There is a newer version of the Iowa Code
2009 Iowa Code
Title 8 - Transportation
Subtitle 2 - Vehicles
CHAPTER 321 - MOTOR VEHICLES AND LAW OF THE ROAD
321.1 - DEFINITIONS OF WORDS AND PHRASES.
321.1 DEFINITIONS OF WORDS AND PHRASES.
The following words and phrases when used in this chapter shall,
for the purpose of this chapter, have the meanings respectively
ascribed to them.
1. "Agricultural hazardous material" means a hazardous
material, other than hazardous waste, whose end use directly supports
the production of an agricultural commodity, including, but not
limited to, a fertilizer, pesticide, soil conditioner, or fuel.
"Agricultural hazardous material" is limited to material in class
3, 8, or 9, division 2.1, 2.2, 5.1, or 6.1, or an ORM-D material as
defined in 49 C.F.R. § 171.8.
1A. "Alcohol concentration" means the number of grams of
alcohol per any of the following:
a. One hundred milliliters of blood.
b. Two hundred ten liters of breath.
c. Sixty-seven milliliters of urine.
2. "Alcoholic beverage" includes alcohol, wine, spirits,
beer, or any other beverage which contains ethyl alcohol and is fit
for human consumption.
3. "Alley" means a thoroughfare laid out, established, and
platted as such, by constituted authority.
4. "All-terrain vehicle" means a motor vehicle designed to
travel on three or more wheels and designed primarily for off-road
recreational use but not including farm tractors or equipment,
construction equipment, forestry vehicles, or lawn and grounds
maintenance vehicles.
5. "Ambulance" means a motor vehicle which is equipped with
life support systems and used to transport sick and injured persons
who require emergency medical care to medical facilities.
6. "Authorized emergency vehicle" means vehicles of the fire
department, police vehicles, ambulances, and emergency vehicles owned
by the United States, this state, any subdivision of this state, or
any municipality of this state, and privately owned vehicles as are
designated or authorized by the director of transportation under
section 321.451.
6A. "Bona fide business address" means the current street or
highway address of a firm, association, or corporation.
6B. "Bona fide residence" or "bona fide address" means
the current street or highway address of an individual's residence.
The bona fide residence of a person with more than one dwelling is
the dwelling for which the person claims a homestead tax credit under
chapter 425, if applicable. The bona fide residence of a homeless
person is a primary nighttime residence meeting one of the criteria
listed in section 48A.2, subsection 2.
7. "Business district" means the territory contiguous to and
including a highway when fifty percent or more of the frontage
thereon for a distance of three hundred feet or more is occupied by
buildings in use for business.
7A. "Business-trade truck" means a motor truck with an
unladen weight of ten thousand pounds or less which is owned by a
corporation, limited liability company, or partnership or by a person
who files a schedule C or schedule F form with the federal internal
revenue service and which is eligible for depreciation under § 167 of
the Internal Revenue Code. If the motor truck is a leased vehicle,
the motor truck is a business-trade truck only if the lessee is a
corporation, limited liability company, or partnership and the truck
is used primarily for purposes of the business operations of the
corporation, limited liability company, or partnership or the lessee
is a person who files a schedule C or schedule F form with the
federal internal revenue service and the truck is used primarily for
purposes of the person's own business or farming operation.
8. "Chauffeur" means a person who operates a motor vehicle,
including a school bus, in the transportation of persons for wages,
compensation, or hire, or a person who operates a truck tractor, road
tractor, or a motor truck which has a gross vehicle weight rating
exceeding sixteen thousand pounds.
a. A person is not a chauffeur when the operation of the
motor vehicle, other than a truck tractor, by the owner or operator
is occasional and merely incidental to the owner's or operator's
principal business.
b. A person is not a chauffeur when the operation is by a
volunteer fire fighter operating fire apparatus, or is by a volunteer
ambulance or rescue squad attendant operating ambulance or rescue
squad apparatus. If a volunteer fire fighter or ambulance or rescue
squad operator receives nominal compensation not based upon the value
of the services performed, the fire fighter or operator shall be
considered to be receiving no compensation and classified as a
volunteer.
