DIVISION 1. WORDS AND PHRASES DEFINED [100. - 681.]

Division 1 enacted by Stats. 1959, Ch. 3.

§§ 100–681 · 243 sections

§ 100 Unless the provision or context otherwise requires, these definitions shall govern the construction of this code.
§ 102 “Ability to respond in damages” means financial responsibility.
§ 105 An “agricultural water-well boring rig” is a motor vehicle which is used exclusively in the boring of water-wells on agricultural property.
§ 108 “Airbrakes” means a brake system using compressed air either for actuating the service brakes at the wheels of the vehicle or as a source of power for…
§ 109 “Alcoholic beverage” includes any liquid or solid material intended to be ingested by a person which contains ethanol, also known as ethyl alcohol, drinking…
§ 110 “Alley” is any highway having a roadway not exceeding 25 feet in width which is primarily used for access to the rear or side entrances of abutting property;…
§ 111 (a) “All-terrain vehicle” means a motor vehicle subject to subdivision (a) of Section 38010 that is all of the following: (1) Designed for operation off of the…
§ 111.3 An “all-terrain vehicle safety instructor” is a person who is sponsored by an all-terrain vehicle safety training organization, who has completed a course in…
§ 111.5 An “all-terrain vehicle safety training organization” is any organization which is approved to offer a program of instruction in all-terrain vehicle safety,…
§ 112 “Amber” has the same meaning as “yellow,” and is within the chromaticity coordinate boundaries for yellow specified in regulations adopted by the Department of…
§ 115 An “armored car” is a vehicle that is equipped with materials on either the front, sides, or rear for the protection of persons therein from missiles…
§ 165 An authorized emergency vehicle is: (a) Any publicly owned and operated ambulance, lifeguard, or lifesaving equipment or any privately owned or operated…
§ 165.5 No act or omission of any rescue team operating in conjunction with an authorized emergency vehicle as defined in Section 165, while attempting to resuscitate…
§ 166 An “autobroker” or “auto buying service” is a dealer, as defined in Section 285, who engages in the business of brokering, as defined in Section 232.5.
§ 175 An “autoette” is a motor vehicle, located on a natural island with an area in excess of 20,000 acres and that is within a county having a population in excess…
§ 210 An “automated enforcement system” is any system operated by a governmental agency, in cooperation with a law enforcement agency, that photographically records…
§ 220 (a) An “automobile dismantler” is a person not otherwise expressly excluded by Section 221 who is engaged in the business of buying, selling, or dealing in…
§ 221 (a) The term “automobile dismantler” does not include any of the following: (1) The owner or operator of any premises on which two or more unregistered and…
§ 223 Any reference in this code to “automobile driver training” shall be deemed to refer to the laboratory phase of driver education described by Section 51852 of…
§ 225 An “auxiliary dolly” is a vehicle, not designed for carrying persons or property on its own structure, which is so constructed and used in conjunction with a…
§ 230 An “axle” is a structure or portion of a structure consisting of one or more shafts, spindles, or bearings in the same vertical transverse plane by means of…
§ 230.5 A “B-train assembly” is a rigid frame extension attached to the rear frame of a semitrailer which allows for a fifth wheel connection point for a second…
§ 231 A bicycle is a device upon which a person may ride, propelled exclusively by human power, except as provided in Section 312.5, through a belt, chain, or gears,…
§ 231.5 A “bicycle path” or “bike path” is a Class I bikeway, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 890.4 of the Streets and Highways Code.
§ 231.6 (a) A “bicycle path crossing” is either of the following: (1) That portion of a roadway included within the prolongation or connection of the boundary lines of…
§ 232 The “board” is the New Motor Vehicle Board.
§ 232.5 “Brokering” is an arrangement under which a dealer, for a fee or other consideration, regardless of the form or time of payment, provides or offers to provide…
§ 233 (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), a “bus” is any vehicle, including a trailer bus, designed, used, or maintained for carrying more than 15 persons…
§ 234 A “business” includes a proprietorship, partnership, corporation, and any other form of commercial enterprise.
