§ 4189 — Putting glass or other items on a highway prohibited

Delaware § 4189

• Jurisdiction: Delaware
• Title: 21
• Part: Operation and Equipment
• Ch. 41: RULES OF THE ROAD
• Subch.: Miscellaneous Rules

Text

(a) A person may not throw or deposit on a highway or adjacent property any glass bottle, glass, nails, tacks, wire, cans, or any other substance likely to injure a person, animal, or vehicle on the highway or adjacent property.

(b) A person who drops, or permits to be dropped or thrown, on a highway or adjacent property any destructive or injurious material shall immediately remove the destructive or injurious material or cause it to be removed.

(c) A person may not throw or deposit any goods, merchandise, bundles, or litter of any kind, including yard waste, on a highway.

(d) A person removing a wrecked or damaged vehicle from a highway shall remove any glass or other injurious substance dropped on the highway from the wrecked or damaged vehicle.

(e) A person may not leave, drop, throw away, or otherwise dispose of trash of any description, including yard waste, in quantity to exceed 5 pounds or 1 cubic foot on or alongside a highway.

(f) If a person witnesses the violation of subsection (a), (b), or (c) of this section by a person in a vehicle, and the identity of the offender is not otherwise apparent, there is a rebuttable presumption that the registered owner, if the driver’s identity cannot be ascertained, or the driver of the vehicle is responsible for the violation.

(g) A person who violates this section is guilty of an unclassified misdemeanor, and is subject to a fine as follows:

(1) Not less than $115 nor more than $287.50 and up to 8 hours of community service for a first offense.

(2) Not less than $125 nor more than $287.50 and up to 25 hours of community service for a second or subsequent offense within 2 years.

(3) A violation of this section, whether a first, second, or subsequent offense, that takes place on or along a “Delaware byway,” as defined in § 101 of Title 17, is subject to a mandatory penalty of $500, which must be imposed in addition to the fine.

(h) The rebuttable presumption set forth in subsection (f) of this section does not apply to operators of buses carrying 9 or more persons. A person who violates subsection (e) of this section is guilty of an unclassified misdemeanor, and is subject to a fine of not less than $460 nor more than $690. For each subsequent offense occurring within 3 years of a former offense, the person is subject to a fine of not less than $575 nor more than $1,150. The minimum fines for a violation of this section are not subject to suspension. A violation of this section, whether a first, second, or subsequent offense, that takes place on or along a “Delaware byway,” as defined in § 101 of Title 17, is subject to a mandatory penalty of $500, which must be imposed in addition to the fine.

(i) As used in this section, “yard waste” means decomposable waste materials generated by yard and lawn care and includes leaves, grass trimmings, brush, wood chips, and shrub and tree trimmings.

(j) Placing yard waste on a highway in compliance with state, county, municipal, or private program requirements for collection and disposal of yard waste is not a violation of this section.

Legislative History

21 Del. C. 1953, § 4186; 54 Del. Laws, c. 160, § 1 ; 59 Del. Laws, c. 563, § 1 ; 62 Del. Laws, c. 375, §§ 1-4, 6 ; 68 Del. Laws, c. 9, §§ 36, 37 ; 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1 ; 76 Del. Laws, c. 325, § 2 ; 77 Del. Laws, c. 60, § 16 ; 77 Del. Laws, c. 350, § 6 ; 83 Del. Laws, c. 212, § 1 ; 83 Del. Laws, c. 283, § 37