c. If authorized to transport inmates, probationers,
parolees, or work releasees by the director of the Iowa department of
corrections or the director's designee, an employee of the Iowa
department of corrections or a district department of correctional
services is not a chauffeur when transporting the inmates,
probationers, parolees, or work releasees.
d. A farmer or the farmer's hired help is not a chauffeur
when operating a truck, other than a truck tractor, owned by the
farmer and used exclusively in connection with the transportation of
the farmer's own products or property.
e. If authorized to transport patients or clients by the
director of the department of human services or the director's
designee, an employee of the department of human services is not a
chauffeur when transporting the patients or clients in an automobile.
f. A person is not a chauffeur when the operation is by a
home care aide in the course of the home care aide's duties.
g. If authorized to transport students or clients by the
superintendent of the Iowa braille and sight saving school or of the
Iowa school for the deaf, or the superintendent's respective
designee, an employee of the Iowa braille and sight saving school or
the Iowa school for the deaf is not a chauffeur when transporting the
students or clients.
h. If authorized to transport patients or residents of the
Iowa veterans home by the commandant or the commandant's designee, an
employee of or volunteer at the Iowa veterans home is not a chauffeur
when transporting the patients or residents in an automobile in the
course of the employee's or volunteer's normal duties.
9. "Combination" or "combination of vehicles" shall be
construed to mean a group consisting of two or more motor vehicles,
or a group consisting of a motor vehicle and one or more trailers,
semitrailers or vehicles, which are coupled or fastened together for
the purpose of being moved on the highways as a unit.
10. a. "Combined gross weight" means the gross weight of a
combination of vehicles.
b. "Gross combination weight rating" means the combined
gross vehicle weight ratings for each vehicle in a combination of
vehicles. In the absence of a weight specified by the manufacturer
for a towed vehicle, the gross vehicle weight rating of the towed
vehicle is its gross weight.
11. For purposes of administering and enforcing the commercial
driver's license provisions:
a. "Commercial driver" means the operator of a commercial
motor vehicle.
b. "Commercial driver's license" means a driver's license
valid for the operation of a commercial motor vehicle.
c. "Commercial driver's license information system" means the
national information system established to serve as a clearinghouse
for locating information related to the licensing and identification
of commercial motor vehicle drivers.
d. "Commercial motor carrier" means a person responsible for
the safe operation of a commercial motor vehicle.
e. "Commercial motor vehicle" means a motor vehicle or
combination of vehicles used to transport passengers or property if
any of the following apply:
(1) The combination of vehicles has a gross combination weight
rating of twenty-six thousand one or more pounds provided the towed
vehicle or vehicles have a gross weight rating or gross combination
weight rating of ten thousand one or more pounds.
(2) The motor vehicle has a gross vehicle weight rating of
twenty-six thousand one or more pounds.
(3) The motor vehicle is designed to transport sixteen or more
persons, including the operator, or is of a size and design to
transport sixteen or more persons, including the operator, but is
redesigned or modified to transport less than sixteen persons with
disabilities.
(4) The motor vehicle is used in the transportation of hazardous
material of a type or quantity requiring vehicle placarding.
f. "Employer" means any person, including the United
States, a state, the District of Columbia, or a political subdivision
of a state, who owns or leases a commercial motor vehicle or assigns
an employee to operate such a vehicle.
g. "Foreign jurisdiction" means a jurisdiction outside
the fifty United States, the District of Columbia, and Canada.
h. "Nonresident commercial driver's license" means a
commercial driver's license issued to a person who is not a resident
of the United States or Canada.
i. "Tank vehicle" means a commercial motor vehicle that
is designed to transport any liquid or gaseous materials within a
tank that is either permanently or temporarily attached to the
vehicle or chassis. For purposes of this paragraph, "tank" does
not include a portable tank with a rated capacity of less than one
thousand gallons or a permanent tank with a rated capacity of one
hundred nineteen gallons or less.
