Title 31, Title 31 and Other Vehicles

It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to give false or insufficient weight or measure in the sale of fuels or lubricating oils.

(a) Beginning June 1, 2007, no person shall sell, deliver for sale, import, or cause to be imported into the state for sale any gasoline containing methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) or other ether oxygenates in quantities greater than one-half of one percent (0.5%) by volume. Fo…

Every peddler shall, before continuing or commencing to transact the business of a peddler, obtain from the division of taxation a license. Application for the license shall be made to the division of taxation on forms to be obtained from the division of taxation. The division of…

(a) Every peddler, at its principal place of business within the state of Rhode Island, shall keep a record of the number of gallons of fuels purchased, sold, and used by the peddler, from whom purchased and the date of the purchases, to whom sold and the amount and date of the s…

(a) No person shall sell at retail, drive, or move on any highway any motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, or pole trailer or any combination of them unless the equipment upon the vehicle is in good working order and adjustment as required in this title, and the vehicle is in suc…

The director may deny an application for a permit or suspend or revoke a permit after it has been granted for any of the following reasons: (1) On proof of unfitness of the applicant to do business as a motor vehicle inspection station; (2) For any misstatement by the applicant i…

Any person violating any of the provisions of §§ 31-38-1 — 31-38-10 of this chapter, or of the rules and regulations established by the director of the department of revenue as provided in this chapter, shall upon conviction be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dol…

(a) The director of the department of revenue, or his or her designee, shall collect a fee of four dollars ($4.00) for each certificate of inspection issued, and the monies received shall be turned over to the general treasurer to be deposited in the general funds of the state. (…

Every person who shall provide maintenance facilities for the servicing of vehicles used in his or her business, except licensed motor vehicle dealers, which facilities shall be approved by the director of the department of revenue, and shall maintain any records and follow any p…

(a) The following vehicles shall be exempt from inspections: (1) All trailers or semi-trailers having a gross weight of one thousand pounds (1,000 lbs.) or less; (2) Any special mobile equipment which is not required to be registered; and (3) Vehicles that are limited in their sc…

(a) Any person aggrieved by an order of the director of revenue pertaining to either a suspension, revocation, or denial of an application for a permit may appeal from the order of the director by filing a notice of request for review of the director’s order with the sixth divisi…

The director of the department of revenue shall hold and conduct hearings in accordance with § 31-38-17. These hearings shall be governed by rules to be adopted by the director of the department of revenue, and the director of the department of revenue shall not be bound by techn…

The provisions of this chapter will be severable and if any of the provisions shall be held to be invalid the decision of the court respecting the provision or provisions shall not affect the validity of any other provision which can be given effect without the invalid provision.

(a) The director of the department of revenue, members of the state and local police, and any other officers and employees of the division of motor vehicles as the director of the department of revenue may designate, may at any time require the seller at retail or driver of the v…

The general assembly shall annually appropriate, out of any money not otherwise appropriated, any sums that it may deem necessary for the purpose of this chapter. The state controller is authorized and directed to draw his or her orders upon the general treasurer for the payment …

(a) No seller at retail or person driving a vehicle shall refuse to submit the vehicle to an inspection and test as required by § 31-38-2. (b) Every seller at retail, owner, or driver, upon receiving a notice as provided in § 31-38-2, shall comply with it and shall within five (5…

(a)(1) The director of revenue shall at least once each year, but not more frequently than twice each year, or on the schedule defined pursuant to chapter 47.1 of this title require that every vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, and pole trailer registered in this state or upon a reta…

When a motor vehicle is purchased out of state by a resident of this state, the owner of the vehicle shall have five (5) business days from the date of registering the vehicle to obtain a certificate of inspection as required by the provisions of this chapter.

(a) For the purpose of making inspections and issuing official certificates of inspection and approval as provided in this chapter, the director of the department of revenue, or the director’s designee, shall issue permits for and furnish instructions and all necessary forms to o…

(a) No permit for an official station shall be assigned or transferred or used at any location other than designated in it, and the permit shall be posted in a conspicuous place at the designated location. (b) The state-certified person operating an official inspection station sh…

(a) No person shall in any manner represent any place as an official inspection station unless the station is operating under a valid permit issued by the director of the department of revenue or the director’s designee. (b) No person other than a state certified employee of an i…

(a) No person shall make, issue, or knowingly use any imitation or counterfeit of an official certificate of inspection. (b) No person shall display or cause or permit to be displayed, upon any vehicle any certificate of inspection and approval knowing the certificate to be ficti…

It is declared to be the policy of Rhode Island: (1) To provide maximum safety for all persons who travel or otherwise use the public highways of the state; (2) To deny the privilege of operating motor vehicles on the highways to persons who, by their conduct and record have demo…

An appeal may be had from any final action or order of a court entered under the provisions of this chapter in the same manner and form as such an appeal would be claimed and adjudicated in any criminal case.

