Title 31, Title 31 and Other Vehicles

(a) Failure of a school bus to appear for a scheduled inspection shall result in that school bus registration being immediately suspended. Notification of the failure to appear and the suspension order shall be sent to the registered owner and to the superintendent and the school…

(a) All school buses, as defined in § 31-1-3, shall be maintained in a safe operating condition through an approved systematic preventive maintenance program. Defects which could create a hazard for riders or other road users shall be corrected before the vehicle transports child…

(a) The division of motor vehicles, and state and local law enforcement officers, are authorized to stop and conduct a visual inspection of any school bus as defined in 31-1-3, on public roads and highways and in public and private parking areas. The random inspections shall be c…

Every school bus driver shall perform a daily pre-trip inspection of his or her assigned vehicle, and shall report promptly and in writing any defect or deficiencies discovered that may affect the safety of the vehicle’s operation or result in mechanical breakdown. Pre-trip inspe…

No registered owner, school superintendent, or driver shall use or allow to be used any school bus for transporting children after notification that the bus registration has been suspended for failure to appear for its scheduled inspection or for failure to pass the inspection. T…

(a)(1) Pursuant to § 31-22-10, the division of motor vehicles is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations concerning the type, construction, and equipment of motor vehicles used for the transportation of children to and from childcare facilities and to and from school spons…

(a) Any person over eighteen (18) years of age who enters a school bus as defined in § 31-1-3 without prior authorization of the driver or a school official, and who refuses to disembark after being ordered to do so by the driver, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. (b) A school di…

(a) The use of a personal wireless communications device by a school bus driver shall be prohibited, while the bus is transporting children, except in the case of an emergency. (b) Any person who violates any of the provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall, upon convict…

(a) The use of a personal wireless communication device by a minor, while the minor is operating a motor vehicle shall be prohibited, except in the case of an emergency. For purposes of this section, the term “minor” shall include any person less than eighteen (18) years of age. …

(a) The division of motor vehicles shall have jurisdiction over the lighting, equipment, safety, and sanitary condition of all taxicabs, buses, jitneys, and other vehicles used for the transportation of passengers for hire, and shall cause an inspection of them to be made before …

The last registered owner, or person having custody and control as authorized by the owner, of any motor vehicle who abandons it as defined by § 31-42-1 on any public or private property other than his or her own, without the permission of the owner or lessee of the property in c…

(a) The owner, or person having custody and control as authorized by the owner, of any motor vehicle which is towed away from any public roadway because it is in violation of a state law or city or town ordinance, or which is towed from the scene of an accident or breakdown, or w…

Every licensed wrecker who shall render towing services at the scene of an accident shall also have the responsibility to remove all glass and debris at the accident scene from the roadway at the time of rendering the services. A police officer shall remain on the scene of the ac…

Every licensed wrecker who shall render towing and storage services for the benefit of a motor vehicle owner shall have a lien on and may retain the possession of the motor vehicle until the charges for the towing and storage have been paid.

If the charges referred to in § 31-22-15 remain unpaid for a period of at least sixty (60) days from and after the towing, the wrecker may sell the motor vehicle at private or public sale and the proceeds, after first paying the expenses of the sale, shall be applied as follows: …

Thirty (30) days before any sale pursuant to § 31-22-16 is held, notice in writing shall be given to the registered owner of the motor vehicle to be sold, if known to the wrecker, and to the holder of any security interest recorded with the secretary of state, of the amount owed …

Every licensed wrecker, after giving notice to the registered owner of the motor vehicle to be sold as prescribed in § 31-22-17, shall advertise notice of the sale for two (2) consecutive days at least ten (10) days but not more than fourteen (14) days prior to the date of the sa…

(a) No person or persons shall occupy or otherwise be a passenger in a house trailer at any time while the house trailer is in transit or being moved in any manner upon the public highways of this state. (b) Any person found guilty of violating any of the provisions of this secti…

The driver of a vehicle shall not back the vehicle unless the movement can be made with reasonable safety and without interfering with other traffic. Violations of this section are subject to fines enumerated in § 31-41.1-4.