§ 235 A “business district” is that portion of a highway and the property contiguous thereto (a) upon one side of which highway, for a distance of 600 feet, 50…
§ 236 A “business representative” means a proprietor, a limited or general partner, a managerial employee, a stockholder, a director, or an officer who is active in…
§ 240 In determining whether a highway is within a business or residence district, the following limitations shall apply and shall qualify the definitions in…
§ 241 A “buy-here-pay-here” dealer is a dealer, as defined in Section 285, who is not otherwise expressly excluded by Section 241.1, and who does all of the…
§ 241.1 The term “buy-here-pay-here” dealer does not include any of the following: (a) A lessor who primarily leases vehicles that are two model years old or newer.…
§ 242 A “camp trailer” is a vehicle designed to be used on a highway, capable of human habitation for camping or recreational purposes, that does not exceed 16 feet…
§ 243 A “camper” is a structure designed to be mounted upon a motor vehicle and to provide facilities for human habitation or camping purposes. A camper having one…
§ 245 A “carry-all” is that type of earth-moving equipment which is not self-propelled but which is designed for use behind tractors or other motive power and which…
§ 246 A “certificate of compliance” for the purposes of this code is an electronic or printed document issued by a state agency, board, or commission, or authorized…
§ 247 “Certificate of title” or “certificate of ownership” means an official record in paper or electronic form, compliant with the regulations adopted pursuant to…
§ 250 A “chop shop” is any building, lot, or other premises where any person has been engaged in altering, destroying, disassembling, dismantling, reassembling, or…
§ 255 “City” includes every city and city and county within this State.
§ 257 A “clean fuel vehicle” means any passenger or commercial vehicle or pickup truck that is fueled by alternative fuels, as defined in Section 301 of the Energy…
§ 259 “Collector motor vehicle” means a motor vehicle owned by a collector, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 5051, and the motor vehicle is used primarily in…
§ 260 (a) A “commercial vehicle” is a motor vehicle of a type required to be registered under this code used or maintained for the transportation of persons for…
§ 265 The “commissioner” is the Commissioner of the California Highway Patrol.
§ 266 A “consignment” is an arrangement under which a dealer agrees to accept possession of a vehicle of a type required to be registered under this code from an…
§ 267 A “converter” is a person, other than a vehicle manufacturer, who, prior to the retail sale of a new vehicle, does any of the following to the vehicle: (a)…
§ 270 “County” includes every county and city and county within this State.
§ 273 A “crib sheet” or “cribbing device” is any paper or device designed for cheating by supplying examination answers without questions to an applicant for the…
§ 275 “Crosswalk” is either: (a) That portion of a roadway included within the prolongation or connection of the boundary lines of sidewalks at intersections where…
§ 280 “Darkness” is any time from one-half hour after sunset to one-half hour before sunrise and any other time when visibility is not sufficient to render clearly…
§ 285 “Dealer” is a person not otherwise expressly excluded by Section 286 who: (a) For commission, money, or other thing of value, sells, exchanges, buys, or offers…
§ 286 The term “dealer” does not include any of the following: (a) Insurance companies, banks, finance companies, public officials, or any other person coming into…
§ 288 “Declared combined gross weight” equals the total unladen weight of the combination of vehicles plus the heaviest load that will be transported by that…
§ 289 “Declared gross vehicle weight” means weight that equals the total unladen weight of the vehicle plus the heaviest load that will be transported on the vehicle.
§ 290 “Department” means the Department of Motor Vehicles except, when used in Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 2100) of Division 2 and in Divisions 11 (commencing…
§ 291 Any reference in this code to the Department of Public Works shall be deemed to refer to the Department of Transportation, which is part of the Business,…
§ 295 The “director” is the Director of Motor Vehicles.
