Chapter 380

2004 -- S 2997 SUBSTITUTE A

Enacted 07/03/04

A N A C T

RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLES -- CAMPING RECREATIONAL VEHICLE

Introduced By: Senators Polisena, and Damiani

Date Introduced: March 30, 2004

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 31-1-3 of the General Laws in Chapter 31-1 entitled "Definitions

and General Code Provisions" is hereby amended to read as follows:

31-1-3. Types of vehicles. -- (a) (1) "Antique motor car" means any motor vehicle which

is more than twenty-five (25) years old. Unless fully inspected and meeting inspection

requirements, the vehicle may be maintained solely for use in exhibitions, club activities, parades,

and other functions of public interest and may not be used primarily for the transportation of

passengers or goods over any public highway;

      (2) After the vehicle has met the requirements of state inspection, a registration plate

may be issued to it on payment of the standard fee. The vehicle may be operated on the highways

of this and other states, and may in addition to the registration plate retain the designation

"antique" and display an "antique plate".

      (b) (1) "Antique motorcycle" means any motorcycle which is more than twenty-five (25)

years old. Unless fully inspected and meeting inspection requirements, the vehicle shall be

maintained solely for use in exhibitions, club activities, parades, and other functions of public

interest and may not be used primarily for the transportation of passengers or goods over any

public highway;

      (2) After the vehicle has met the requirements of state inspection, a registration plate

may be issued to it on payment of the standard fee, and the vehicle may be operated on the

highways of this and other states, and may in addition to the registration plate retain the

designation "antique" and display an "antique plate".

      (c) "Authorized emergency vehicle" means vehicles of the fire department (fire patrol),

police vehicles, vehicles used by Rhode Island state marshals in the department of corrections,

vehicles used by the state bomb squad within the division of state fire marshal, vehicles of

municipal departments or public service corporations designated or authorized by the

administrator as ambulances and emergency vehicles; and privately owned motor vehicles of

volunteer firefighters or privately owned motor vehicles of volunteer ambulance drivers or

attendants, as authorized by the department chief or commander and permitted by the Rhode

Island association of fire chiefs and Rhode Island association of police chiefs joint committee for

volunteer warning light permits.

      (d) "Automobile" means, for registration purposes, every motor vehicle carrying

passengers other than for hire.

      (e) "Bicycle" means every vehicle having two (2) tandem wheels, except scooters and

similar devices, propelled exclusively by human power, and upon which a person may ride.

      (f) "Electric motorized bicycles" means a motorized bicycle which may be propelled by

human power or electric motor power, or by both, with an electric motor rated not more than two

(2) (S.A.E.) horsepower, which is capable of a maximum speed of not more than twenty-five (25)

miles per hour.

      (g) "Electric personal assistive mobility device" ("EPAMD") is a self-balancing two (2)

non-tandem wheeled device, designed to transport only one person, with an electric propulsion

system which limits the maximum speed of the device to fifteen (15) miles per hour.

      (h) "Hearse" means every motor vehicle used for transporting human corpses. A hearse

shall be considered an automobile for registration purposes.

      (i) "Jitney or bus" means: (1) a "public bus" which includes every motor vehicle, trailer,

semi-trailer, tractor trailer, or tractor trailer combination, used for the transportation of passengers

for hire, and operated wholly or in part upon any street or highway as a means of transportation

similar to that afforded by a street railway company, by indiscriminately receiving or discharging

passengers, or running on a regular route or over any portion of one, or between fixed termini; or

(2) a "private bus" which includes every motor vehicle other than a public bus or passenger van

designed for carrying more than ten (10) passengers and used for the transportation of persons,

and every motor vehicle other than a taxicab designed and used for the transportation of persons

for compensation.

      (j) "Motorcycle" means only those motor vehicles having not more than three (3) wheels

in contact with the ground and a saddle on which the driver sits astride, except bicycles with

helper motors as defined in subsection ( l ) of this section.

      (k) "Motor-driven cycle" means every motorcycle, including every motor scooter, with a

motor of no greater than five (5) horsepower, except bicycles with helper motors as defined in

subsection ( l ) of this section.

      (l) "Motorized bicycles" means two (2) wheel vehicles which may be propelled by

human power or helper power, or by both, with a motor rated not more than one and one-half

(1.5) brake horsepower or two (2) (S.A.E.) horsepower which is capable of a maximum speed of

not more than thirty (30) miles per hour.

(m) "Motorized camper" means a portable dwelling designed and constructed as an

integral part of a self-propelled vehicle used as a temporary dwelling for travel, camping,

recreational, and vacation use, and which is eligible to be registered for highway use.

(n) (m) "Motorized tricycles" means tricycles which may be propelled by human power

or helper motor, or by both, with a motor rated no more than 1.5 brake horsepower which is

capable of a maximum speed of not more than thirty (30) miles per hour.

(o) (n) Motorized wheelchair" means any self-propelled vehicle, designed for and used

by a person with a disability, that is incapable of speed in excess of eight (8) miles per hour.

(p) (o) "Motor vehicle" means every vehicle which is self-propelled or propelled by

electric power obtained from overhead trolley wires, but not operated upon rails, except vehicles

moved exclusively by human power, an EPAMD and electric motorized bicycles as defined in

subsection (f) of this section, and motorized wheelchairs.

(q) (p) "Motor vehicle for hire" means every motor vehicle other than jitneys, public

buses, hearses, and motor vehicles used chiefly in connection with the conduct of funerals, to

transport persons for compensation in any form, or motor vehicles rented for transporting persons

either with or without furnishing an operator.

