Title XVI, Motor Vehicles

As used in this chapter: (1) "Department" means the Department of Highways; (2) "Crosswalk" means: (a) That part of a roadway at an intersection within the connections of the lateral lines of the sidewalks on opposite sides of the highway measured from the curbs or in the absence…

(1) As used in this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them: (a) "Authorized emergency vehicle" shall mean any vehicle designated as such by KRS 189.910. (b) "Wrecker" shall mean a motor vehicle on which a wrecking crane and …

Every vehicle when on a highway shall be so equipped as to make a minimum of noise, smoke or other nuisance, to protect the rights of other traffic, and to promote the public safety.

(1) Headlamps, when required on a vehicle, shall be illuminated: (a) During the period from one-half (1/2) hour after sunset to one-half (1/2) hour before sunrise; and (b) At such other times as atmospheric conditions render visibility as low as or lower than is ordinarily the ca…

(1) Every motor vehicle, other than a motorcycle or moped, shall be equipped with at least two (2) headlamps with at least one (1) on each side of the front of the motor vehicle, which headlamps shall comply with the requirements and limitations set forth in this section. (2) Eve…

Notwithstanding any other provisions against the use of flashing lights, any vehicle may be equipped with lamps which may be used for the purpose of warning the operators of other vehicles of the presence of a vehicular traffic hazard requiring the exercise of unusual care in app…

No person shall install or maintain a red, yellow, green or similarly colored flashing light within one hundred (100) feet of the right-of-way of a state maintained highway for any purposes other than safety, highway construction, or emergency purposes.

(1) All motor vehicles shall display at the rear two (2) red lights visible when lighted for at least five hundred (500) feet, unless the motor vehicle was originally equipped with only one (1) such light. (2) A person shall not operate any motor truck or semitrailer truck on any…

A person shall not operate any vehicle required by law to be licensed upon a highway unless it is equipped with a mechanical signal device which would indicate an intention to stop or suddenly decrease speed by illuminating at least two (2) red lights on the rear of the vehicle, …

unit. (1) Each vehicle towed by a towline shall display the lights required on vehicles of the class to which it belongs. (2) Each vehicle being hauled by another and connected to it in a manner that will keep them uniformly spaced shall carry at least one (1) light on the left s…

(1) A person shall not operate any commercial motor vehicle upon a highway outside of a business or residence district at any time from one-half (1/2) hour before sunset to one-half (1/2) hour before sunrise unless that vehicle carries the number and type of flares, electric lant…

Every motor vehicle, when in use on a highway, shall be equipped with a horn or other device capable of making an abrupt sound sufficiently loud to be heard from a distance of at least two hundred (200) feet under all ordinary traffic conditions. Every person operating an automob…

(1) No owner shall knowingly operate or permit to be operated on a highway a motor vehicle upon which the brakes are defective. (2) Every motor vehicle, other than a motorcycle, when operated upon a highway shall be equipped with brakes adequate to control the movement of and to …

(1) On and after January 1, 1967, it shall be unlawful to sell, or to display for sale, any brake lining unless of a type which has been submitted to the secretary of the Transportation Cabinet for approval and for which a certificate of approval has been issued by the secretary …

No owner shall knowingly operate or permit to be operated on a highway a motor vehicle upon which the steering device is defective.

wipers. (1) A windshield in a fixed and upright position, that is equipped with safety glazing as required by federal safety-glazing material standards, is required on every motor vehicle which is operated on the public highways, roads, and streets, except on a motorcycle or impl…

(1) No person shall sell any new motor vehicle in this state nor shall any new motor vehicle be registered in this state unless the vehicle is equipped with safety glass wherever glass is used in the windshield, doors or windows. (2) As used in this section, "safety glass" means …

seats -- Exceptions. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, "motor vehicle" as used in this section means every vehicle designed to carry fifteen (15) or fewer passengers and used for the transportation of persons, but the term does not include: (a) Motorcycles; (b) Mo…

All law enforcement agencies in this state shall be prohibited from erecting roadblocks for the sole purpose of checking for violations of KRS 189.125.

(1) Except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, every motor vehicle shall be equipped with the following mirrors so located and adjusted as to reflect to the driver a view of the highway to the rear of the vehicle: (a) One (1) mirror mounted on the left side of the vehi…

(1) Every motor vehicle with an internal-combustion, steam or air motor shall be equipped with a suitable and efficient muffler. No person while on a highway shall operate a motor vehicle with the muffler cut out or removed. No cutout shall be so arranged or connected as to permi…

(1) No vehicle shall be operated upon any highway unless it is so constructed as to prevent its contents from escaping. (2) No vehicle shall be operated upon any public highway for a distance of over one (1) mile whose load is susceptible to shifting or spillage unless said load …

Whenever a vehicle is used to transport an explosive, it shall be marked on each side and the rear with the word "Explosives" in letters no less than eight (8) inches high, or there shall be displayed on the rear of the vehicle a red flag not less than twenty-four (24) inches squ…

(1) No person shall use on a highway not covered with ice, a vehicle with a chained wheel, unless the wheel rests upon an ice shoe at least six (6) inches wide. (2) Where chains are used on rubber-tired vehicles, the cross chains shall be not more than three-fourths (3/4) of an i…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, a person shall not operate a vehicle on a highway with an iron, steel, or wooden wheel unless the wheel is equipped with a rubber strip or a rubber compound strip on the portion of the wheel that is in contact with the sur…

