Chapter 347, EQUIPMENT OF VEHICLES

347.01 Words and phrases defined. Words and phrases defined in s. 340.01 are used in the same sense in this chapter unless a different definition is specifically provided.

347.02 Applicability of chapter. (1) No provision of this chapter requiring vehicles to be equipped in a particular manner is applicable to any of the following vehicles unless the vehicle is expressly included within or made subject to the particular provision: (a) Farm tractors…

347.03 Sale of prohibited equipment unlawful. No person shall sell for highway use any device, appliance, accessory or replacement part the use of which on a motor vehicle is unlawful.

347.04 Owner responsible for improperly equipped vehicle. Any owner of a vehicle not equipped as required by this chapter who knowingly causes or permits such vehicle to be operated on a highway in violation of this chapter is guilty of the violation the same as if he or she had …

347.05 Reciprocity agreements as to equipment. (1) The secretary, with the approval of the governor, is authorized to enter into reciprocal agreements with the duly authorized representatives of other jurisdictions exempting the residents of those jurisdictions from details of ve…

347.06 When lighted lamps required. (1) Except as provided in subs. (2) and (4), no person may operate a vehicle upon a highway during hours of darkness or during a period of limited visibility unless all headlamps, tail lamps, and clearance lamps with which the vehicle is requir…

347.07 Special restrictions on lamps and the use thereof. (1) Whenever a motor vehicle equipped with headlamps also is equipped with any adverse weather lamps, spotlamps or auxiliary lamps, or with any other lamp on the front thereof projecting a beam of intensity greater than 30…

347.08 Determining the visibility distance and mounted height of lamps. (1) Whenever this chapter states a requirement as to distance from which certain lamps and devices shall render objects visible or within which such lamps or devices shall be visible, such distance shall be m…

347.09 Headlamps on motor vehicles. (1) No person may operate a motor vehicle on a highway during hours of darkness or during a period of limited visibility, unless the vehicle is equipped as follows: (a) Except as provided in pars. (b) and (c), every motor vehicle shall be equip…

347.10 Headlamp specifications for motor vehicles other than mopeds and motor bicycles. (1) Except as provided in sub. (4), the headlamps or the auxiliary driving lamp or the auxiliary passing lamp or combination thereof on motor vehicles other than mopeds and motor bicycles shal…

347.11 Headlamp specifications for mopeds and motor bicycles. The headlamps on mopeds or motor bicycles may be of the single-beam or multiple-beam type but in either event shall comply with the following requirements and limitations: (1) The headlamp shall be an electric headlamp…

347.115 Modulating headlamps for motorcycles, motor bicycles or mopeds. A motorcycle, motor bicycle or moped may be equipped with and use a means of modulating the upper beam of the headlamp between a high and a lower brightness at a rate of 200 to 280 changes per minute. A headl…

347.12 Use of multiple-beam headlamps. (1) Whenever a motor vehicle is being operated on a highway during hours of darkness or during a period of limited visibility, the operator shall use a distribution of light or composite beam directed high enough and of sufficient intensity …

347.13 Tail lamps and registration plate lamps. (1) No person may operate a motor vehicle, mobile home, or trailer or semitrailer upon a highway during hours of darkness or during a period of limited visibility unless the motor vehicle, mobile home, or trailer or semitrailer is e…

347.14 Stop lamps. (1) No person shall operate a motor vehicle, lightweight utility vehicle as defined in s. 346.94 (21) (a) 2., mobile home, or trailer or semitrailer upon a highway unless such motor vehicle, lightweight utility vehicle, mobile home, or trailer or semitrailer is…

347.145 Deceleration warning lights for motorcycles, motor bicycles, mopeds or motor buses. (1) A motorcycle, motor bicycle or moped may be equipped with and use a system in which an amber light which pulses in a controlled fashion at a rate which varies exponentially with decele…

347.15 Direction signal lamps or devices. (1) No person may sell any new motor vehicle, other than a moped or motorcycle, unless such motor vehicle is equipped with direction signal lamps meeting the requirements of this section. No person may operate on a highway any motor vehic…