(r) (q) "Passenger van" means every motor vehicle capable of carrying ten (10) to

fourteen (14) passengers plus an operator and used for personal use or on a not-for-hire basis.

Passenger vans may be used for vanpools, transporting passengers to and from work locations,

provided that the operator receives no remuneration other than free use of the vehicle.

(s) (r) "Pedal carriages" (also known as "quadricycles") means a nonmotorized bicycle

with four (4) or more wheels operated by one or more persons for the purpose of, or capable of,

transporting additional passengers in seats or on a platform made a part of or otherwise attached

to the pedal carriage. The term shall not include a bicycle with trainer or beginner wheels affixed

to it, nor shall it include a wheelchair or other vehicle with the purpose of operation by or for the

transportation of a handicapped person, nor shall it include a tricycle built for a child or an adult

with a seat for only one operator and no passenger.

(t) "Pick-up coach or pick-up camper" means a structure designed primarily to be

mounted on a pick-up or truck chassis and with sufficient equipment to render it suitable for use

as a temporary dwelling for travel, camping, recreational, and vacation uses, and which is eligible

to be registered for highway use.

(u) (s) "Rickshaws" (also known as "pedi cabs") means a nonmotorized bicycle with

three (3) wheels operated by one person for the purpose of, or capable of, transporting additional

passengers in seats or on a platform made a part of or otherwise attached to the rickshaw. This

definition shall not include a bicycle built for two (2) where the operators are seated one behind

the other, nor shall it include the operation of a bicycle with trainer or beginner wheels affixed

thereto, nor shall it include a wheelchair or other vehicle with the purpose of operation by or for

the transportation of a handicapped person.

(v) (t) "School bus" means every motor vehicle owned by a public or governmental

agency, when operated for the transportation of children to or from school; or privately owned,

when operated for compensation for the transportation of children to or from school.

(w) (u) "Suburban vehicle" means every motor vehicle with a convertible or

interchangeable body or with removable seats, usable for both passenger and delivery purposes,

and including motor vehicles commonly known as station or depot wagons or any vehicle into

which access can be gained through the rear by means of a hatch or trunk and where the rear seats

can be folded down to permit the carrying of articles as well as passengers.

(x) "Tent trailer" means a canvas, folding structure, mounted on wheels but not self-

propelled, used as a temporary dwelling for travel, camping, recreational, and vacation uses, and

which is eligible to be registered for highway use.

(y) (v) "Trackless trolley coach" means every motor vehicle which is propelled by

electric power obtained from overhead trolley wires, but not operated on rails.

(z) (w) "Travel trailer" means a vehicular structure built on a chassis, portable but not

self-propelled, designed to be used as a temporary dwelling for travel, camping, recreational, and

vacation uses, and when equipped for the road has a body width not exceeding eight feet (8') and

which is eligible to be registered for highway use. "Camping recreational vehicle" means a

vehicular type camping unit, certified by the manufacturer as complying with ANSI A119.2

Standards designed primarily as temporary living quarters for recreation that has either its own

motive power or is mounted on or towed by another vehicle. The basic units are tent trailers, fifth

wheel trailers, motorized campers, travel trailers, and pick-up campers.

(aa) (x) "Vehicle" means every device in, upon, or by which any person or property is or

may be transported or drawn upon a highway, except devices used exclusively upon stationary

rails or tracks.

(y) Tent trailer: A towable recreational vehicle that is mounted on wheels and constructed

with collapsible partial side walls that fold for towing by another vehicle and unfold for use and

which is eligible to be registered for highway use.

(z) Fifth wheel trailer: A towable recreational vehicle, not exceeding four hundred (400)

square feet in area, designed to be towed by a motorized vehicle that contains a towing

mechanism that is mounted above or forward of the tow vehicle’s rear axle and which is eligible

to be registered for highway use.

(aa) Motorized camper: A camping recreational vehicle, built on or permanently attached

to a self-propelled motor vehicle chassis cab or van that is an integral part of the completed

vehicle.

(bb) Travel trailer: A towable recreational vehicle, not exceeding three hundred twenty

(320) square feet in area, designed to be towed by a motorized vehicle containing a towing

mechanism that is mounted behind the tow vehicle’s bumper and which is eligible to be

registered for highway use.

(cc) Pick-up camper: A camping recreational vehicle consisting of a roof, floor, and sides

designed to be loaded onto and unloaded from the back of a pick-up truck.

(dd) Park trailer: A camping recreational vehicle that is eligible to be registered for

highway use and meets the following criteria: (i) built on a single chassis mounted on wheels; and

(ii) certified by the manufacturer as complying with ANSI A119.5.

     SECTION 2. Sections 31-25-3 and 31-25-5 of the General Laws in Chapter 31-25

entitled "Size, Weight, and Load Limits" are hereby amended to read as follows:

31-25-3. Maximum width. -- The total outside width of any vehicle or the load on it

shall not exceed one hundred two inches (102") excluding any safety and noncargo carrying

appurtenances on either motorized campers or camping recreational vehicles. Violations of this

section are subject to fines enumerated in section 31-41.1-4.

31-25-5. Maximum length of single vehicle and load. -- No vehicle, including any load

on it, except Rhode Island public transit authority articulated buses, shall exceed a length of forty

feet (40') extreme overall dimension inclusive of front and rear bumpers, or in the case of a motor

bus, motorized camper or camping recreational vehicle forty-five feet (45').

     SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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LC03065/SUB A

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