§ 31-1-101 — Definitions

Wyoming § 31-1-101

• Jurisdiction: Wyoming
• Title 31: Motor Vehicles
• Ch. 1: GENERAL PROVISIONS
• Art. 1: DEFINITIONS

Text

(a) Except as otherwise provided, as used in this act:
(i) "Commercial vehicle" means any vehicle or vehicle
combination used, designed or maintained for transportation of
persons for hire, compensation or profit, or designed or used
primarily for the transportation of property for gain or profit
and shall include, but not be limited to:
(A) A power unit having two (2) axles and a
gross vehicle weight or registered gross vehicle weight
exceeding twenty-six thousand (26,000) pounds;
(B) A power unit having three (3) or more axles
regardless of weight; or
(C) Is used in combination when the weight of
such combination exceeds twenty-six thousand (26,000) pounds of
gross vehicle weight.
(ii) Repealed by Laws 1991, ch. 241, § 4.
(iii) "Dealer" means a person regularly engaged in
the business of having in his possession vehicles for sale or
trade, or for use and operation for purposes pursuant to the
business;
(iv) "Department" means the department of
transportation;
(v) "Factory price" means the manufacturer's
suggested retail price of the make, model and trim level of a
vehicle, when new, but excludes federal excise taxes, the cost
of transportation from the place of manufacture to the place of
sale to the first user. The factory price shall not include the
value of any assistive device. The factory price shall be
determined from any current, nationally recognized price guide;
(vi) "Fleet" means one (1) or more commercial
vehicles each of which actually travels a portion of its total
miles in Wyoming as designated by the department;
(vii) "Gross vehicle weight" means the total weight
of a vehicle or vehicle combination including the unladen weight
of the vehicle or vehicle combination plus the maximum legal
declared weight of the load to be carried in or on the vehicle
or vehicle combination;
(viii) "Highway" means the entire width between the
boundary lines of every way publicly maintained or if not
publicly maintained, dedicated to public use when any part is
open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel;
(ix) "Identifying number" means the vehicle
identification numbers and letters if any assigned by the
manufacturer or by the department for the purpose of identifying
a vehicle. The term shall include any numbers or letters
assigned by the manufacturer for the purpose of identifying a
part of a vehicle and any number placed on a part in accordance
with this act or regulations of the commission for the purpose
of identifying it;
(x) "Implement of husbandry" means sheep wagons,
portable livestock loading chutes and every vehicle designed and
used exclusively for agricultural operations and only
incidentally operated or moved upon the highways but includes
any trailer only when being towed by a farm tractor;
(xi) "Interstate" means the transportation of persons
or property between Wyoming and any other jurisdiction;
(xii) "Intrastate" means the transportation of
persons or property between points within Wyoming;
(xiii) "Jurisdiction" means the states, districts,
territories or possessions of the United States, a foreign
country and a state or province of a foreign country;
(xiv) "Legal owner" means all persons in whose name a
valid certificate of title has been issued;
(xv) "Motor vehicle" means every vehicle which is
self-propelled except vehicles moved solely by human power,
electric bicycles or motorized skateboards. The term includes
the following vehicles as hereafter defined:
(A) "Antique" means any motor vehicle which is
at least twenty-five (25) years old and owned solely as a
collectors item;
(B) "Bus" means a motor vehicle designed to
carry more than ten (10) passengers and primarily used to
transport persons for compensation;
(C) "Moped" means a vehicle equipped with two
(2) or three (3) wheels, foot pedals to permit muscular
propulsion by human power, an automatic transmission and a motor
with cylinder capacity not exceeding fifty (50) cubic
centimeters producing no more than two (2) brake horsepower,
which motor is capable of propelling the vehicle at a maximum
speed of no more than thirty (30) miles per hour on a level road
surface. "Moped" does not include an electric bicycle;
(D) "Motor home" means a motor vehicle designed,
constructed and equipped as a dwelling place, living abode or
sleeping place either permanently or temporarily, but excluding
a motor vehicle carrying a camper;
(E) "Motorcycle" means every motor vehicle
having a seat or saddle for the use of the rider and designed to
travel on not more than three (3) wheels in contact with the
ground but which may have attached thereto a sidecar for the
purpose of transporting a single passenger. For the purpose of
registration and titling "motorcycle" includes motorized
bicycles and scooters, but excludes mopeds, motorized
skateboards, multipurpose vehicles, electric bicycles and off-
road recreational vehicles as defined in subparagraph (K) of
this paragraph;
(F) "Passenger car" means a motor vehicle
designed to carry ten (10) persons or less and primarily used to
transport persons, including ambulances and hearses but
excluding motorcycles, motor homes, multipurpose vehicles,
trucks and school buses;
(G) "Pedestrian vehicle" means any
self-propelled conveyance designed, manufactured and intended
for the exclusive use of persons with a physical disability, but
in no case shall a pedestrian vehicle:
(I) Exceed forty-eight (48) inches in
width.
