Chapter 340

340.01(57) (57) “Semitrailer” means a vehicle of the trailer type so designed and used in conjunction with a motor vehicle that some part of its own weight and that of its own load rests upon or is carried by another vehicle, but does not include a mobile home. A vehicle used with a ready-mix motor truck to spread the load is considered a semitrailer.

340.01(57m) (57m) “Service road” means every highway that runs generally parallel to but is separated from the main roadway by a physical barrier and primarily intended to provide access to the abutting property and not for use of through traffic.

340.01(58) (58) “Sidewalk” means that portion of a highway between the curb lines, or the lateral lines of a roadway, and the adjacent property lines, constructed for use of pedestrians.

340.01(58a) (58a) “Snowmobile” means an engine-driven vehicle that is manufactured solely for snowmobiling, that has an endless belt tread and sled-type runners, or skis, to be used in contact with snow but does not include such a vehicle that is any of the following:

340.01(58a)(a) (a) A vehicle that has inflatable tires.

340.01(58a)(b) (b) A vehicle that is driven by a motor of 4 horsepower or less and that is operated in sanctioned races, derbies, competitions or exhibitions or only on private property.

340.01(59) (59) “Spotlamp” means an auxiliary driving lamp used primarily to supplement the headlamps in providing general illumination ahead of the vehicle, usually mounted and designed so it can be controlled by the operator of the vehicle for the purpose of reading signs and illuminating objects to the side of or beyond the scope of the regular headlamp beams.

340.01(59m) (59m) “Stand or standing” means the temporary halting of a vehicle, whether occupied or not, except for the purpose of and while actually engaged in receiving or discharging passengers.

340.01(60) (60) “State trunk highway” means any highway designated pursuant to s. 84.02 or 84.29 as part of the state trunk highway system, exclusive of connecting highways.

340.01(62) (62) “Stop” when required means complete cessation from movement.

340.01(63) (63) “Stop lamp” means a device giving a steady warning light to the rear of a vehicle to indicate the intention of the operator of the vehicle to diminish speed or stop.

340.01(64) (64) “Street” means every highway within the corporate limits of a city or village except alleys.

340.01(66) (66) “Tail lamp” means a device to designate the rear of a vehicle by a warning light.

340.01(67) (67) “Through highway” means every highway or portion thereof which has been declared by the state or local authorities pursuant to s. 349.07 to be a through highway and at the entrances to which vehicular traffic from intersecting highways is required by traffic control signals or stop signs to stop.

340.01(67m) (67m) “Tour trains” means 3 or less trailer type vehicles designed for carrying passengers on educational or recreational excursions, not exceeding a maximum overall length of 50 feet, including the propelling motor vehicle, for being drawn individually or in tandem by a motor vehicle.

340.01(67n) (67n) “Tow truck” means a motor vehicle that is equipped with mechanical or hydraulic lifting devices or winches capable of, and used for, the recovery or transport or both of wrecked, disabled, abandoned, used or replacement vehicles.

340.01(67r) (67r) “Tractor-semitrailer combination” means a combination of 2 vehicles consisting of either a truck tractor and a semitrailer or a road tractor and a semitrailer.

340.01(68) (68) “Traffic” means pedestrians, ridden or herded or driven animals, vehicles and other conveyances, either singly or together, while using any highway for the purpose of travel.

340.01(69) (69) “Traffic control signal” means any device, whether manually, electrically or mechanically operated, by which traffic is alternately directed to stop and permitted to proceed.

340.01(70) (70) “Traffic officer” means every officer authorized by law to direct or regulate traffic or to make arrests for violation of traffic regulations and also includes, for purposes of enforcing s. 346.505 (2) or any local ordinance in conformity with s. 346.505 (2) or any prohibition established under s. 349.13 (1m), any person who is employed by a municipality or county and is designated by that municipality or county as authorized to enforce violations of s. 346.505 (2) or a local ordinance in conformity with s. 346.505 (2) or any prohibition established under s. 349.13 (1m).

340.01(71) (71) “Trailer” means a vehicle without motive power designed for carrying property or passengers wholly on its own structure and for being drawn by a motor vehicle, but does not include a mobile home.

340.01(71n) (71n) “Transferee” means any person, including the state and its political subdivisions, to whom ownership of a motor vehicle is transferred by purchase, gift or any means other than by creation of a security interest or who, as agent, signs a mileage disclosure statement required under s. 342.155 for such person.