§ 295.5 A “disabled person” is any of the following: (a) Any person who has lost, or has lost the use of, one or more lower extremities or both hands, or who has…
§ 295.7 A “disabled veteran” is any person who, as a result of injury or disease suffered while on active service with the armed forces of the United States, suffers…
§ 296 A “distributor” is any person other than a manufacturer who sells or distributes new vehicles subject to registration under this code, new trailers subject to…
§ 297 A “distributor branch” is an office maintained by a distributor for the sale of new vehicles or new trailers subject to identification pursuant to Section…
§ 300 A “drawbar” is a rigid structure forming a connection between a trailer and a towing vehicle, securely attached to both vehicles by nonrigid means and carrying…
§ 303 A “driveaway-towaway operation” is any operation in which any motor vehicle or combination of motor vehicles coupled together constitutes the commodity being…
§ 305 A “driver” is a person who drives or is in actual physical control of a vehicle. The term “driver” does not include the tillerman or other person who, in an…
§ 310 A “driver’s license” is a valid license to drive the type of motor vehicle or combination of vehicles for which a person is licensed under this code or by a…
§ 310.4 A “driving instructor” is, except as provided in Section 11105.5, an employee of a driving school licensed by the department to instruct others in the…
§ 310.6 A “driving school” is a business which, for compensation, conducts or offers to conduct instruction in the operation of motor vehicles. As used in this…
§ 310.8 A “driving school operator” is either a driving school owner who operates his own driving school or an employee of a driving school who is designated by the…
§ 311 A “driving school owner” is any person licensed by the department to engage in the business of giving instruction for compensation in the driving of motor…
§ 312 The term “drug” means any substance or combination of substances, other than alcohol, which could so affect the nervous system, brain, or muscles of a person…
§ 312.5 (a) An “electric bicycle” is a bicycle equipped with fully operable pedals and an electric motor that does not exceed 750 watts of power. (1) A “class 1…
§ 313 The term “electric personal assistive mobility device” or “EPAMD” means a self-balancing, nontandem two-wheeled device, that is not greater than 20 inches deep…
§ 313.5 An “electrically motorized board” is any wheeled device that has a floorboard designed to be stood upon when riding that is not greater than 60 inches deep and…
§ 314 An “expressway” is a portion of highway that is part of either of the following: (a) An expressway system established by a county under Section 941.4 of the…
§ 315 “Essential parts” are all integral and body parts of a vehicle of a type required to be registered under this code, the removal, alteration, or substitution of…
§ 320 “Established place of business” is a place actually occupied either continuously or at regular periods by any of the following: (a) A dealer, remanufacturer,…
§ 320.5 An “extralegal load” is a single unit or an assembled item which, due to its design, cannot be reasonably reduced or dismantled in size or weight so that it…
§ 321 “Factory-built housing” is a structure as defined in Section 19971 of the Health and Safety Code. As used in this code, factory-built housing is a trailer…
§ 322 (a) A “farm labor vehicle” is any motor vehicle designed, used, or maintained for the transportation of nine or more farmworkers, in addition to the driver, to…
§ 324 A “fifth-wheel travel trailer” is a vehicle designed for recreational purposes to carry persons or property on its own structure and so constructed as to be…
§ 324.5 A “former prisoner of war” is any person who, while serving as a member of the United States Armed Forces, as a member of the Philippine Commonwealth Armed…
§ 325 A “foreign jurisdiction” is any other state, the District of Columbia, territories or possessions of the United States, and foreign states, provinces, or…
§ 330 A “foreign vehicle” is a vehicle of a type required to be registered under this code brought into this State from a foreign jurisdiction other than in the…
§ 331 (a) A “franchise” is a written agreement between two or more persons having all of the following conditions: (1) A commercial relationship of definite duration…
§ 331.1 A “franchisee” is any person who, pursuant to a franchise, receives new motor vehicles subject to registration under this code, new off-highway motorcycles, as…
§ 331.2 A “franchisor” is any person who manufactures, assembles, or distributes new motor vehicles subject to registration under this code, new off-highway…
§ 331.3 A “recreational vehicle franchise” is a written agreement between two or more persons having both of the following conditions: (a) A commercial relationship of…
§ 332 “Freeway” is a highway in respect to which the owners of abutting lands have no right or easement of access to or from their abutting lands or in respect to…
§ 335 A “gantry truck” is a motor vehicle so designed and constructed that it straddles the load to be transported and by means of appropriate mechanism picks up the…
§ 336 “General public paratransit vehicle” means any motor vehicle designed for carrying no more than 24 persons and the driver, that provides local transportation…
§ 340 A “garage” is a building or other place wherein the business of storing or safekeeping vehicles of a type required to be registered under this code and which…
§ 345 A “golf cart” is a motor vehicle having not less than three wheels in contact with the ground, having an unladen weight less than 1,300 pounds, which is…
§ 350 (a) “Gross vehicle weight rating” (GVWR) means the weight specified by the manufacturer as the loaded weight of a single vehicle. (b) Gross combination weight…
§ 353 “Hazardous material” is any substance, material, or device posing an unreasonable risk to health, safety, or property during transportation, as defined by…
§ 360 “Highway” is a way or place of whatever nature, publicly maintained and open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel. Highway includes street.
