Title 32, MOTOR VEHICLES

A duly registered and licensed snowmobile may be operated in the right - hand or left - hand ditch on state designated snowmobile trails, and in the right - hand ditch outside the roadway of other than interstate highways, but not upon or across any highway except as provided by …

A snowmobile may be operated upon or across a roadway: (1) To cross at right angles to the roadway only after stopping and yielding the right - of - way to all approaching traffic and crossing as closely as possible to an intersection or approach; (2) When there is no ditch along…

A permit authorized under subdivision 32-20A-7(4) may be issued to persons, or associations or clubs formed by owners of snowmobiles, to be operated upon roadways which are closed to travel by other motor vehicles or which during the hours of use by snowmobiles will be adequately…

Nothing contained in §§ 32-20A-4 to 32-20A-7 , inclusive, shall grant to the operator of a snowmobile any rights or privileges to operate within the corporate limits of a municipality, and nothing in this chapter shall prohibit the municipality from regulating by ordinance the op…

A person engaged in the business of selling bicycles at retail may not sell any bicycle unless the bicycle has an identifying number permanently stamped or cast on its frame. A violation of this section is a Class 2 misdemeanor. Source: SL 1982, ch 226 , § 7.

Beginning January 1, 2020, any person who manufacturers or distributes an electric bicycle in this state shall permanently affix to the electric bicycle a label that contains the following information: (1) The designated class of the electric bicycle; (2) The maximum assisted spe…

An electric bicycle shall be equipped so that the electric motor is disengaged or ceases to function when the person stops pedaling or when the brakes are applied. Source: SL 2019, ch 135 , § 3.

Unless otherwise prohibited by a governmental entity having jurisdiction, a person may operate a Class I or Class II electric bicycle on any bicycle path or multi-use path in this state. A person may not operate a Class III electric bicycle on a bicycle path or multi-use path in …

To operate a Class III electric bicycle in this state, a person shall be at least sixteen years of age. This section does not prohibit a person younger than sixteen years of age from riding as a passenger on a Class III electric bicycle, if the bicycle is designed to accommodate …

Any person who is less than eighteen years of age and operating a Class III electric bicycle and any person who is a passenger on a Class III electric bicycle, regardless of age, shall wear a properly fitted and fastened bicycle helmet. Source: SL 2019, ch 135 , § 6.

Any person operating a Class III electric bicycle shall ensure that the bicycle is equipped with a functioning speedometer. Source: SL 2019, ch 135 , § 7.

A person operating a bicycle upon and along a sidewalk, or across a roadway upon and along a crosswalk, shall have all the rights and duties applicable to a pedestrian under the same circumstances, except as provided in § 32-20B-3 , and except that bicyclists must stop before ent…

A person operating a bicycle upon and along a sidewalk, or across a roadway upon and along a crosswalk, shall yield the right - of - way to any pedestrian and shall give an audible signal before overtaking and passing a pedestrian. A violation of this section is a Class 2 misdeme…

A person may park a bicycle on a sidewalk unless prohibited or restricted by an official traffic control device or ordinance. The parked bicycle may not impede the normal and reasonable movement of pedestrian or other traffic. A violation of this section is a petty offense. Sourc…

Any person operating a bicycle upon a roadway at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place and under the conditions then existing shall ride as close as practicable to the right - hand curb or edge of the roadway. However, a person operating a bicycle may move f…

A person operating a bicycle shall give a continuous signal of intention to turn right or left during the last one hundred feet traveled by the bicycle before turning. The signal shall also be given while the bicycle is stopped waiting to turn. A signal by hand and arm need only …

A person may race a bicycle on a highway when competing in a racing event that has been approved by the Transportation Commission or local authorities on a highway under their jurisdictions. Approval of a bicycle highway racing event may be granted only under conditions that assu…

The transportation commission or local authorities may exempt participants in an approved bicycle highway racing event on a highway under their jurisdiction from compliance with any traffic laws otherwise applicable thereto, provided that traffic control is adequate to assure the…

For purposes of this chapter, the term, electric bicycle, means a bicycle or a tricycle that is equipped with a seat or saddle, with operable pedals for propulsion, and with an electric motor of seven hundred fifty watts or less. An electric bicycle is a Class I electric bicycle …

No person shall drive or move on any highway any motor vehicle, unless the equipment upon the vehicle is in good working order and adjustment and the vehicle is in such safe mechanical condition as not to endanger the driver or other occupant or any person upon the highway. A vio…

The highway patrol officers under the supervision of the superintendent of the Division of Highway Patrol may upon evidence that any motor vehicle is being operated in nonconformance or in violation of any provision of chapters 32-14 to 32-19 , inclusive, or of chapters 32-22 to …

Peace officers are hereby authorized to issue a warning ticket to any driver whose motor vehicle is in violation of any of the provisions of this title. Such warning ticket shall clearly designate the provision of the motor vehicle laws which is being violated and shall provide f…

Each vehicle with a capacity of sixteen or more passengers, including the driver, owned or operated by a nonprofit organization, or privately owned and operated under a contract with a nonprofit organization, and used for the transportation of its members shall be inspected befor…

The Division of Highway Patrol may approve any person who is qualified to perform inspections of large passenger vehicles operated by a nonprofit organization as provided in § 32-21-3.1 to act as an inspector. The Department of Public Safety may promulgate rules, pursuant to chap…

The driver of a motor vehicle shall comply with any lawful order, signal, or direction of a peace officer; submit to any lawful inspection under this chapter, and comply with the provisions or requirements of a warning ticket issued by a peace officer. A violation of this section…

Any person performing an inspection under this chapter shall have been previously approved to act as an inspector by the Division of Highway Patrol. A violation of this section is a Class 2 misdemeanor. Source: SL 2018, ch 194 , § 3.