340.01(71p) (71p) “Transferor” means any person, including the state and its political subdivisions, a dealer, an auction company acting as an agent, a motor vehicle salvage pool, an insurance company or a leasing or rental company with respect to motor vehicle sales, who transfers his or her ownership in a motor vehicle by sale, gift or any means other than by creation of a security interest or who, as agent, signs a mileage disclosure statement required under s. 342.155 for such person.

340.01(72) (72) “Transporter” means any of the following:

340.01(72)(a) (a) A person who is engaged in this state in the business of transporting and delivering motor vehicles, trailers, semitrailers or recreational vehicles in tow on their own wheels or under their own power from a distributor, a dealer, the manufacturer, or a branch of the manufacturer to the purchaser, or from any location to a distributor, a dealer, the manufacturer, or a branch of the manufacturer, and who is a 3rd party with no ownership interest in the vehicles.

340.01(72)(b) (b) A person who manufactures or installs on previously assembled truck chassis special bodies or equipment which when installed form an integral part of the motor vehicle and which constitutes a major manufacturing alteration, or who is engaged in modifying or converting previously assembled or manufactured complete motor vehicles, but who is not the owner of the vehicles on which manufacturing operations were performed by that person, if incidental to manufacturing operations the person transports motor vehicles in tow on their own wheels or under their own power between the person’s place of business and manufacturers, dealers and distributors, or delivers them to purchasers.

340.01(72m) (72m) “Transporting hazardous materials requiring placarding” means transporting any material that is classified in 49 CFR 173.2 in a vehicle that is required to be placarded as provided in 49 CFR 172.504.

340.01(73) (73) “Truck tractor” means a motor vehicle designed and used primarily for drawing other vehicles and not so constructed as to carry a load other than a part of the weight of the vehicle and load so drawn.

340.01(73m) (73m) “Utility work area” means the entire section of roadway between the first advance warning sign of work on a utility facility, as defined in s. 30.40 (19), or on a high-voltage transmission line, as defined in s. 30.40 (3r), and an “END UTILITY WORK” sign, where the signs are placed according to rules of the department, or, in the case of a moving vehicle engaged in work on such a utility facility or high-voltage transmission line, that section of roadway where traffic may return to its normal flow without impeding such work.

340.01(73r) (73r) “U-turn” means the turning of a vehicle so as to proceed in the opposite direction.

340.01(74) (74) “Vehicle” means every device in, upon, or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, except railroad trains. A snowmobile, an all-terrain vehicle, a personal delivery device, an electric scooter, and an electric personal assistive mobility device shall not be considered a vehicle except for purposes made specifically applicable by statute.

340.01(74m) (74m) “Vehicle group” means a class or type of vehicle with certain operating characteristics.

340.01(74p) (74p) “Vulnerable highway user” means any of the following:

340.01(74p)(a) (a) A pedestrian.

340.01(74p)(b) (b) A bicyclist.

340.01(74p)(c) (c) An operator of a moped, electric scooter, electric bicycle, or motor bicycle.

340.01(74p)(d) (d) An operator of, or passenger on, an animal-drawn vehicle, farm tractor, farm truck tractor, farm trailer, or implement of husbandry.

340.01(74p)(e) (e) A person riding upon in-line skates, a horse, or a play vehicle.

340.01(74p)(f) (f) A law enforcement officer, traffic officer, fire fighter, or emergency medical services practitioner, as defined in s. 256.01 (5), while performing his or her official duties.

340.01(74p)(g) (g) A person who is rendering medical or emergency assistance to another person.

340.01(74t) (74t) “Wholesaler” has the meaning given in s. 218.0101 (6).

340.01(75) (75) “Yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian” means the operator of a vehicle is required to reduce speed, or stop if necessary, to avoid endangering, colliding with or interfering in any way with pedestrian travel.