347.16 Clearance lamps and reflectors. (1) No person shall operate on a highway during hours of darkness any vehicle, except automobiles, having a width at any part in excess of 80 inches unless such vehicle is equipped with: (a) Two clearance lamps mounted on the front of the ve…

347.17 Color of clearance and marker lamps and reflectors. Whenever a vehicle is equipped with clearance lamps, sidemarker lamps or reflectors: (1) Those clearance and marker lamps and reflectors mounted on the front or on the side near the front of the vehicle shall display or r…

347.18 Mounting of clearance lamps and reflectors. (1) Whenever s. 347.16 requires any reflector to be displayed upon a vehicle, each such reflector shall be mounted at a height not less than 16 inches nor more than 60 inches above the ground on which the vehicle stands. On vehic…

347.19 Visibility of clearance lamps and reflectors. (1) Every reflector required by s. 347.16 to be displayed upon a vehicle shall be of such size and characteristics and so maintained as to be readily visible during the hours of darkness from all distances within 500 feet to 50…

347.20 Lamp or flag on projecting load or fixture. (1) No person shall operate on a highway during hours of darkness any vehicle with a load or fixture thereon extending more than 4 feet beyond the rear of the bed or body thereof unless there is dis-

347.21 Lamps and flags on trains of agricultural vehicles. (1) No person shall operate on a highway during hours of darkness any train of vehicles authorized by s. 348.08 (1) (d) unless there is mounted on each side of every vehicle in such train, including farm tractors and impl…

347.22 Lamps on farm tractors, self-propelled implements of husbandry, and lightweight utility vehicles. (1) No person shall operate or park a farm tractor, self-propelled implement of husbandry, or lightweight utility vehicle, as defined in s. 346.94 (21) (a) 2., upon a highway …

347.23 Lamps on highway maintenance equipment. (1) No person shall operate upon a highway during hours of darkness any road machinery or motor vehicle used in highway construction or maintenance unless such vehicle or road machinery is equipped either as prescribed by par. (a) or…

347.24 Lamps and reflectors on nonmotor vehicles and equipment. (1) (a) Except as provided under pars. (b) and (c) and s. 347.22 (1), no person may operate on a highway during hours of darkness any implement of husbandry or any other vehicle not specifically required by law to be…

347.245 Identification emblem on certain slow moving vehicles. (1) No person may operate on a highway any vehicle or equipment, any implement of husbandry, any animaldrawn vehicle, or any other machinery, including all road machinery, that usually travels at speeds of less than 2…

347.25 Special warning lamps on vehicles. (1) Except as provided in subs. (1m) (a), (1n), (1r), and (1s), an authorized emergency vehicle may be equipped with one or more flashing, oscillating, or rotating red lights, except that ambulances, fire department equipment, privately o…

347.26 Restrictions on certain optional lighting equipment. (1) GENERAL RESTRICTIONS. A vehicle need not be equipped with the lamps specified in this section, but if a vehicle is equipped with any such lamps, no person shall operate such vehicle on a highway during hours of darkn…

347.27 When lighted lamps required on parked vehicles. (1) No person shall park or leave a vehicle standing, whether attended or unattended, upon a roadway or the shoulder immediately adjacent thereto during hours of darkness unless: (a) Such vehicle is parked or standing where t…

347.28 Certain vehicles to carry flares or other warning devices. (1) No person shall operate a motor truck or motor bus more than 80 inches in width or a truck tractor or road tractor on any highway outside the corporate limits of a city or village during hours of darkness unles…

347.29 Display of warning devices for certain vehicles when standing on highway. (1) Except as provided in s. 347.26 (11) (b), whenever any motor truck, motor bus, trailer or semitrailer more than 80 inches in width or truck tractor or road tractor is left standing, whether atten…

347.30 Penalty for violating lighting equipment requirements. (1) Any person violating s. 347.06 or 347.13 (2), (3) or (4) may be required to forfeit not less than $10 nor more than $20 for the first offense and not less than $25 nor more than $50 for the 2nd or subsequent convic…