Combinations of vehicles of not more than three units may be operated upon a public highway if the combinations consist of truck tractor--semitrailer--semitrailer converted to full trailer by use of a dolly equipped with fifth wheel which is considered a part of the trailer for a…

A motor carrier may transport automobiles and trucks in the method of double saddlemount or triple saddlemount if the carrier complies with the United States Department of Transportation motor carrier safety regulations regarding double and triple saddlemount as adopted by § 49-2…

A combination of vehicles consisting of a double or triple saddlemount with fullmount, as defined in 23 C.F.R. 658.5 as of January 1, 2006, may be operated upon the highways of this state if the carrier complies with the United States Department of Transportation motor carrier sa…

The provisions of §§ 32-22-9 to 32-22-11 , inclusive, do not apply to a combination of vehicles consisting of a towing motor vehicle and two trailers which conform to the specifications contained in this section. In such a combination, the first trailer shall be connected to the …

The provisions of §§ 32-22-9 to 32-22-12.1 , inclusive, do not apply to a combination of vehicles consisting of a towing motor vehicle or farm tractor and two anhydrous ammonia fertilizer tank trailers. The vehicles in such a combination may not exceed a total length of seventy f…

The provisions of §§ 32-22-9 to 32-22-12.1 , inclusive, do not apply to any combination of vehicles consisting of a towing motor vehicle and two implements of husbandry which is being operated by or for a farm implement dealer. The operator of any such combination shall have in p…

Notwithstanding the length restrictions in § 32-22-12.1 , a combination of vehicles consisting of a towing motor vehicle and two trailers or semitrailers transporting light duty and medium duty trailers constituting inventory property of a manufacturer, distributor, or dealer of …

Except for farm machinery and fire department equipment for which there is no maximum height limit and for trailers carrying baledfeed for which the maximum height limit is fifteen feet, no motor vehicle may operate upon a public highway if the maximum height of the vehicle, incl…

A motor vehicle owned by a farmer used to transport his own farm commodities or farm implements is exempt from the size limitations prescribed pursuant to §§ 32-22-3 and 32-22-14 , except for travel on the interstate highway system. Source: SL 1979, ch 226 , § 2; SL 1983, ch 242 …

No motor vehicle or combination of vehicles operating on a public highway may have a weight: (1) In excess of twenty thousand pounds on any one axle, or in excess of the tire weight per inch of tire width prescribed by § 32-22-21 , including all enforcement tolerances; (2) In exc…

For the purposes of § 32-22-16 the maximum gross weight on a group of two or more consecutive axles allowable on a public highway shall be determined by the following formula: W = 500 [LN/(N-1) + 12N + 36] In applying the above formula, "W" equals the overall gross weight on any …

A motor vehicle hauling unfinished logs is not in violation of the maximum axle or tire weight limits set by § 32-22-16 or 32-22-21 if the total gross vehicle weight of the vehicle is within the maximum limits set by §§ 32-22-16 and 32-22-21 and the load is adjusted to the legal …

No vehicle hauling agricultural products from farm storage or livestock from a farm is subject to enforcement action for violations not exceeding the legal limits imposed pursuant to § 32-22-16 or 32-22-21 by more than five percent. However, the vehicle is only exempt pursuant to…

Any combination of vehicles being operated upon the public highways shall, for the purposes of § 32-22-16 , be deemed to be a single vehicle. Source: SDC 1939, § 44.0336 (6) (e) as added by SL 1953, ch 234 ; SL 1957, ch 223 , § 2; SL 1959, ch 260 , § 2; SL 1980, ch 226 , § 9. 32-…

It is a Class 2 misdemeanor for any person to operate or move, or cause to be operated or moved, upon any public highway on the state trunk system, any load, including farm machinery or implements of husbandry, which exceed the width limitations prescribed by § 32-22-3 during the…

No vehicle equipped with pneumatic tires may be operated or moved upon any highway in this state, if the weight of the vehicle and the load thereon resting upon the surface of the highway exceeds: (1) Six hundred fifty pounds on any inch of the tire width on any type of axle perm…

The Transportation Commission shall promulgate rules, pursuant to chapter 1-26 , to provide for the issuance of single trip permits by the Division of Highway Patrol to allow a motor vehicle or motor vehicle combination to move to a public or private scale site for the purpose of…

The maximum weight limit as provided by subsection 32-22-21(1)(e) applies to the following highways: (1) The interstate highway system; (2) Any locally designated highway within the corporate limits of any municipality adjacent to the interstate highway system; (3) U.S. Highway 1…

"Tire width," when applied to pneumatic tires, shall mean the diameter of the cross - section of such tires as customarily measured and rated by the manufacturers of motor vehicles and tires. Source: SDC 1939, § 44.0336 (6) (e) as added by SL 1943, ch 158 , § 2; SL 1947, ch 192 ;…

The maximum axle and axle group loadings as set forth in § 32-22-16 shall be reduced during the period of each year from February fifteenth to April thirtieth, inclusive. The proper highway authority, responsible for maintenance of the highways, shall set reduced load limits duri…