§33 — Title 18 Crimes and Criminal Procedure | U.S. Code

Summary

Damaging, disabling, destroying, tampering with, or putting explosives or other destructive things in or near a motor vehicle used in travel between states or countries, or in its cargo or parts, is a crime if done on purpose to threaten people on board or people who might board, or done with reckless disregard for human life. The same is true for garages, terminals, supply places, or other facilities that support those vehicles, and for actions that hurt or knock out drivers or other workers. Trying to do these acts or planning them with others is also illegal. A person convicted can be fined, jailed for up to 20 years, or both. If the vehicle was carrying high-level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel (the legal categories of dangerous nuclear materials), a conviction brings a fine and at least 30 years in prison, or life.

Title 18, §33

Crimes and Criminal Procedure — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Whoever willfully, with intent to endanger the safety of any person on board or anyone who he believes will board the same, or with a reckless disregard for the safety of human life, damages, disables, destroys, tampers with, or places or causes to be placed any explosive or other destructive substance in, upon, or in proximity to, any motor vehicle which is used, operated, or employed in interstate or foreign commerce, or its cargo or material used or intended to be used in connection with its operation; orWhoever willfully, with like intent, damages, disables, destroys, sets fire to, tampers with, or places or causes to be placed any explosive or other destructive substance in, upon, or in proximity to any garage, terminal, structure, supply, or facility used in the operation of, or in support of the operation of, motor vehicles engaged in interstate or foreign commerce or otherwise makes or causes such property to be made unworkable, unusable, or hazardous to work or use; or Whoever, with like intent, willfully disables or incapacitates any driver or person employed in connection with the operation or maintenance of the motor vehicle, or in any way lessens the ability of such person to perform his duties as such; or Whoever willfully attempts or conspires to do any of the aforesaid acts— shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both.

(b)Whoever is convicted of a violation of subsection (a) involving a motor vehicle that, at the time the violation occurred, carried high-level radioactive waste (as that term is defined in section 2(12) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10101(12))) or spent nuclear fuel (as that term is defined in section 2(23) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10101(23))), shall be fined under this title and imprisoned for any term of years not less than 30, or for life.

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Editorial Notes

Amendments

2006—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 109–177 inserted “or conspires” before “to do any of the aforesaid acts” in fourth par. 1995—Pub. L. 104–88 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a) and added subsec. (b). 1994—Pub. L. 103–322 substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $10,000”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1995 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 104–88 effective Jan. 1, 1996, see section 2 of Pub. L. 104–88, set out as an

Effective Date

note under section 1301 of Title 49, Transportation.

§33 Destruction of motor vehicles or motor vehicle facilities

Summary

Title 18, §33

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Effective Date

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