§ 362 A “house car” is a motor vehicle originally designed, or permanently altered, and equipped for human habitation, or to which a camper has been permanently…
§ 365 An “intersection” is the area embraced within the prolongation of the lateral curb lines, or, if none, then the lateral boundary lines of the roadways, of two…
§ 370 A “legal owner” is a person holding a security interest in a vehicle which is subject to the provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code, or the lessor of a…
§ 371 Lessee includes “bailee” and is a person who leases, offers to lease, or is offered the lease of a motor vehicle for a term exceeding four months.
§ 372 A “lessor” is a person who, for a term exceeding four months, leases or offers for lease, negotiates or attempts to negotiate a lease, or induce any person to…
§ 373 A “lessor-retailer” is a lessor or renter who, except under the circumstances described in subdivision (a) of Section 286, makes a retail sale or sales of a…
§ 375 “Lighting equipment” is any of the following lamps or devices: (a) A headlamp, auxiliary driving, passing, or fog lamp, fog taillamp, taillamp, stoplamp,…
§ 377 A “limit line” is a solid white line not less than 12 nor more than 24 inches wide, extending across a roadway or any portion thereof to indicate the point at…
§ 378 (a) “Limousine” means any sedan or sport utility vehicle, of either standard or extended length, with a seating capacity of not more than 10 passengers…
§ 380 “Liquefied petroleum gas” means normal butane, isobutane, propane, or butylene (including isomers) or mixtures composed predominantly thereof in liquid or…
§ 385 “Local authorities” means the legislative body of every county or municipality having authority to adopt local police regulations.
§ 385.2 A “logging dolly” is a vehicle designed for carrying logs, having one or more axles that, if there are more than one, are not more than 54 inches apart, and…
§ 385.3 A “logging vehicle” is a vehicle used exclusively in the conduct of logging operations and not designed for the transportation of persons or property on a…
§ 385.5 (a) A “low-speed vehicle” is a motor vehicle that meets all of the following requirements: (1) Has four wheels. (2) Can attain a speed, in one mile, of more…
§ 386 A “managerial employee” is a person who exercises control over a business licensed under this code, whether compensated by salary or commission, including, but…
§ 387 “Manufactured home” is a manufactured home, as defined in Section 18007 of the Health and Safety Code, a commercial coach, as defined in Section 18001. 8 of…
§ 389 A “manufacturer branch” is an office maintained by a manufacturer for the sale of new vehicles to dealers or for directing or supervising in whole or in part…
§ 395 A “metal tire” is a tire the surface of which in contact with the highway is wholly or partly of metal or other hard nonresilient material.
§ 395.5 A “mobile billboard advertising display” means an advertising display that is attached to a mobile, nonmotorized vehicle, device, or bicycle, that carries,…
§ 396 “Mobilehome” is a structure as defined in Section 18008 of the Health and Safety Code. For the purposes of enforcement of highway safety laws and regulations,…
§ 400 (a) A “motorcycle” is a motor vehicle having a seat or saddle for the use of the rider, designed to travel on not more than three wheels in contact with the…
§ 405 A “motor-driven cycle” is any motorcycle with a motor that displaces less than 150 cubic centimeters. A motor-driven cycle does not include a motorized…
§ 406 (a) A “motorized bicycle” or “moped” is a two-wheeled or three-wheeled device having fully operative pedals for propulsion by human power, or having no pedals…
§ 407 A “motorized quadricycle” is a four-wheeled device, and a “motorized tricycle” is a three-wheeled device, designed to carry not more than two persons,…
§ 407.5 (a) A “motorized scooter” is any two-wheeled device that has handlebars, has either a floorboard that is designed to be stood upon when riding or a seat and…
§ 408 “Motor carrier” is the registered owner, lessee, licensee, or bailee of any vehicle set forth in Section 34500, who operates or directs the operation of any…
§ 410 A “motor truck” or “motortruck” is a motor vehicle designed, used, or maintained primarily for the transportation of property.
