Chapter 340

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(1o) (1o) “Agricultural commercial motor vehicle” means a commercial motor vehicle to which all of the following apply:

340.01(1o)(a) (a) The vehicle is substantially designed or equipped, or materially altered from its original construction, for the purpose of agricultural use.

340.01(1o)(b) (b) The vehicle was designed and manufactured primarily for highway use.

340.01(1o)(c) (c) Unless the vehicle was manufactured prior to 1970, the vehicle was manufactured to meet federal motor vehicle safety standard certification label requirements as specified in 49 CFR 567.

340.01(1o)(d) (d) The vehicle is used exclusively in the conduct of agricultural operations.

340.01(1o)(e) (e) The vehicle is being used in any of the following ways:

340.01(1o)(e)1. 1. For directly distributing feed to livestock or for directly applying fertilizer, lime, spray, or seeds, but not manure, to a farm field.

340.01(1o)(e)2. 2. For assisting another vehicle directly harvesting farm products by receiving farm products as they are harvested or for assisting another vehicle directly planting potatoes by delivering seed potatoes to the planter.

340.01(1o)(e)3. 3. For directly applying manure to a farm field or for off-loading manure if field conditions do not permit manure application by the vehicle directly to the field.

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 a commercially designed and manufactured motor-driven device that has a weight, without fluids, of 900 pounds or less, has a width of not more than 50 inches as measured laterally between the outermost wheel rim on each side of the vehicle, exclusive of tires, mirrors, and accessories that are not essential to the vehicle’s basic operation, is equipped with a seat designed to be straddled by the operator, and travels on 3 or more 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 services practitioner licensed under s. 256.15 or an ambulance driver or emergency medical 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(3m) (3m) “Autocycle” means a motor vehicle that has 3 wheels in contact with the ground, is designed with seating that does not require operators or any occupants to straddle or sit astride it, has a steering wheel, and is originally manufactured to meet federal motor vehicle safety standards for motorcycles under 49 CFR part 571.

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 scooters, 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 pavement markings.

340.01(5s) (5s) “Bicycle way” means any path or sidewalk or portion thereof designated for the use of bicycles, electric scooters, 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 to provide temporary living quarters for recreation, camping, or travel use and to be 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(6u) (6u) “Carsharing organization” means a business entity, as defined in s. 180.1100 (1g), that is a rental company that offers a membership service in which members share type 1 automobiles, the use of which may be purchased from the business entity on the basis of trip, trip distance, or trip duration.

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 sub. (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(8m) (8m) “Commercial quadricycle” means a vehicle with fully operative pedals for propulsion entirely by human power, that has 4 wheels and is operated in a manner similar to a bicycle, that is equipped with at least 12 seats for passengers, that is designed to be occupied by a driver and by passengers providing pedal power to the drive train of the vehicle, that is used for commercial purposes, and that is operated by the vehicle owner or an employee of the owner.

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(9m) (9m) “Controlled substance” has the meaning given in s. 961.01 (4).

340.01(9n) (9n) “Controlled substance analog” has the meaning given in s. 961.01 (4m).

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)(a) (a) A forfeiture of deposit under ss. 345.26 and 345.37, which forfeiture has not been vacated;

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, or pavement markings; or

340.01(10)(b) (b) Unmarked crosswalk. In the absence of signs or pavement 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)(c) (c) An employee of a person enumerated in par. (a) or (b); 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.