12. "Commercial vehicle" means a vehicle or combination of
vehicles designed principally to transport passengers or property of
any kind if any of the following apply:
a. The vehicle or any combination of vehicles has a gross
weight or combined gross weight of ten thousand one or more pounds.
b. The vehicle or any combination of vehicles has a gross
vehicle weight rating or gross combination weight rating of ten
thousand one or more pounds.
c. The vehicle is designed to transport sixteen or more
persons, including the driver.
d. The vehicle is used in the transportation of hazardous
material of a type or quantity requiring vehicle placarding.
12A. "Completed motor vehicle" means a motor vehicle which
does not require any additional manufacturing operations to perform
its intended function except the addition of readily attachable
equipment, components, or minor finishing operations.
13. "Component part" means any part of a vehicle, other than
a tire, having a component part number.
14. "Component part number" means the vehicle identification
derivative consisting of numerical and alphabetical designations
affixed to a component part by the manufacturer or the department or
affixed by, or caused to be affixed by, the owner pursuant to rules
promulgated by the department as a means of identifying the component
part.
15. "Conviction" means a final conviction, a final
administrative ruling or determination, or an unvacated forfeiture of
bail or collateral deposited to secure a person's appearance in
court.
15A. "Crane" means a machine for raising, shifting, and
lowering heavy weights by means of a projecting swinging arm.
16. "Crosswalk" means that portion of a roadway ordinarily
included within the prolongation or connection of the lateral lines
of sidewalks at intersections, or any portion of a roadway distinctly
indicated for pedestrian crossing by lines or other markings on the
surface.
17. "Dealer" means every person engaged in the business of
buying, selling, or exchanging vehicles of a type required to be
registered hereunder and who has an established place of business for
such purpose in this state. "Dealer" includes those persons
required to be licensed as dealers under chapters 322 and 322C.
18. "Demolisher" means any agency or person whose business is
to convert a vehicle to junk, processed scrap, or scrap metal, or
otherwise to wreck or dismantle vehicles.
19. "Department" means the state department of
transportation. "Commission" means the state transportation
commission.
20. "Director" means the director of the state department of
transportation or the director's designee.
20A. "Driver's license" means any license or permit issued to
a person to operate a motor vehicle on the highways of this state,
including but not limited to a temporary restricted or temporary
license and an instruction, chauffeur's instruction, commercial
driver's instruction, or temporary permit.
For purposes of license suspension, revocation, bar,
disqualification, cancellation, or denial under this chapter and
chapters 321A, 321C, and 321J, "driver's license" includes any
privilege to operate a motor vehicle.
20B. "Electric personal assistive mobility device" means a
self-balancing, nontandem two-wheeled device powered by an electric
propulsion system that averages seven hundred fifty watts and is
designed to transport one person, with a maximum speed on a paved
level surface of less than twenty miles per hour. The maximum speed
shall be calculated based on operation of the device by a person who
weighs one hundred seventy pounds when the device is powered solely
by the electric propulsion system. For purposes of this chapter,
"electric personal assistive mobility device" does not include an
assistive device as defined in section 216E.1.
21. "Endorsement" means an authorization to a person's
driver's license required to permit the person to operate certain
types of motor vehicles or to transport certain types or quantities
of hazardous materials.
22. "Essential parts" mean all integral and body parts of a
vehicle of a type required to be registered hereunder, the removal,
alteration, or substitution of which would tend to conceal the
identity of the vehicle or substantially alter its appearance, model,
type, or mode of operation.
23. "Established place of business" means the place actually
occupied either continuously or at regular periods by a dealer or
manufacturer where the dealer's or manufacturer's books and records
are kept and a large share of the dealer's or manufacturer's business
is transacted.
24. "Farm tractor" means every motor vehicle designed and
used primarily as a farm implement for drawing plows, mowing
machines, and other implements of husbandry.
24A. "Fence-line feeder" means a vehicle used exclusively for
the mixing and dispensing of nutrients to bovine animals at a
feedlot.