§ 415 (a) A “motor vehicle” is a vehicle that is self-propelled. (b) “Motor vehicle” does not include a self-propelled wheelchair, motorized tricycle, or motorized…
§ 425 A “muffler” is a device consisting of a series of chambers or baffle plates, or other mechanical design, for the purpose of receiving exhaust gas from an…
§ 426 “New motor vehicle dealer” is a dealer, as defined in Section 285, who, in addition to the requirements of that section, either acquires for resale new and…
§ 430 A “new vehicle” is a vehicle constructed entirely from new parts that has never been the subject of a retail sale, or registered with the department, or…
§ 431 A “nonrepairable vehicle” is a vehicle of a type otherwise subject to registration that meets the criteria specified in subdivision (a), (b), or (c). The…
§ 432 A “nonrepairable vehicle certificate” is a vehicle ownership document issued to the owner of a nonrepairable vehicle. Ownership of the vehicle may only be…
§ 435 “Nonresident” is a person who is not a resident of this State.
§ 435.5 “Nonresident daily commuter” means a person who is not a resident of this state, but who enters and leaves this state on a daily basis for the purpose of…
§ 436 An “off-highway motorcycle” means a motorcycle or motor-driven cycle which is subject to identification under this code.
§ 436.1 An “off-highway electric motorcycle,” commonly referred to as an eMoto, is an off-highway motorcycle subject to identification under this code that meets all…
§ 440 An “official traffic control device” is any sign, signal, marking, or device, consistent with Section 21400, placed or erected by authority of a public body or…
§ 445 An “official traffic control signal” is any device, whether manually, electrically or mechanically operated, by which traffic is alternately directed to stop…
§ 450 An “oil well production service unit” is any vehicle specifically designed for and used exclusively in servicing oil wells which is only incidentally operated…
§ 455 “Original driver’s license” means the first driver’s license issued a person under this code.
§ 460 An “owner” is a person having all the incidents of ownership, including the legal title of a vehicle whether or not such person lends, rents, or creates a…
§ 461 The Senate, Assembly, or any committees thereof, or the Governor’s office in possession and using vehicles under a lease, lease-sale, or rental-purchase…
§ 462 A “paratransit vehicle” is a passenger vehicle, other than a bus, schoolbus, school pupil activity bus, youth bus, general public paratransit vehicle, or…
§ 463 “Park or parking” shall mean the standing of a vehicle, whether occupied or not, otherwise than temporarily for the purpose of and while actually engaged in…
§ 464 A “passenger transportation vehicle” is any vehicle, including a trailer bus, designed, used, or maintained for carrying more than 10 persons including the…
§ 465 A “passenger vehicle” is any motor vehicle, other than a motortruck, truck tractor, or a bus, as defined in Section 233, and used or maintained for the…
§ 467 (a) A “pedestrian” is a person who is afoot or who is using any of the following: (1) A means of conveyance propelled by human power other than a bicycle. (2)…
§ 467.5 “Pedicab” means any of the following: (a) A bicycle, including an electric bicycle, that has three or more wheels, that transports, or is capable of…
§ 468 The department shall commence the “permanent trailer identification plate program,” on or after December 31, 2001, and may designate the method, consistent…
§ 470 “Person” includes a natural person, firm, copartnership, association, limited liability company, or corporation.
§ 471 A “pickup truck” is a motor truck with a manufacturer’s gross vehicle weight rating of less than 11,500 pounds, an unladen weight of less than 8,001 pounds,…
§ 472 A “pilot car” is a motor vehicle, except a motorcycle, motorized bicycle, or motorized quadricycle, which is used to escort one or more other vehicles, when…
§ 473 (a) A “pocket bike” is a two-wheeled motorized device that has a seat or saddle for the use of the rider, and that is not designed or manufactured for highway…
§ 475 A “pole or pipe dolly” is a vehicle, other than a motor vehicle, having one or more axles which axles, if there be more than one, are not more than 54 inches…
§ 480 A “power brake” is any breaking gear or mechanism that aids in applying the brakes of a vehicle and which utilizes vacuum, compressed air, electricity, or…
§ 485 A “pneumatic tire” is a tire inflated or capable of inflation with compressed air.