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as amending, modifying, or repealing any existing law of Rhode Island or any existing ordinance of any city or town relating to the operation of motor vehicles, the licensing of persons to operate motor vehicles, or providing penalties f…

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as limiting, modifying, or reducing the authority of the administrator of the division of motor vehicles in any way, and nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed as affecting any of the provisions of chapter 11 of this title …

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Rhode Island Habitual Offender Act”.

An “habitual offender” is any person, resident or nonresident, whose record, as maintained in the office of the division of motor vehicles, shows that the person has accumulated the convictions, or findings of delinquency or waywardness in the case of juveniles, for separate and …

The administrator of the division of motor vehicles shall certify three (3) transcripts or abstracts of the conviction record as maintained in the office of the division of motor vehicles of any person whose record brings him or her within the definition of an habitual offender, …

The attorney general upon receiving the habitual offender transcripts or abstracts from the administrator of the division of motor vehicles shall immediately file a complaint against the person named in it in the district court having jurisdiction of criminal offenses in the city…

(a) The court in which the complaint is filed shall enter an order, which incorporates the habitual offender transcript or abstract and is directed to the person named in it, to show cause why he or she should not be barred from operating a motor vehicle on the highways of this s…

If the court finds that the person is not the same person named in the habitual offender transcript or abstract, or that the person is not an habitual offender under this chapter, the proceeding shall be dismissed. But if the court finds that the person is the person named in the…

No license to operate motor vehicles in Rhode Island shall be reissued to an habitual offender, subsequent to an order of the court as provided in § 31-40-6: (1) For a period of not less than one year nor more than five (5) years from the date of the order of the court finding th…

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to operate any motor vehicle in this state while the order of the court prohibiting the operation is in effect. The operation may be punished by imprisonment of not more than five (5) years. No portion of the sentence shall be suspended or …

At the expiration of the time of suspension set by the court under § 31-40-7 after the date of any final order of a court entered under the provisions of this chapter, finding a person to be an habitual offender and directing him or her not to operate a motor vehicle in this stat…

(a) “Abandoned motor vehicle” means a motor vehicle that is inoperable and over eight (8) years old and is left unattended on public property for more than forty-eight (48) hours, or a motor vehicle that has remained illegally on public property for a period of more than three (3…

Any person who violates the provisions of this chapter regarding abandoned motor vehicles on private property, shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars ($500). In addition, the violator shall be responsible for all costs relating to the approval and disposal of the aband…

In the city of Pawtucket, the police department or its designee shall have the authority to carry out the provisions of this chapter.

(a) A police department may, upon completion of a vehicle survey report, take into custody any motor vehicle found abandoned on public or private property. A police department may employ its own personnel, equipment, and facilities or authorize persons, equipment, and facilities …

(a) A police department which takes into custody an abandoned motor vehicle shall notify within fifteen (15) days of it, by registered mail, return receipt requested, the last known registered owner of the motor vehicle and all lienholders of record that the vehicle has been take…

(a) If an abandoned motor vehicle has not been reclaimed as provided for in § 31-42-3, the police department shall sell the abandoned motor vehicle at a public auction. The purchaser of the motor vehicle shall take title to the motor vehicle free and clear of all liens and claims…

(a) Any motor vehicle left for more than ten (10) days in a garage operated for commercial purposes after notice by registered mail, return receipt requested to the owner to pick up the vehicle, or for more than ten (10) days after the period when, pursuant to contract, the vehic…

When the director of the department of environmental management determines that an unlicensed junkyard exists, he or she may order the demolition and removal of the junked motor vehicles which are contained on the unlicensed premises. Notice of the order shall be sent by ordinary…

(a) Any person, firm, corporation, or unit of government upon whose property or in whose possession is found any abandoned motor vehicle, or any person being the owner of a motor vehicle whose registration is faulty, lost, or destroyed may apply to the police department of the ju…

(a) Any demolisher who purchases or otherwise acquires a motor vehicle for purposes of wrecking, dismantling, or demolition shall not be required to obtain a registration for the motor vehicle in his or her own name. After the motor vehicle has been demolished, processed, or chan…

Notwithstanding the age of a motor vehicle and/or part from which all identifying numbers have been removed so that the identity of the motor vehicle and/or part and its owner cannot be determined, the motor vehicle and/or part shall be subject to a forfeiture hearing before a ju…