24B. "Financial liability coverage" means any of the
following:
a. An owner's policy of liability insurance which is issued
by an insurance carrier authorized to do business in Iowa to or for
the benefit of the person named in the policy as insured, and
insuring the person named as insured and any person using an insured
motor vehicle with the express or implied permission of the named
insured against loss from liability imposed by law for damages
arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of an insured motor
vehicle within the United States of America or Canada, but subject to
minimum limits, exclusive of interest and costs, in the amounts
specified in section 321A.21 or specified in another provision of the
Code, whichever is greater.
b. A bond filed with the department pursuant to section
321A.24.
c. A valid statement issued by the treasurer of state
pursuant to section 321A.25 attesting to the filing of a certificate
of deposit with the treasurer of state.
d. A valid certificate of self-insurance issued by the
department pursuant to section 321A.34.
25. "Fire vehicle" means a motor vehicle which is equipped
with pumps, tanks, hoses, nozzles, ladders, generators, or other fire
apparatus used to transport fire personnel, fight fires, and respond
to emergencies.
26. "Foreign vehicle" means every vehicle of a type required
to be registered hereunder brought into this state from another
state, territory, or country other than in the ordinary course of
business by or through a manufacturer or dealer and not registered in
this state.
27. The linear measure of the plot of ground upon which the
building is located abutting upon the highway shall be deemed
"frontage occupied by the building", and the phrase "frontage
on such highway for a distance of three hundred feet or more" shall
mean the total frontage on both sides of the highway for such
distance.
28. "Garage" means every place of business where motor
vehicles are received for housing, storage, or repair for
compensation.
28A. "Grain cart" means a vehicle with a nonsteerable single
or tandem axle designed to move grain.
29. a. "Gross weight" means the empty weight of a vehicle
plus the maximum load to be carried by the vehicle. The maximum load
to be carried by a passenger-carrying vehicle shall be determined by
multiplying one hundred fifty pounds by the number of passenger seats
carried by such vehicle.
b. "Unladen weight" means the weight of a vehicle or vehicle
combination without load.
c. "Gross vehicle weight rating" means the weight specified
by the manufacturer as the loaded weight of a single vehicle.
30. "Guaranteed arrest bond certificate" means any printed,
unexpired certificate issued by an automobile club or association to
any of its members, or any printed, unexpired certificate issued by
an insurance company authorized to write automobile liability
insurance within this state, which certificate is signed by such
member or insured and contains a printed statement that such
automobile club, association, or insurance company and a surety
company which is doing business in this state under the provisions of
section 515.48, subsection 2, guarantee the appearance of the person
whose signature appears on the certificate and that they will, in the
event of failure of such person to appear in court at the time of
trial, pay any fine or forfeiture imposed on such person in an amount
not to exceed one thousand dollars. If such insurance company is
itself qualified under the provisions of section 515.48, subsection
2, the insurance company may be its own surety. Bail in this form
shall be subject to the forfeiture and enforcement provisions with
respect to bail bonds in criminal cases as provided by law.
31. "Hazardous material" means a substance or material which
has been determined by the United States secretary of transportation
to be capable of posing an unreasonable risk to health, safety, and
property when transported in commerce, and which has been so
designated.
32. "Implement of husbandry" means a vehicle or special
mobile equipment manufactured, designed, or reconstructed for
agricultural purposes and, except for incidental uses, exclusively
used in the conduct of agricultural operations. "Implements of
husbandry" includes all-terrain vehicles operated in compliance
with section 321.234A, subsection 1, paragraph "a", fence-line
feeders, and vehicles used exclusively for the application of organic
or inorganic plant food materials, organic agricultural limestone, or
agricultural chemicals. To be considered an implement of husbandry,
a self-propelled implement of husbandry must be operated at speeds of
thirty-five miles per hour or less. "Reconstructed" as used in
this subsection means materially altered from the original
construction by the removal, addition, or substitution of essential
parts, new or used.
A vehicle covered under this subsection, if it otherwise
qualifies, may be operated as special mobile equipment and under such
circumstances this subsection shall not be applicable to such
vehicle, and such vehicle shall not be required to comply with
sections 321.384 through 321.423, when such vehicle is moved during
daylight hours; however, the provisions of section 321.383 shall
remain applicable to such vehicle.
33. "Intersection" means the area embraced within the
prolongation or connection of the lateral curb lines, or, if none,
then the lateral boundary lines of the roadways of two highways which
join one another at, or approximately at, right angles, or the area
within which vehicles traveling upon different highways joining at
any other angle may come in conflict.