§ 490 “Private road or driveway” is a way or place in private ownership and used for vehicular travel by the owner and those having express or implied permission…
§ 492 A “private school” is any school, whether conducted for profit or not, giving a course of training similar to that given in a public school at or below the…
§ 500 “Recreational off-highway vehicle” means a motor vehicle meeting all of the following criteria: (a) Designed by the manufacturer for operation primarily off of…
§ 505 A “registered owner” is a person registered by the department as the owner of a vehicle.
§ 505.2 (a) A “registration service” is a person engaged in the business of soliciting or receiving an application for the registration, renewal of registration, or…
§ 506 “Registration year” is the period of time beginning with the date the vehicle is first required to be registered in this state and ending on the date…
§ 507 The “relevant market area” is any area within a radius of 10 miles from the site of a potential new dealership.
§ 507.5 A “remanufactured vehicle” is a vehicle that has been constructed by a licensed remanufacturer and consists of any used or reconditioned integral parts,…
§ 507.8 A “remanufacturer” is any person who for commission, money, or other thing of value, produces a vehicle that consists of any used or reconditioned integral…
§ 508 A “renter” is a person who is engaged in the business of renting, leasing or bailing vehicles for a term not exceeding four months and for a fixed rate or…
§ 510 A “repair shop” is a place where vehicles subject to registration under this code are repaired, rebuilt, reconditioned, repainted, or in any way maintained for…
§ 512 A “representative” is any person regularly employed by a manufacturer or distributor for the purpose of negotiating or promoting the sale of the manufacturer’s…
§ 515 A “residence district” is that portion of a highway and the property contiguous thereto, other than a business district, (a) upon one side of which highway,…
§ 516 “Resident” means any person who manifests an intent to live or be located in this state on more than a temporary or transient basis. Presence in the state for…
§ 520 A “retail sale” is a sale of goods to a person for the purpose of consumption and use, and not for resale to others, including, but not limited to, an…
§ 521 A “retarder” is a device, other than a brake, which, when activated by the driver, applies a retarding force to the wheels of a vehicle without the use of…
§ 521.5 “Revived salvage vehicle” means a total loss salvage vehicle as defined in Section 544, or a vehicle reported for dismantling pursuant to Section 5500 or…
§ 522 “Ridesharing” means two or more persons traveling by any mode, including, but not limited to, carpooling, vanpooling, buspooling, taxipooling, jitney, and…
§ 525 “Right-of-way” is the privilege of the immediate use of the highway.
§ 527 (a) “Road” means any existing vehicle route established before January 1, 1979, with significant evidence of prior regular travel by vehicles subject to…
§ 530 A “roadway” is that portion of a highway improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel.
§ 531 “Utility-terrain vehicle” means a motor vehicle subject to subdivision (a) of Section 38010 that is all of the following: (a) Designed for operation off of the…
§ 535 Safety glazing material is any glazing material so constructed, treated, or combined with other materials as to reduce, in comparison with ordinary sheet,…
§ 540 A “safety zone” is the area or space lawfully set apart within a roadway for the exclusive use of pedestrians and which is protected, or which is marked or…
§ 543 “Salvage pool” means a person engaged exclusively in the business of disposing of total loss salvage vehicles, nonrepairable vehicles, or recovered stolen…
§ 543.5 “Salvage vehicle rebuilder” means any person who rebuilds a total loss salvage vehicle, as defined in Section 544, or a vehicle reported for dismantling…
§ 544 “Total loss salvage vehicle” means either of the following: (a) A vehicle, other than a nonrepairable vehicle, of a type subject to registration that has been…
§ 545 (a) A “schoolbus” is a motor vehicle designed, used, or maintained for the transportation of any school pupil at or below the 12th grade level to or from a…
§ 545.1 (a) Notwithstanding Section 545, a motor vehicle is not a schoolbus if it is operated for the purpose of transporting any pupil to or from a community college…
§ 545.5 (a) Notwithstanding Section 545, a bus of the type commonly known as a coach bus is not a schoolbus when it is operated by the Trona Unified School District to…
§ 546 A “school pupil activity bus” is any motor vehicle, other than a schoolbus, operated by a common carrier, or by and under the exclusive jurisdiction of a…
§ 550 A “semitrailer” is a vehicle designed for carrying persons or property, used in conjunction with a motor vehicle, and so constructed that some part of its…
§ 553 “Shade trailer” means a device designed and utilized to provide shade pursuant to Section 3395 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations.