(II) and (III) Repealed by Laws 1989, ch.
155, § 2.
(H) "School bus" means a motor vehicle that is
owned by, leased to or registered to a public school district, a
private school or a carrier under contract to a public or
private school and is used to transport children to or from
school or in connection with school activities and is designed
for and capable of carrying twelve (12) or more passengers, but
not including buses operated by common carriers in
transportation of school children;
(J) "Truck" means a motor vehicle designed, used
or maintained for the transportation of property, including
pickup trucks but excluding multipurpose vehicles and passenger
cars;
(K) "Off-road recreational vehicle" means:
(I) A recreational vehicle primarily
designed for off-road use that is fifty (50) inches or less in
width measured from the outside of one (1) tire rim to the
outside of the opposite tire rim and that has an unladen weight
of one thousand one hundred (1,100) pounds or less;
(II) Any motorcycle not required by law to
be licensed that has an unladen weight of six hundred (600)
pounds or less, is designed to be ridden off-road with the
operator astride upon a seat or saddle and travels on two (2)
tires; and
(III) Any multi-wheeled motorized vehicle
not required by law to be licensed and is designed for
cross-country travel on or over land, sand, snow, ice or other
natural terrain and which has an unladen weight of more than
nine hundred (900) pounds.
(M) "Multipurpose vehicle" means a motor vehicle
that is designed to travel on at least four (4) wheels in
contact with the ground, has an unladen weight of at least three
hundred (300) pounds but less than three thousand (3,000)
pounds, has a permanent upright seat or saddle for the driver
which is mounted at least twenty-four (24) inches from the
ground and has an identifying number. "Multipurpose vehicle"
includes off-road recreational vehicles, electric powered
vehicles, golf carts when being used other than as provided in
W.S. 31-5-102(a)(lxi)(E) and any motor vehicle meeting the
criteria of this subparagraph and not otherwise defined in this
section;
(N) "Street rod" means a motor vehicle that:
(I) Is a 1948 or older vehicle, or the
vehicle was manufactured after 1948 to resemble a vehicle
manufactured before 1949; and
(II) Has been altered from the
manufacturer's original design, or has a body constructed from
nonoriginal materials.
(O) "Custom vehicle" means any motor vehicle
that:
(I) Is at least twenty-five (25) years old
and of a model year after 1948, or was manufactured to resemble
a vehicle at least twenty-five (25) years old and of a model
year after 1948; and
(II) Has been altered from the
manufacturer's original design, or has a body constructed from
nonoriginal materials.
(P) "Pickup truck" means any motor vehicle,
excluding multipurpose vehicles and passenger cars, designed,
used or maintained for the transportation of property with an
attached open cargo box directly behind the passenger
compartment and designed to be equipped with a tailgate which
can be lowered or opened to load or unload property or cargo;
(Q) "Autocycle" means a three wheeled motor
vehicle with two (2) wheels in the front, fully or partially
enclosed, with automotive controls and safety belts.