347.35 Brakes. (1) MOTOR VEHICLES. No person shall operate any motor vehicle, other than a moped or motorcycle, upon a highway unless such motor vehicle is equipped with brakes adequate to control the movement of and to stop and hold such vehicle and capable of meeting the perfor…

347.36 Performance ability of brakes. (1) Brakes on motor vehicles and brakes on combinations of vehicles shall be capable of bringing the vehicle or combination of vehicles to a stop, under normal conditions, within 50 feet when traveling at a speed of 20 miles per hour. (3) All…

347.37 Brake fluid, sale regulation. (1) After January 1, 1960, no hydraulic brake fluid for use in motor vehicles shall be sold in this state if such brake fluid is below the minimum standard of specifications established by the society of automotive engineers for heavy duty typ…

347.38 Horns and warning devices. (1) No person shall operate a motor vehicle upon a highway unless such motor vehicle is equipped with a horn in good working order and capable of emitting sound audible under normal conditions from a distance of not less than 200 feet, but no per…

347.385 Traffic control signal preemption and priority devices. (1m) In this section: (a) “Authorized emergency vehicle” means an authorized emergency vehicle as defined in s. 340.01 (3) (a), (c), (g), or (i). (d) “Political subdivision” means a county, city, village, or town. (e…

347.39 Mufflers. (1) No person shall operate on a highway any motor vehicle subject to registration unless such motor vehicle is equipped with an adequate muffler in constant operation and properly maintained to prevent any excessive or unusual noise or annoying smoke. This subse…

347.40 Mirrors. (1) No person shall operate any motor vehicle upon a highway unless such vehicle is equipped with a mirror so located as to reflect to the operator a view of the roadway for a distance of 200 feet to the rear of such vehicle. (2) No person shall operate on a highw…

347.41 Speed indicators. No person shall operate on a highway any motor vehicle primarily designed for use upon a highway unless such motor vehicle is equipped with a speedometer which with reasonable accuracy registers the speed of the vehicle, except that motor trucks or truck …

347.413 Ignition interlock device tampering; failure to install. (1) No person may remove, disconnect, tamper with, or otherwise circumvent the operation of an ignition interlock device installed in response to the court order under s. 346.65 (6), 1999 stats., or s. 343.301 (1), …

347.415 Odometer tampering. (1g) In this section, “odometer” means an instrument for measuring and recording the actual distance that a motor vehicle, snowmobile, all-terrain vehicle, or utility terrain vehicle has traveled while in operation, but does not include any auxiliary i…

347.417 Immobilization device tampering. (1) No person may remove, disconnect, tamper with, or otherwise circumvent the operation of any immobilization device installed in response to a court order under s. 346.65 (6), 1999 stats., or s. 343.301 (2), 2007 stats. This subsection d…

347.42 Windshield wipers. No person may operate on a highway any motor vehicle equipped with a windshield, except a moped or motorcycle, unless the motor vehicle also is equipped with a device for cleaning rain, snow or other moisture from the windshield. The device shall be so c…

347.43 Safety glass. (1g) In this section, “safety glass” means glass so treated or combined with other materials as to reduce, in comparison with ordinary sheet glass or plate glass, the likelihood of injury to persons by objects from external sources or by such glass when it is…

347.435 Vehicle monitoring and feedback. Notwithstanding s. 346.88, a person may operate a vehicle that has a device mounted to the front windshield if all of the following apply: (1) The device is designed to monitor the vehicle and provide feedback to the operator for the purpo…

347.44 Painting requirements for school buses; restrictions as to painting of other vehicles. (1) All school buses shall be painted as follows: (a) With the exception of trim, the body, including hood, fenders, cowl and roof shall be painted a uniform color, national school bus g…

347.445 Crossing gates for school buses. No person may operate a school bus that is painted as provided in s. 347.44 unless it is equipped with a retractable crossing gate on the front of the bus that, when in use, prevents children from crossing in front of the school bus in suc…

347.446 Audiovisual recording on school buses. (1) Subject to sub. (2), a school bus may be equipped with a device for recording audio or video, or both, of the interior of the school bus while the school bus is being used to transport pupils to and from school and school-sponsor…