§ 554 “Shared mobility device” means an electrically motorized board, as defined in Section 313.5, motorized scooter, as defined in Section 407.5, electric bicycle,…
§ 555 “Sidewalk” is that portion of a highway, other than the roadway, set apart by curbs, barriers, markings or other delineation for pedestrian travel.
§ 557 A “snowmobile” is a motor vehicle designed to travel over ice or snow in whole or in part on skis, belts, or cleats, which is commonly referred to as an Over…
§ 558 A “snow-tread tire” is a tire which has a relatively deep and aggressive tread pattern compared with conventional passenger tread pattern.
§ 560 A “solid tire” is a tire of rubber or other resilient material which does not depend upon compressed air for the support of the load. A nonpneumatic tire, as…
§ 565 “Special construction equipment” is: (a) Any vehicle used primarily off the highways for construction purposes and which moves only occasionally over the…
§ 570 “Special construction equipment” does not include any of the following: (a) A vehicle originally designed for the transportation of persons or property to…
§ 575 “Special mobile equipment” is a vehicle, not self-propelled, not designed or used primarily for the transportation of persons or property, and only…
§ 580 A “specially constructed vehicle” is a vehicle which is built for private use, not for resale, and is not constructed by a licensed manufacturer or…
§ 585 A “station wagon” is a dual purpose vehicle designed for the transportation of persons and also designed in such a manner that the seats may be removed or…
§ 587 “Stop or stopping” when prohibited shall mean any cessation of movement of a vehicle, whether occupied or not, except when necessary to avoid conflict with…
§ 590 “Street” is a way or place of whatever nature, publicly maintained and open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel. Street includes highway.
§ 591 A “street” or “highway” shall not include those portions of a way or place in or upon which construction, alteration, or repair work is being performed insofar…
§ 592 “Highway”, for the purposes of Division 3 (commencing with Section 4000), Division 12 (commencing with Section 24000), Division 13 (commencing with Section…
§ 593 “Supplemental restraint system” means an automatic passive restraint system consisting of a bag that is designed to inflate upon collision, commonly referred…
§ 595 “Terminal” is a place where a vehicle of a type listed in Section 34500 is regularly garaged or maintained, or from which the vehicle is operated or dispatched.
§ 600 A “through highway” is a highway or portion thereof at the entrance to which vehicular traffic from intersecting highways is regulated by stop signs or traffic…
§ 605 “Tire traction devices” are devices or mechanisms having a composition and design capable of improving vehicle traction, braking, and cornering ability upon…
§ 610 “Tire tread” is that portion of the tire, consisting of the ribs and grooves, which comes in contact with the roadway.
§ 611 A “toll highway” or “toll road” is a publicly owned way or place open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel which use requires the payment…
§ 612 (a) “Tour bus” means a bus, which is operated by or for a charter-party carrier of passengers, as defined in Section 5360 of the Public Utilities Code, or a…
§ 615 (a) A “tow truck” is a motor vehicle which has been altered or designed and equipped for, and primarily used in the business of, transporting vehicles by means…
§ 617 A “tow dolly” is a vehicle towed by a motor vehicle and designed and used exclusively to transport another motor vehicle and upon which the front or rear…
§ 620 The term “traffic” includes pedestrians, ridden animals, vehicles, street cars, and other conveyances, either singly or together, while using any highway for…
§ 625 A “traffic officer” is any member of the California Highway Patrol, or any peace officer who is on duty for the exclusive or main purpose of enforcing Division…
§ 626 A “traffic violator school” is a business that, for compensation, provides, or offers to provide, instruction in traffic safety, including, but not limited to,…
§ 626.2 A “traffic violator school branch or classroom location” is any place where a traffic violator school conducts instruction or maintains records.