(xvi) "Nonresident" means a person not a resident;
(xvii) "Odometer" means an instrument for measuring
and recording the actual distance a motor vehicle travels while
in operation, other than any auxiliary odometer designed to be
reset by the operator of the motor vehicle for the purpose of
recording mileage on trips;
(xviii) "Owner" means:
(A) The legal owner as defined by W.S.
31-1-101(a)(xiv); or
(B) A person, other than a lienholder, who
leases a vehicle and is entitled to lawful use and possession of
a vehicle subject to a security interest in another person but
excluding a lessee under a lease not intended as security.
(xix) "Physical disability" means any bodily
impairment which precludes a person from walking or otherwise
moving about easily as a pedestrian;
(xx) "Rental vehicle" means a vehicle which is rented
or offered for rental without a driver for a period of thirty-
one (31) days or less;
(xxi) "Resident" for the purposes of this act and
unless otherwise exempt, means any one (1) of the following:
(A) Any person, except a full-time student at
the University of Wyoming or a Wyoming community college or a
daily commuter from another jurisdiction which exempts vehicles
of daily commuters from Wyoming from registration under a
reciprocity agreement, who is gainfully employed or engages in
any trade, profession or occupation within this state and owns,
leases or rents a place of residence or otherwise lives within
Wyoming for the purpose of employment or, regardless of domicile
or any other circumstance, remains in the jurisdiction for a
period of one hundred twenty (120) days or more; or
(B) Any person immediately upon filing a
homestead or military tax exemption on property in this state;
or
(C) Any person, partnership, company, firm,
corporation or association which maintains a main or branch
office or warehouse facility within Wyoming or which bases and
operates motor vehicles in Wyoming; or
(D) Any individual, partnership, company, firm,
corporation or association which operates motor vehicles in
intrastate haulage in Wyoming; or
(E) Any person, immediately upon the date of
registering to vote in Wyoming; or
(F) Any person, immediately upon the date of
application for public assistance from this state; or
(G) Any person, immediately upon purchasing or
holding a valid Wyoming resident hunting or fishing license.
(xxii) "This act" means W.S. 31-1-101 through
31-4-104;
(xxiii) "Trailer" means a vehicle without propelling
power designed to be drawn by a motor vehicle, but excludes
converter gear, dollies and connecting mechanisms. The term
includes the following vehicles as hereafter defined:
(A) "House trailer" means every trailer which
is:
(I) Designed, constructed and equipped as a
dwelling place, living abode or sleeping place, either
permanently or temporarily;
(II) Equipped for use as a conveyance on
streets and highways; and
(III) Eight and one-half (8 1/2) feet or
less in width, excluding appurtenances, or more than eight and
one-half (8 1/2) feet in width and used primarily as a mobile
laboratory or mobile office.
(B) "Semitrailer" means a trailer so designed
and used in conjunction with a motor vehicle that some part of
its weight and that of its load rests upon or is carried by
another vehicle, but excludes converter gear, dollies and
connecting mechanisms;
(C) "Utility trailer" means any trailer less
than six thousand (6,000) pounds gross vehicle weight.
(xxiv) "Transportable home" means and includes the
following as defined:
(A) "Modular home" means a residential dwelling
constructed in a factory to a residential construction code
other than the Federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety
Standards;
(B) "Prebuilt home" means any residential
dwelling that is wholly, or in substantial part, made,
fabricated, formed or assembled in manufacturing facilities for
installation or assembly on a building site. Prebuilt home
shall include, but not be limited to, a manufactured home,
modular home and mobile home; or
(C) "Manufactured home" means a residential
dwelling built in accordance with the Federal Manufactured Home
Construction and Safety Standards which is a unit more than
eight and one-half (8 1/2) feet in width which is designed,
constructed and equipped as a dwelling place, living abode or
place of business to which wheels may be attached for movement
upon streets and highways except a unit used primarily as a
mobile laboratory or mobile office.
