§ 60-501 — Terms, defined

Nebraska § 60-501

• Jurisdiction: Nebraska
• Ch. 60: Motor Vehicles

Text

For purposes of the Motor Vehicle Safety Responsibility Act, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) Department means Department of Motor Vehicles;
(2) Former military vehicle means a motor vehicle that was manufactured for use in any country's military forces and is maintained to accurately represent its military design and markings, regardless of the vehicle's size or weight, but is no longer used, or never was used, by a military force;
(3) Golf car vehicle means a vehicle that has at least four wheels, has a maximum level ground speed of less than twenty miles per hour, has a maximum payload capacity of one thousand two hundred pounds, has a maximum gross vehicle weight of two thousand five hundred pounds, has a maximum passenger capacity of not more than four persons, and is designed and manufactured for operation on a golf course for sporting and recreational purposes;
(4) Judgment means any judgment which shall have become final by the expiration of the time within which an appeal might have been perfected without being appealed, or by final affirmation on appeal, rendered by a court of competent jurisdiction of any state or of the United States, (a) 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 (b) upon a cause of action on an agreement of settlement for such damages;
(5) License means any license issued to any person under the laws of this state pertaining to operation of a motor vehicle within this state;
(6)(a) Low-speed vehicle means any:
(i) Four-wheeled motor vehicle:
(A) With a speed attainable in one mile of more than twenty miles per hour and not more than twenty-five miles per hour on a paved, level surface;
(B) With a gross vehicle weight rating of less than three thousand pounds; and
(C) That complies with 49 C.F.R. part 571, as such part existed on January 1, 2025; or
(ii) Three-wheeled motor vehicle:
(A) With a speed attainable of not more than twenty-five miles per hour on a paved, level surface;
(B) With a gross vehicle weight rating of less than three thousand pounds; and
(C) That is equipped with a windshield and an occupant protection system.
(b) Low-speed vehicle does not include a motorcycle with a sidecar;
(7) Minitruck means a foreign-manufactured import vehicle or domestic-manufactured vehicle which (a) is powered by an internal combustion engine with a piston or rotor displacement of one thousand five hundred cubic centimeters or less, (b) is sixty-seven inches or less in width, (c) has a dry weight of four thousand two hundred pounds or less, (d) travels on four or more tires, (e) has a top speed of approximately fifty-five miles per hour, (f) is equipped with a bed or compartment for hauling, (g) has an enclosed passenger cab, (h) is equipped with headlights, taillights, turnsignals, windshield wipers, a rearview mirror, and an occupant protection system, and (i) has a four-speed, five-speed, or automatic transmission;
(8) Motor vehicle means any self-propelled vehicle which is designed for use upon a highway, including trailers designed for use with such vehicles, minitrucks, and low-speed vehicles. Motor vehicle includes a former military vehicle. Motor vehicle does not include (a) mopeds as defined in section 60-637 , (b) traction engines, (c) road rollers, (d) farm tractors, (e) tractor cranes, (f) power shovels, (g) well drillers, (h) every vehicle which is propelled by electric power obtained from overhead wires but not operated upon rails, (i) electric personal assistive mobility devices as defined in section 60-618.02 , (j) off-road designed vehicles, including, but not limited to, golf car vehicles, go-carts, riding lawnmowers, garden tractors, all-terrain vehicles and utility-type vehicles as defined in section 60-6,355 , minibikes as defined in section 60-636 , and snowmobiles as defined in section 60-663 , and (k) bicycles as defined in section 60-611 ;
(9) Nonresident means every person who is not a resident of this state;
(10) Nonresident's operating privilege means the privilege conferred upon a nonresident by the laws of this state pertaining to the operation by him or her of a motor vehicle or the use of a motor vehicle owned by him or her in this state;
(11) Operator means every person who is in actual physical control of a motor vehicle;
(12) Owner means a person who holds the legal title of a motor vehicle, or in the event (a) a motor vehicle is the subject of an agreement for the conditional sale or lease thereof with the right of purchase upon performance of the conditions stated in the agreement and with an immediate right of possession vested in the conditional vendee or lessee or (b) a mortgagor of a vehicle is entitled to possession, then such conditional vendee or lessee or mortgagor shall be deemed the owner for the purposes of the act;
(13) Person means every natural person, firm, partnership, limited liability company, association, or corporation;
(14) Proof of financial responsibility means evidence of ability to respond in damages for liability, on account of accidents occurring subsequent to the effective date of such proof, arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of a motor vehicle, (a) in the amount of twenty-five thousand dollars because of bodily injury to or death of one person in any one accident, (b) subject to such limit for one person, in the amount of fifty thousand dollars because of bodily injury to or death of two or more persons in any one accident, and (c) in the amount of twenty-five thousand dollars because of injury to or destruction of property of others in any one accident;
(15) Registration means registration certificate or certificates and registration plates issued under the laws of this state pertaining to the registration of motor vehicles;
(16) State means any state, territory, or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, or any province of the Dominion of Canada; and
(17) The forfeiture of bail, not vacated, or of collateral deposited to secure an appearance for trial shall be regarded as equivalent to conviction of the offense charged.

Legislative History

Source: Laws 1949, c. 178, § 1, p. 482; Laws 1957, c. 366, § 42, p. 1275; Laws 1959, c. 298, § 1, p. 1107; Laws 1959, c. 299, § 1, p. 1123; Laws 1971, LB 644, § 4; Laws 1972, LB 1196, § 4; Laws 1973, LB 365, § 1; Laws 1979, LB 23, § 14; Laws 1983, LB 253, § 1; Laws 1987, LB 80, § 11; Laws 1993, LB 121, § 385; Laws 1993, LB 370, § 94; Laws 2002, LB 1105, § 447; Laws 2010, LB650, § 32; Laws 2011, LB289, § 26; Laws 2012, LB898, § 3; Laws 2012, LB1155, § 15; Laws 2015, LB95, § 9; Laws 2016, LB929, § 9; Laws 2017, LB263, § 70; Laws 2018, LB909, § 92; Laws 2019, LB79, § 17; Laws 2019, LB156, § 13; Laws 2019, LB270, § 39; Laws 2020, LB944, § 66; Laws 2021, LB149, § 16; Laws 2022, LB750, § 68; Laws 2023, LB138, § 34; Laws 2024, LB1200, § 49; Laws 2025, LB398, § 49. Operative Date: June 5, 2025 Annotations: The definition of "financial responsibility," used in subsection (10) of this section, applies to only policies used as proof of financial responsibility specifically required for compliance with the Motor Vehicle Safety Responsibility Act. Allied Mut. Ins. Co. v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 243 Neb. 779, 502 N.W.2d 484 (1993). In a proceeding in the district court to review an order of the Department of Motor Vehicles under this act, the burden is on the plaintiff to show that the order was invalid. Way v. Department of Motor Vehicles, 217 Neb. 641, 351 N.W.2d 46 (1984). The security deposit required by this act will be construed in light of its purpose, which is to insure that any judgment against an uninsured motorist will be paid. Way v. Department of Motor Vehicles, 217 Neb. 641, 351 N.W.2d 46 (1984). Department may suspend license for failure to comply with act. Hadden v. Aitken, 156 Neb. 215, 55 N.W.2d 620 (1952). Operator of grain truck and trailer was guilty of manslaughter. Vaca v. State, 150 Neb. 516, 34 N.W.2d 873 (1948).