§ 626.4 A “traffic violator school instructor” is any person who provides instruction to traffic violators on behalf of a traffic violator school.
§ 626.6 A “traffic violator school operator” is the person who directs and manages the operations of a traffic violator school. A “traffic violator school operator”…
§ 626.8 A “traffic violator school owner” is any natural person, association, or corporation that owns a traffic violator school.
§ 627 (a) “Engineering and traffic survey,” as used in this code, means a survey of highway and traffic conditions in accordance with methods determined by the…
§ 630 A “trailer” is a vehicle designed for carrying persons or property on its own structure and for being drawn by a motor vehicle and so constructed that no part…
§ 635 A “trailer coach” is a vehicle, other than a motor vehicle, designed for human habitation or human occupancy for industrial, professional, or commercial…
§ 636 A “trailer bus” is a trailer or semitrailer designed, used, or maintained for the transportation of more than 15 persons, including the driver, and includes a…
§ 640 A “transferee” is a person who has acquired the sole ownership of or an equity in a vehicle of a type required to be registered under this code.
§ 642 A “transit bus” is any bus owned or operated by a publicly owned or operated transit system, or operated under contract with a publicly owned or operated…
§ 645 (a) A “transporter” is a person engaged in the business of moving any owned or lawfully possessed vehicle by lawful methods over the highways for the purpose…
§ 650 A “trolley coach” is a vehicle which is propelled by electric power obtained from overhead trolley wires, but not operated upon rails.
§ 655 (a) A “truck tractor” is a motor vehicle designed and used primarily for drawing other vehicles and not so constructed as to carry a load, other than a part of…
§ 657 A “truss” is an assemblage of beams, bars, or rods typically arranged in a triangle or combination of triangles to form a rigid framework and used as a…
§ 660 The “unladen weight” of a vehicle is the weight equipped and ready for operation on the road including the body, fenders, oil in motor, radiator full of water,…
§ 661 Unladen weight shall not include the following machinery, equipment or attachment which is attendant to the efficient operation of the body or vehicle: (a)…
§ 665 A “used vehicle” is a vehicle that has been sold, or has been registered with the department, or has been sold and operated upon the highways, or has been…
§ 665.5 A “U-turn” is the turning of a vehicle upon a highway so as to proceed in the opposite direction whether accomplished by one continuous movement or not.
§ 667 (a) A “utility trailer” is a trailer or semitrailer used solely for the transportation of the user’s personal property, not in commerce, which does not exceed…
§ 668 A “vanpool vehicle” is any motor vehicle, other than a motortruck or truck tractor, designed for carrying more than 10 but not more than 15 persons including…
§ 670 A “vehicle” is a device by which any person or property may be propelled, moved, or drawn upon a highway, excepting a device moved exclusively by human power…
§ 670.5 A “vehicle frame” is defined as the main longitudinal structural members of the chassis of the vehicle, or for vehicles with unitized body construction, the…
§ 671 (a) A “vehicle identification number” is the motor number, serial number, or other distinguishing number, letter, mark, character, or datum, or any combination…
§ 672 (a) “Vehicle manufacturer” is any person who produces from raw materials or new basic components a vehicle of a type subject to registration under this code,…
§ 675 (a) “Vehicle salesperson” is a person not otherwise expressly excluded by this section, who does one or a combination of the following: (1) Is employed as a…
§ 675.5 A “vehicle verifier” is a person not expressly excluded by Section 675.6 who inspects, records, documents, and submits to the department, or its authorized…
§ 675.6 (a) “Vehicle verifier” does not include any of the following: (1) A peace officer. (2) An authorized employee of the department. (3) An agent of the National…
§ 676 “Year-round registration” is a system whereby the director designates a date for the expiration of registration of a vehicle and renewal thereof in order to…
§ 676.5 A “water tender vehicle” is a vehicle designed to carry not less than 1,500 gallons of water and used primarily for transporting and delivering water to be…
§ 680 (a) A “youth bus” is any bus, other than a schoolbus, designed for and when actually carrying not more than 16 persons and the driver, used to transport…
§ 681 (a) “Real ID driver’s license or identification card” means a driver’s license or identification card that has been issued by a state that has been certified…