No person shall operate on a highway a vehicle that has greater weight on any tire per inch of width of the tire which is in contact with the surface of the highway, than four hundred (400) pounds, for iron or steel tires, or six hundred (600) pounds, for solid rubber or rubber c…

(1) No person shall knowingly operate on any highway any vehicle on which any tire has been regrooved or recut or offer such tire for sale or exchange. (2) This section shall not apply to regrooved or recut vehicle tires which are designed and constructed in such a manner that re…

operated exclusively by automated driving system. (1) As used in this section, "fully autonomous vehicle" and "automated driving system" shall have the same meaning as in KRS 186.760. (2) A fully autonomous vehicle that is designed to be operated exclusively by the automated driv…

(1) No person shall operate on a highway any vehicle, object or contrivance, other than a motor truck or semitrailer truck, which weighs more than fifteen (15) tons, including the weight of the vehicle, object or contrivance and load, except as provided by subsection (2). This sh…

(1) As used in this section, "materials" shall mean cargo, whether divisible or nondivisible, that a motor vehicle transports in the usual and ordinary course of business and shall specifically include, but not be limited to, agricultural products, minerals, or natural resources …

(1) As used in this section: (a) "Appurtenances" means the following devices that do not extend beyond the maximum vehicle width as established in subsection (2) of this section by more than six (6) inches on either side of a recreational vehicle: 1. Hand holds for entry or egres…

manufactured homes, or vehicles -- Exception. A person shall not operate on any highway, except those highways designated by the secretary of transportation under the provisions of KRS 189.222, or those locally maintained highways under the provisions of KRS 189.222(13) or 189.23…

Exceptions -- Cabinet may promulgate administrative regulations to implement federal regulations -- Restriction of cabinet's enforcement powers on locally maintained roads. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the secretary of the Transportation Cabinet in re…

The secretary of the Transportation Cabinet, or his or her designee, is hereby authorized to join and negotiate with other states a compact for overdimensional permits. If the secretary joins a compact pursuant to this section, the cabinet shall promulgate administrative regulati…

counties -- Operation of certain overdimensional motor vehicles transporting agricultural commodities or materials authorized on all public roads. (1) In a county that does not have at least ten (10) miles of existing highway designated by the Transportation Cabinet for operation…

(1) As used in this section: (a) "Bill of lading" means a document evidencing the purchase of, or delivery order for, building materials issued by a person engaged in a business that sold or leased the building materials; (b) "Building materials" means equipment or materials asso…

weight. Any peace officer having reason to believe that the height, length, width or weight of any motor truck, semitrailer truck, or trailer, is in excess of the maximum limits prescribed by KRS 189.221 and subsection (1) of 189.222 or permitted by any special permit issued unde…

It is unlawful for the owner, or any other person, employing or otherwise directing the operator of any vehicle, to require or knowingly to permit the operation of such vehicle upon a highway in any manner contrary to law.

Every person who commits, attempts to commit, conspires to commit, or aids or abets in the commission of, any act declared by KRS 189.221 to 189.228 to be a crime, whether individually or in connection with one or more other persons or as a principal, agent, or accessory, shall b…

motor vehicles -- Department of Kentucky State Police powers -- Commercial motor vehicle inspectors. (1) The Department of Highways may take such actions, and may promulgate administrative regulations in accordance with KRS Chapter 13A, as are necessary and proper to carry out th…

For the purposes of KRS 189.221 to 189.228, proof of the registration of any vehicle in the name of any person shall be prima facie evidence of ownership of said vehicle by the person in whose name it is registered, and each violation by an owner, whether or not with the same veh…

agreement of persons applying for permit under KRS 189.212. (1) Except as provided in KRS 189.221(6), 189.222, and 189.2226, the department, in respect to state and federal highways, and county judges/executive in respect to county highways, may prescribe, by notice as provided i…

highways. The provisions of this chapter to the contrary notwithstanding, a vehicle that has a valid registration of a declared gross vehicle weight, including any towed unit, of eighty thousand (80,000) pounds or less shall be exempt from any axle weight provisions when operatin…

(1) The secretary of transportation may install and maintain traffic control devices upon state-maintained highways in such manner as is reasonably necessary to promote the safety and convenience of the traveling public. (2) The driver of any vehicle shall obey the instructions o…

highway work zones. The secretary of the Transportation Cabinet shall promulgate administrative regulations pursuant to KRS Chapter 13A governing the posting of signs advising motorists that penalties are increased for traffic violations occurring in a highway work zone. The admi…

Definitions -- Procedures -- Administrative regulations. (1) As used in this section: (a) "Automated speed enforcement device" means a photographic, radar, lidar, laser, or other device with one (1) or more vehicle sensors that transmits a vehicle's speed and an image of the rear…

(1) Subject to the requirements of subsection (2) of this section, if a violation of KRS 189.2326, 189.290 to 189.575, or 189.910 to 189.960 occurred in a highway work zone, the fine shall be: (a) 1. Five hundred dollars ($500) if no person is physically injured or dies as a resu…

highway work zones -- Penalty -- Disposition of restitution payments. (1) A person shall not intentionally destroy, remove, injure, or deface a temporary traffic control device erected for the purpose of enhancing traffic safety or worker safety in a highway work zone. A temporar…

The secretary of transportation may, by official order, assume the responsibility for regulating traffic and parking on streets accepted as a part of the state highway system, and may contract with the city or a joint city-county agency for the performance of this function.

Every motor vehicle licensed under KRS 186.050(3) through (14) shall display all plates issued by the county clerk. Except as provided in KRS 186.045, the registration receipt shall be kept in the truck at all times and shall be available for inspection.