34. "Laned highway" means a highway the roadway of which is
divided into three or more clearly marked lanes for vehicular
traffic.
35. "Light delivery truck", "panel delivery truck", or
"pickup" means any motor vehicle designed to carry merchandise or
freight of any kind, not to exceed two thousand pounds.
36. "Local authorities" means every county, municipal, and
other local board or body having authority to adopt local police
regulations under the Constitution and laws of this state.
36A. "Low-speed vehicle" means a motor vehicle manufactured
in compliance with the national highway and traffic safety
administration standards for low-speed vehicles in 49 C.F.R. §
571.500. A low-speed vehicle which is in compliance with the
equipment requirements in 49 C.F.R. § 571.500 shall be deemed to be
in compliance with all equipment requirements of this chapter.
36B. "Manufactured home" is a factory-built structure
constructed under authority of 42 U.S.C. § 5403, which is required by
federal law to display a seal from the United States department of
housing and urban development, and was constructed on or after June
15, 1976.
36C. a. "Manufactured or mobile home" means any vehicle
without motive power used or so manufactured or constructed as to
permit its being used as a conveyance upon the public streets and
highways and so designed, constructed, or reconstructed as will
permit the vehicle to be used as a place for human habitation by one
or more persons.
b. "Travel trailer" means a vehicle without motive power
used, manufactured, or constructed to permit its use as a conveyance
upon the public streets and highways and designed to permit its use
as a place of human habitation by one or more persons. The vehicle
may be up to eight feet six inches in width and its overall length
shall not exceed forty feet. The vehicle shall be customarily or
ordinarily used for vacation or recreational purposes and not used as
a place of permanent habitation. If the vehicle is used in this
state as a place of human habitation for more than ninety consecutive
days in one location it shall be classed as a manufactured or mobile
home regardless of the size limitations provided in this paragraph.
c. "Fifth-wheel travel trailer" means a type of travel
trailer which is towed by a pickup by a connecting device known as a
fifth wheel. However, this type of travel trailer may have an
overall length which shall not exceed forty feet.
d. "Motor home" means a motor vehicle designed as an integral
unit to be used as a conveyance upon the public streets and highways
and for use as a temporary or recreational dwelling and having at
least four, two of which shall be systems specified in subparagraphs
(1), (4), or (5) of this paragraph, of the following permanently
installed systems which meet American national standards institute
and national fire protection association standards in effect on the
date of manufacture:
(1) Cooking facilities.
(2) Ice box or mechanical refrigerator.
(3) Potable water supply including plumbing and a sink with
faucet either self-contained or with connections for an external
source, or both.
(4) Self-contained toilet or a toilet connected to a plumbing
system with connection for external water disposal, or both.
(5) Heating or air conditioning system or both, separate from the
vehicle engine or the vehicle engine electrical system.
(6) A one hundred ten--one hundred fifteen volt alternating
current electrical system separate from the vehicle engine electrical
system either with its own power supply or with a connection for an
external source, or both, or a liquefied petroleum system and supply.
37. "Manufacturer" means every person engaged in the business
of fabricating or assembling vehicles of a type required to be
registered. It does not include a person who converts, modifies, or
alters a completed motor vehicle manufactured by another person. It
includes a person who uses a completed motor vehicle manufactured by
another person to construct a class "B" motor home as defined in
section 321.124.
38. "Metal tire" means every tire the surface of which in
contact with the highway is wholly or partly of metal or other hard,
nonresilient material.
39. Reserved.
40. a. "Motorcycle" means every motor vehicle having a saddle
or seat for the use of the rider and designed to travel on not more
than three wheels in contact with the ground including a motor
scooter but excluding a tractor and a motorized bicycle.
b. "Motorized bicycle" means a motor vehicle having a saddle
or a seat for the use of a rider, designed to travel on not more than
three wheels in contact with the ground, and not capable of operating
at a speed in excess of thirty miles per hour on level ground
unassisted by human power.
c. "Bicycle" means either of the following:
(1) A device having two wheels and having at least one saddle or
seat for the use of a rider which is propelled by human power.