(xxv) "Unladen weight" means the actual weight of a
vehicle including the cab, body and all accessories with which
the vehicle is equipped for normal use on the highways excluding
the weight of any load. The unladen weight of vehicles mounted
with machinery or equipment not normally designed for the
vehicle and not used for the transportation of property other
than the machinery or equipment is three-fourths (3/4) of the
gross weight of the vehicle;
(xxvi) "Vehicle" means a device in, upon or by which
any person or property may be transported or drawn upon a
highway, excluding devices moved by human power or used
exclusively upon rails or tracks, implements of husbandry,
machinery used in construction work not mainly used for the
transportation of property over highways and pedestrian vehicles
while operated by a person who by reason of a physical
disability is otherwise unable to move about as a pedestrian;
(xxvii) "Vehicle identification number or VIN" means
the numbers and letters, if any, designated by the department
for the purpose of identifying the vehicle or the unique
identifier assigned to each vehicle by the manufacturer pursuant
to regulations;
(xxviii) "U-Drive-It vehicle" means a vehicle which
is rented or offered for rental without a driver for a period of
thirty-one (31) days or less, including consumer rental trucks
and trailers used to transport personal property and effects,
but not including:
(A) Trucks and trailers used to transport
commercial freight;
(B) Trailers rented from an agency that does not
also offer motor vehicles for rental.
(xxix) "Motorized skateboard" means a self-propelled
device which has a motor or engine, a deck on which a person may
ride and at least two (2) wheels in contact with the ground and
which is not otherwise defined in this act as a "motor vehicle",
"motorcycle", "electric bicycle", "motor-driven cycle" or
"pedestrian vehicle";
(xxx) "Annual registration month" means:
(A) For a vehicle currently registered in this
state, the month in which the registration expires;
(B) For a newly acquired vehicle, the month of
acquisition;
(C) For any other vehicle, the month in which
the vehicle was initially required to be registered in this
state;
(D) For dealer demo, full use and manufacturer
license plates, the month in which the dealer's certificate was
issued.
(xxxi) "Full-time student" means, for the purpose of
this act: a person who attends the University of Wyoming,
community college or any school licensed in this state offering
post secondary education on a full-time basis, as defined by the
University of Wyoming, community college or any other post
secondary school licensed in this state;
(xxxii) "Special equipment" includes any equipment
not included in the manufacturer's suggested retail price and
not required for the operation of a vehicle upon a highway, but
that is attached to the vehicle` during the period for which
registration is issued and used for a business or other purpose;
(xxxiii) "Assistive device" means any nonstandard
item, equipment, product, system or vehicle modification
installed in or on a vehicle and designed to maintain or improve
the functional capabilities of a person with a disability.
"Assistive device" includes, without limitation, wheelchair
lifts, hand or arm controls, pedal extensions, special seating,
vehicle kneeling systems and wheelchair securement systems;
(xxxiv) "Electric bicycle" means a bicycle or
tricycle equipped with fully operable pedals, a seat or saddle
for the rider's use and an electric motor of less than seven
hundred fifty (750) watts that meets the requirements of one (1)
of the following three (3) classes:
(A) "Class 1 electric bicycle" means an electric
bicycle equipped with a motor that provides assistance only when
the rider is pedaling and that ceases to provide assistance when
the bicycle reaches a speed of twenty (20) miles per hour;
(B) "Class 2 electric bicycle" means an electric
bicycle equipped with a motor that may be used to propel the
bicycle without pedaling and that is not capable of providing
assistance when the bicycle reaches a speed of twenty (20) miles
per hour;
(C) "Class 3 electric bicycle" means an electric
bicycle equipped with a motor that provides assistance only when
the rider is pedaling and that ceases to provide assistance when
the bicycle reaches a speed of twenty-eight (28) miles per hour.