340.01 History History: 1971 c. 100 s. 23; 1971 c. 201, 211, 233, 277, 307; 1973 c. 86, 157, 182, 185, 272, 333, 335; 1973 c. 336 s. 79; 1975 c. 25, 120, 121, 136, 192, 199, 320, 326; 1975 c. 429 ss. 2m, 2r, 3, 4, 8, 9; 1977 c. 5; 1977 c. 29 ss. 1405 to 1410, 1654 (3); 1977 c. 30 s. 5; 1977 c. 43, 55, 57, 116, 193, 272, 288, 418; 1979 c. 36, 221; 1979 c. 333 s. 5; 1979 c. 345; 1981 c. 20, 159, 329; 1983 a. 27, 78, 124, 130, 175; 1983 a. 189 ss. 249, 329 (17m), (24); 1983 a. 223, 227, 243, 270, 457, 459; 1983 a. 512 s. 8; 1983 a. 538; 1985 a. 29, 65; 1985 a. 146 s. 8; 1985 a. 165, 187, 287; 1987 a. 259, 270, 349, 399; 1989 a. 31; 1989 a. 75 s. 1; 1989 a. 102; 1989 a. 105 ss. 13 to 30, 37, 41, 42; 1989 a. 134, 170; 1991 a. 39, 239, 269, 277, 316; 1993 a. 15, 16, 63, 159, 198, 213, 246, 260, 399, 436, 490; 1995 a. 27 s. 9145 (1); 1995 a. 36, 77, 113, 138, 225, 436, 448; 1997 a. 27, 164, 252, 277; 1999 a. 9, 31, 80, 85, 109, 140; 2001 a. 10, 16, 90, 102, 105, 109; 2003 a. 30, 33, 97, 192, 320, 321; 2005 a. 455; 2007 a. 11; 2007 a. 20 ss. 3190m, 3190p, 3220c; 2007 a. 27; 2007 a. 33 s. 8; 2007 a. 130, 175; 2009 a. 85, 97, 100, 122, 177, 311, 320; 2011 a. 32, 73, 101, 208, 265; 2013 a. 39, 67, 83, 103, 106, 165, 253, 325, 377; 2015 a. 15, 16, 55, 73, 104, 124, 165, 196, 232, 332; 2017 a. 12, 13, 364; 2017 a. 365 s. 110; 2019 a. 11, 34, 50, 68, 183; 2021 a. 115; 2021 a. 238 s. 45; 2021 a. 240 s. 30; 2021 a. 258; 2023 a. 159, 164.

340.01 Annotation Legislative Council Note, 1977: The definitions of “park and parking” in sub. (42m) and “stand or standing” in (59m) are derived from ss. 1-141 and 1-168, respectively, of the Uniform Vehicle Code (1968 revised edition; suppl. I, 1972). The principal difference between “parking” and “standing”, as defined, is that “standing” infers a temporary cessation of movement other than for purposes of and while actually engaged in receiving or discharging passengers while “parking” infers a protracted cessation of movement for purposes other than temporarily halting to load or unload property or passengers. See the note to s. 349.13 (1) for further explanation. [Bill 465-A]

340.01 Annotation Dry and liquid fertilizer applicators were implements of husbandry under sub. (24). Wisconsin Fertilizer Ass’n v. Karns, 52 Wis. 2d 309, 190 N.W.2d 513 (1971).

340.01 Annotation Petroleum bulk storage tanks are “buildings in use for business” under sub. (6). Billingsley v. Zickert, 72 Wis. 2d 156, 240 N.W.2d 375 (1976).

340.01 Annotation Where frontage roads were immediately adjacent and parallel to a paved highway, a single intersection with outside boundaries being the two outer boundaries of the frontage roads existed for sign placement purposes under subs. (22), (25), and (54). Weiss v. City of Milwaukee, 79 Wis. 2d 213, 255 N.W.2d 496 (1977).

340.01 Annotation Roads on the University of Wisconsin, Madison campus are not highways under sub. (22); they are “private roads or driveways” under sub. (46). The motor vehicle code does not apply to them. Henkel v. Phillips, 82 Wis. 2d 27, 260 N.W.2d 653 (1978).

340.01 Annotation “Highway” means the entire width between the boundary lines of a public road, the entire right-of-way. E.J.H. v. State, 112 Wis. 2d 439, 334 N.W.2d 77 (1983).

340.01 Annotation A segment of a “state trunk highway” under sub. (60) upgraded to freeway or expressway status remains a part of the state trunk highway system. Seefeldt v. DOT, 113 Wis. 2d 212, 336 N.W.2d 182 (Ct. App. 1983).

340.01 Annotation Because a truck tractor under sub. (73) is not a motor truck under sub. (34), it cannot be a farm truck under sub. (18). Britton v. DOT, 123 Wis. 2d 226, 365 N.W.2d 919 (Ct. App. 1985).

340.01 Annotation Trucks with permanently mounted potato boxes and special low ratio gearing used solely to collect and transport potatoes in harvest and planting seasons are “implements of husbandry” under sub. (24) and not “farm trucks” under sub. (18). State v. Okray Produce Co., 132 Wis. 2d 145, 389 N.W.2d 825 (Ct. App. 1986).