(2) A device having two or three wheels with fully operable
pedals and an electric motor of less than seven hundred fifty watts
(one horsepower), whose maximum speed on a paved level surface, when
powered solely by such a motor while ridden, is less than twenty
miles per hour.
41. "Motor truck" means every motor vehicle designed
primarily for carrying livestock, merchandise, freight of any kind,
or over nine persons as passengers.
42. a. "Motor vehicle" means a vehicle which is
self-propelled and not operated upon rails.
b. "Used motor vehicle" or "secondhand motor vehicle" or
"used car" means a motor vehicle of a type subject to
registration under the laws of this state which has been sold "at
retail" as defined in chapter 322 and previously registered in this
or any other state.
c. "New motor vehicle or new car" means a motor vehicle
subject to registration which has not been sold "at retail" as
defined in chapter 322.
d. "Car" or "automobile" means a motor vehicle designed
primarily for carrying nine passengers or less, excluding motorcycles
and motorized bicycles.
43. Reserved.
44. "Multipurpose vehicle" means a motor vehicle designed to
carry not more than ten people, and constructed either on a truck
chassis or with special features for occasional off-road operation.
45. "Nonresident" means every person who is not a resident of
this state.
46. "Official traffic-control devices" means all signs,
signals, markings, and devices not inconsistent with this chapter
placed or erected by authority of a public body or official having
jurisdiction, for the purpose of regulating, warning, or guiding
traffic.
47. "Official traffic-control signal" means any device,
whether manually, electrically or mechanically operated, by which
traffic is alternately directed to stop and to proceed.
48. "Operator" or "driver" means every person who is in
actual physical control of a motor vehicle upon a highway.
49. "Owner" means a person who holds the legal title of a
vehicle, or in the event a vehicle is the subject of a security
agreement with an immediate right of possession vested in the debtor,
then such debtor shall be deemed the owner for the purpose of this
chapter.
50. "Peace officer" means every officer authorized to direct
or regulate traffic or to make arrests for violations of traffic
regulations in addition to its meaning in section 801.4.
51. "Pedestrian" means any person afoot.
52. "Person" means every natural person, firm, partnership,
association, or corporation. Where the term "person" is used in
connection with the registration of a motor vehicle, it shall include
any corporation, association, partnership, company, firm, or other
aggregation of individuals which owns or controls such motor vehicle
as actual owner, or for the purpose of sale or for renting, whether
as agent, salesperson, or otherwise.
53. "Pneumatic tire" means every tire in which compressed air
is designed to support the load.
54. "Private road" or "driveway" means every way or place
in private ownership and used for vehicular travel by the owner and
those having express or implied permission from the owner but not by
other persons.
54A. "Product identification number" or the acronym PIN means
a group of unique numerical or alphabetical designations assigned to
a complete fence-line feeder, grain cart, or tank wagon by the
manufacturer or by the department and affixed to the vehicle,
pursuant to rules adopted by the department, as a means of
identifying the vehicle or the year of manufacture.
54B. "Proof of financial liability coverage card" means
either a liability insurance card issued under section 321.20B, a
bond insurance card issued under section 321A.24, a security
insurance card issued under section 321A.25, or a self-insurance card
issued under section 321A.34.
55. "Railroad" means a carrier of persons or property upon
cars operated upon stationary rails.
56. "Railroad corporation" means any corporation organized
under the laws of this state or any other state for the purpose of
operating the railroad within this state.
57. "Railroad sign" or "signal" means any sign, signal,
or device erected by authority of a public body or official or by a
railroad and intended to give notice of the presence of railroad
tracks or the approach of a railroad train.
58. "Railroad train" means an engine or locomotive with or
without cars coupled thereto, operated upon rails.
59. "Reconstructed vehicle" means every vehicle of a type
required to be registered under this chapter materially altered from
its original construction by the removal, addition, or substitution
of essential parts, new or used. "Reconstructed vehicle" does
not include a street rod or replica vehicle.
