Title 21 Motor Vehicles
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Title 21 Motor Vehicles NOTICE: The Delaware Code appearing on this site is prepared by the Delaware Code Revisors and the editorial staff of LexisNexis in cooperation with the Division of Research of Legislative Council of the General Assembly with the assistance of the Government Information Center, and is considered an official version of the State of Delaware statutory code. This version includes all acts effective as of September 10, 2015, up to and including 80 Del. Laws, c. 187. DISCLAIMER: With respect to the Delaware Code documents available from this site or server, neither the State of Delaware nor any of its employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, including the warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately-owned rights. Please seek legal counsel for help on interpretation of individual statutes. Title 21 - Motor Vehicles Part I General Provisions Chapter 1 DEFINITIONS § 101 Words and phrases. For the purposes of this title, unless the context otherwise clearly indicates: (1) "All terrain vehicle" or "ATV" means an "off-highway vehicle" or "OHV" that is motorized and designed to travel on 4 low- pressure tires and having a seat to be straddled by the operator and handlebars for steering control. "ATV" does not include a farm vehicle being used for farming, a vehicle used for military, fire, emergency or law-enforcement purposes, a construction or logging vehicle used in performance of its common function, electric personal assistive mobility device or a registered aircraft. (2) "Autocycle" means a 3-wheel vehicle that has a steering wheel and seating that does not require the operator to straddle or sit astride it. (3) "Axle load scale" means a scale having a platform adapted to determine the combined weight of all wheels on a single axle or of all wheels on a tandem or tri-axle of a vehicle. (4) "Bicycle" shall include that certain class of vehicles which are exclusively human-powered by means of foot pedals, which the driver normally rides astride, which have not in excess of 3 wheels and which may be commonly known as unicycles, bicycles and tricycles. The term "bicycle" also includes a 2- or 3-wheeled vehicle with fully operable pedals and an electric motor of less than 750 watts (1 horsepower), whose maximum speed on a paved level surface, when powered solely by such motor while ridden by an operator who weighs 170 pounds, is less than 20 miles per hour. (5) "Business district" means the territory contiguous to and including 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. (6) "Camping trailer" includes any nonmotorized vehicular portable unit mounted on wheels and designed to provide temporary living quarters for recreational, camping or travel use. A "camping trailer" may be constructed with or without collapsible partial side walls that fold for towing by another vehicle and unfold in set-up mode, however, the trailer must weigh 5,000 pounds or less. (7) "Certificate of origin" means the document, in the form prescribed by the Director of the Division of Motor Vehicles, issued in conformance with this chapter certifying the manufacturer's vehicle identification number and the motor number, when used, of the motor vehicle sold, the name of the manufacturer, the manufacturer's shipping weight, a general description of the body, if any, and the type and model. (8) "Chauffeur" includes every person who is employed for the principal purpose of operating a motor vehicle and every person who drives a motor vehicle while in use as a public or common carrier of persons or property. (9) "Combination of vehicles" means any series of trucks, truck tractors, trailers or semi-trailers connected to each other by whatever means. (10) "Commercial vehicle" means a vehicle of a type required to be registered under this title designed, used or maintained for the transportation of persons or property for hire, compensation or profit, except taxicabs. (11) "Competition vehicle" is a vehicle that is specifically designated by its manufacturer as being intended solely for use during a special or competition event, and which is exclusively so used. (12) "Crane" means any self-propelled vehicle to which has been permanently mounted or attached any crane, whether or not such vehicle was originally a truck, tractor or other type of motor vehicle or was designed and built as a complete crane unit; but the word "crane," as herein defined, shall not be construed to mean any truck or other vehicle equipped with or to which has been affixed any device used for the purpose of providing a means for towing other vehicles. (13) "Dealer" includes every person engaged in the business of buying, selling or exchanging motor vehicles, trailers or semitrailers in this State and having an established place of business in this State. (14) "Decal" means the self-adhesive sticker issued by the Department bearing the registration number assigned to an off-highway vehicle. (15) "Department" means the Department of Transportation of this State acting directly or through its duly authorized officers and agents. (16) "Electric personal assistive mobility device" (EPAMD) means a self-balancing, 2-nontandem-wheeled device designed to transport only 1 person, with an electric propulsion system that limits the maximum speed of the device to 15 miles per hour or less. (17) "Electronic" or "electronically" means relating to technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic or similar capabilities. (18) "Electronic signature" means an electronic sound, symbol or process attached to or logically associated with a record and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record. Page 1 Title 21 - Motor Vehicles (19) "Essential parts" means all integral parts and body parts, the removal, alteration or substitution of which will tend to conceal the identity or substantially alter the appearance of the vehicle. (20) "Express highway" means a state highway especially designed for through traffic over which owners of abutting property shall have no easement or right of direct access, light or air, by reason of the fact that such property abuts such highway. (21) "Farm equipment" means an implement that: a. Is designed and adapted only for agricultural, horticultural or livestock raising operations; or b. Is designed and adapted only for lifting or carrying an implement described in paragraph (20)a. of this section. (22) "Farm tractor" includes every motor vehicle designed and used primarily as a farm implement for drawing plows, mowing machines and other implements of husbandry. (23) "Foreign vehicle" includes every motor vehicle, trailer or semitrailer which is brought into this State otherwise than in the ordinary course of business by or through a manufacturer or dealer and which has not been registered in this State. (24) "Highway" means the entire width between boundary lines of every way or place of whatever nature open to the use of the public as a matter of right for purposes of vehicular travel, but does not include a road or driveway upon grounds owned by private persons, colleges, universities or other institutions. (25) "Intersection" means the area embraced within the prolongation of the lateral curb lines or, if none, then the lateral boundary lines of 2 or more highways which join one another at an angle, whether or not 1 such highway crosses the other. (26) "Judgment" includes any judgment which has become final by expiration without appeal of the time within which an appeal might have been perfected or by final affirmation on appeal, rendered by a court of competent jurisdiction of any state or of the United States, upon a cause of action arising out of the ownership, maintenance or use of any motor vehicle, for damages, including damages for care and loss of services, because of bodily injury to or death of any person, or for damages because of injury to or destruction of property, including the loss of use thereof or upon a cause of action on an agreement of settlement for such damages. (27) "Jurisdiction" shall mean any state, territory or federal district of the United States or a foreign country. (28) "License" means any license, temporary instruction permit or temporary license issued under the laws of this State pertaining to the licensing of persons to operate motor vehicles. (29) "Local authorities" includes every county, municipal and other local board or body having authority to adopt local police regulations under the Constitution and laws of this State. (30) "Manufacturer" includes every person engaged in the business of manufacturing motor vehicles, trailers or semitrailers or OHVs. (31) "Metal tires" means all tires the surface of which on contact with the highway is wholly or partly of metal or other hard, nonresilient material. (32) "Mobile home" is a structure transportable in 1 or more sections, which in the traveling mode is 8 body feet or more in width or 40 body feet or more in length, or when erected on-site, is more than 400 square feet, and which is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a dwelling with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities, and includes the plumbing, heating and air conditioning. The structure must be constructed in accordance with construction requirements promulgated by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). (33) "Moped" shall mean a pedal or nonpedal bicycle having 2 tandem wheels, either of which is 10 inches or more in maximum diameter, and having an internal combustion motor characterized in that the maximum piston displacement is less than 55 cc, or an electric motor rated between 751 watts and 2,000 watts.