchangeably equipped as a motor home or as a motor truck.
340.01(15pm)
(15pm) "Electric personal assistive mobility device" means a self-balancing, 2-nontandem-wheeled device that is designed to transport only one person and that has an electric propulsion system that limits the maximum speed of the device to 15 miles per hour or less.
340.01(15q)
(15q) "On duty time" means, with respect to an operator of a commercial motor vehicle, the period from the time that the operator of the commercial motor vehicle begins to work or is required to be in readiness to work until the time that the operator of the commercial motor vehicle is relieved from work and all responsibility for performing work.
340.01(15r)
(15r) "Endorsement" means an authorization to an operator's license required to permit the operation of certain vehicles.
340.01(15s)
(15s) "Energy emergency" means a period of disruption of energy supplies which poses a serious risk to the economic well-being, health or welfare of the citizens of this state, as certified by executive order of the governor.
340.01(15v)
(15v) "Fair market value" means the value of a vehicle that takes into account the condition of the vehicle immediately before the damage occurred and which has been determined by reliable sources generally accepted within the automotive and insurance industries, limited to price guidebooks, dealer quotations, computerized valuation services and other methods which may be prescribed by the department.
340.01(16)
(16) "Farm tractor" means a motor vehicle designed and used primarily as a farm implement for drawing plows, mowing machines and other implements of husbandry.
340.01(17)
(17) "Farm trailer" means a trailer or semitrailer with a gross weight greater than 3,000 pounds which is owned or leased and operated by a farmer and is used exclusively for the transportation of farm products from the owner's farm to market or for the transportation of supplies to the owner's farm. As used in this subsection "leased" means that the farmer has entered into a written agreement with a person in the business of leasing vehicles to lease the trailer or semitrailer for a period of one year or more.