340.01 Annotation A piece of machinery specifically listed under sub. (52) constitutes road machinery regardless of its use. Schanke v. Wisconsin County Mutual Insurance Co., 177 Wis. 2d 746, 502 N.W.2d 866 (Ct. App. 1993).

340.01 Annotation The graded, but unfinished, bed of a highway lane under construction is not a “roadway” under sub. (54). Burg v. Cincinnati Casualty Insurance Co., 2002 WI 76, 254 Wis. 2d 36, 645 N.W.2d 880, 00-3258.

340.01 Annotation A “highway” is an area that the entire community has free access to travel on. A public parking lot is available to the entire community for vehicular travel, and as such, a city’s public parking lot is a “highway.” Ellerman v. City of Manitowoc, 2003 WI App 216, 267 Wis. 2d 480, 671 N.W.2d 366, 03-0322.

340.01 Annotation Sub. (9r) defines “conviction” as including having “violated or failed to comply with the law in a court of original jurisdiction.” By not appearing in court on the specified date, as directed, the defendant did not “comply with the law.” State v. Devries, 2011 WI App 78, 334 Wis. 2d 430, 801 N.W.2d 336, 09-3166.

340.01 Annotation Sub. (24) (b) provides an exception to the sub. (24) (a) definition of “implement of husbandry” under which it is not necessary to consider whether the vehicle in question otherwise qualifies as an implement of husbandry under sub. (24) (a). Unlike sub. (24) (a), sub. (24) (b) does not require a court to determine where the vehicle is principally used, if it is operated on a highway. A truck operated on highways that was used to haul and spread manure was a motor truck under sub. (24) (b) and was excluded from inclusion as an implement of husbandry under sub. (24) (a). State v. Marshland Acres, Inc., 2013 WI App 72, 348 Wis. 2d 29, 832 N.W.2d 157, 12-2367.

340.01 Annotation A “motor bicycle” as defined in sub. (30) is a “motor vehicle” as defined in sub. (35) and used in s. 343.63 (1), at least when the motor bicycle being operated is self-propelled, rather than pedaled. State v. Koeppen, 2014 WI App 94, 356 Wis. 2d 812, 854 N.W.2d 849, 13-2539.

340.01 Annotation A conviction, even though expunged, remains “an unvacated adjudication of guilt” under sub. (9r). Vacatur under s. 974.06 (3) (d) invalidates the conviction itself, whereas expunction under s. 973.015 merely deletes the evidence of the underlying conviction from court records. Expunction does not invalidate a conviction. State v. Braunschweig, 2018 WI 113, 384 Wis. 2d 742, 921 N.W.2d 199, 17-1261.

340.01 Annotation In this case, the defendant’s riding lawn mower was not an “all-terrain vehicle” under sub. (2g) because it did not satisfy the requirement of having a straddle seat. It was, however, a “motor vehicle” under sub. (35), and the defendant therefore was validly prosecuted for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated in violation of s. 346.63 (1) (a). State v. Shoeder, 2019 WI App 60, 389 Wis. 2d 244, 936 N.W.2d 172, 18-0997.

340.01 Annotation The inclusion of metabolites of cocaine in the definition in sub. (50m) (c) of a “restricted controlled substance” for purposes of prosecution under the Wisconsin motor vehicle code, s. 23.33 and chs. 340 to 349 and 351, is constitutional. Sub. (50m) is part of a statutory scheme that creates a strict liability, zero tolerance approach to driving a motor vehicle after illegally ingesting a restricted controlled substance, without regard to impairment, and the supreme court has held that approach to be constitutional. State v. VanderGalien, 2024 WI App 4, 410 Wis. 2d 517, 2 N.W.3d 774, 23-0458.

340.01 Annotation The vehicles of licensed private detectives are not authorized emergency vehicles under sub. (3). 61 Atty. Gen. 421.

340.01 Annotation Public parking lots are not “highways” under sub. (22). 65 Atty. Gen. 45.

340.01 Annotation A conviction that has been collaterally attacked meets the definition of “conviction” under sub. (9r) because a collateral attack does not overturn or vacate the conviction. Instead, it attempts to avoid the conviction’s force of law in a subsequent criminal proceeding. Thus, as long as the adjudication of guilt is unvacated, the conviction remains on DOT’s records and should be counted in determining whether to revoke the offender’s operating privilege. OAG 2-14.