No person shall distribute literature to, request donations from, or in any other manner perform acts of solicitation of any type directed at the operator or any passenger of any motor vehicle in a travel lane, including motor vehicles stopped at intersections or in obedience to …

(a) No person shall operate a motor vehicle upon the public highways with any unsealed alcoholic beverage container within the passenger section of the vehicle. (b) Any person found in violation of this section may be fined not more than two hundred dollars ($200) or have his or …

(a)(1) Any person transporting a child under the age of eight (8), less than fifty-seven inches (57″) in height and less than eighty pounds (80 lbs.), in a motor vehicle operated on the roadways, streets, or highways of this state, shall transport the child in any rear seating po…

(a) All law enforcement officers in this state are authorized to provide a verbal warning to any person who shall be deemed to have left a child under the age of seven (7) unattended in a motor vehicle. The warning shall apprise the offending person of the dangers of this practic…

(a) Every motor vehicle used for the purpose of towing or assisting disabled motor vehicles shall display, in sharp color contrast to the background, and be of such size, shape, and color as to be readily legible during daylight hours, from a distance of fifty feet (50′) while th…

The operator of any vehicle upon a highway within this state, upon the stopping of the vehicle by any law enforcement or police officer, shall, at any time from a half-hour after sunset to a half-hour before sunrise, display and operate its interior lights until such time as the …

Each operator of a vehicle approaching a horse on a public highway shall reduce speed, proceed with caution and stop if necessary to avoid endangering the equestrian, or frightening or striking the horse. An operator violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a c…

No operator of a vehicle in the vicinity of an equestrian and horse may blow a horn, or cause loud or unusual noises, in a manner to startle or frighten the horse. An operator violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a civil violation and upon conviction shall …

If any provision of this chapter, or the applicability of the provision to any person or circumstances, is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or application of the chapter which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to t…

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to transport any animal or animals either for business or pleasure on or in an open air motor vehicle unless the animal or animals being transported: (1) Is kept in an enclosed area of the motor vehicle; (2) The animal or animals are under …

Any motor vehicle bearing fire apparatus plates shall be subject to a yearly inspection in accordance with the criteria listed in the national fire protection association (NFPA) standard 1915, 2000 edition.

(a) A person operating a motorcycle shall ride only upon the permanent and regular seat attached to it. The operator shall not carry any other person nor shall any other person ride on a motorcycle unless the motorcycle is designed to carry more than one person, in which event a …

A person operating a motor driven cycle as defined in § 31-3-1(i) shall ride only upon the permanent and regular seat attached to it. The operator shall not carry any other person. An operator violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a civil violation and upon …

(a) For purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings: (1) “Driving” means operating a motor vehicle on a public road, including operation while temporarily stationary because of traffic, a traffic light or stop sign, or otherwise, but does not i…

(a) For purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings: (1) “Engage in a call” means talking into or listening on a hand-held personal wireless communication device, but does not include holding a hand-held personal wireless communication device t…

(a) No person shall drive a vehicle when it is so loaded, or when there are in the front seat such a number of persons, exceeding three (3), as to obstruct the view of the driver to the front or sides of the vehicle or as to interfere with the driver’s control over the driving me…

No vehicle shall at any time be driven through or within a safety zone. Violations of this section are subject to fines enumerated in § 31-41.1-4.

(a) The driver of any motor vehicle when traveling upon a down grade shall not coast with the gears of the vehicle in neutral. (b) The driver of a commercial motor vehicle, when traveling upon a down grade, shall not coast with the clutch disengaged. (c) Violations of this sectio…

The driver of any vehicle other than one on official business, shall not follow any fire apparatus traveling in response to a fire alarm closer than five hundred feet (500′), or drive into or park the vehicle within the block where fire apparatus has stopped in answer to a fire a…

No vehicle shall be driven over any unprotected hose of a fire department when it is laid down on any street, or private driveway to be used at any fire or alarm of fire, without the consent of the fire department official in command. Violations of this section are subject to fin…

(a) No person shall throw or deposit upon any highway any glass bottle, glass, nails, tacks, wire, cans, or any other substance likely to injure any person, animal, or vehicle upon the highway, or likely to deface the beauty or cleanliness of the highway, nor shall any person in …