59A. "Registration fees", unless otherwise specified, means
both the annual vehicle registration fee and the fee for new
registration, to the extent applicable, for purposes of administering
the provisions of this chapter concerning vehicle registration fees.
60. "Registration year" means the period of twelve
consecutive months beginning on the first day of the month following
the month of the birth of the owner of the vehicle for vehicles
registered by the county treasurer and the calendar year for vehicles
registered by the department or motor trucks and truck tractors with
a combined gross weight exceeding five tons which are registered by
the county treasurer. For leased vehicles registered by the county
treasurer, except for motor trucks and truck tractors with a combined
gross weight exceeding five tons, "registration year" means the
period of twelve consecutive months beginning on the first day of the
month following the month in which the lease expires.
61. "Replica vehicle" means any completed motor vehicle other
than a motorcycle or motorized bicycle with a gross vehicle weight
rating of less than ten thousand pounds consisting of a body, frame,
and other essential parts, assembled as a reproduction of a vehicle
originally manufactured by a generally recognized manufacturer of
motor vehicles with the substitution or addition of essential parts
to update the vehicle for purposes of safety, performance, or
reliability. For purposes of vehicle registration, the model year of
a replica vehicle shall be the same as the model year of the motor
vehicle that it is designed to resemble.
62. "Rescue vehicle" means a motor vehicle which is equipped
with rescue, fire, or life support equipment used to assist and
rescue persons in emergencies or support emergency personnel in the
performance of their duties.
63. "Residence district" means the territory within a city
contiguous to and including a highway, not comprising a business,
suburban, or school district, where forty percent or more of the
frontage on such highway for a distance of three hundred feet or more
is occupied by dwellings or by dwellings and buildings in use for
business.
63A. "Retractable axle" means an axle designed with the
capability of manipulation or adjustment of the weight on the axle.
64. "Right-of-way" means the privilege of the immediate use
of the highway.
64A. "Road tractor" means every motor vehicle designed and
used for drawing other vehicles and not so constructed as to carry
any load thereon either independently or any part of the weight of a
vehicle or load so drawn.
65. "Roadway" means that portion of a highway improved,
designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel.
66. "Road work zone" means the portion of a highway which is
identified by posted or moving signs as the site of construction,
maintenance, survey, or utility work. The zone starts upon meeting
the first sign identifying the zone and continues until a posted or
moving sign indicates that the work zone has ended.
67. "Rural residence district" means an unincorporated area
established by a county board of supervisors which is contiguous to
and including a secondary highway, not comprising a business
district, where forty percent or more of the frontage of the highway
for a distance of three hundred feet or more is occupied by dwellings
or by dwellings and buildings in use for business. For purposes of
this subsection, farm houses and farm buildings are not to be
considered.
68. "Safety zone" means the area or space officially set
apart within a roadway for the exclusive use of pedestrians and which
is protected or so marked or indicated by adequate signs as to be
plainly visible at all times while set apart as a safety zone.
68A. "Salvage pool" means the business of selling at auction
wrecked or salvage vehicles, as defined in section 321.52.
69. "School bus" means every vehicle operated for the
transportation of children to or from school, except vehicles which
are:
a. Privately owned and not operated for compensation;
b. Used exclusively in the transportation of the children in
the immediate family of the driver;
c. Operated by a municipally or privately owned urban transit
company or a regional transit system as defined in section 324A.1 for
the transportation of children as part of or in addition to their
regularly scheduled service; or
d. Designed to carry not more than nine persons as
passengers, either school owned or privately owned, which are used to
transport pupils to activity events in which the pupils are
participants or used to transport pupils to their homes in case of
illness or other emergency situations. The vehicles operated under
the provisions of this paragraph shall be operated by employees of
the school district who are specifically approved by the local
superintendent of schools for the assignment.
70. "School district" means the territory contiguous to and
including a highway for a distance of two hundred feet in either
direction from a schoolhouse in a city.
71. "Semitrailer" means every vehicle without motive power
designed for carrying persons or property and for being drawn by a
motor vehicle and so constructed that some part of its weight and
that of its load rests upon or is carried by another vehicle.
Wherever the word "trailer" is used in this chapter, same
shall be construed to also include "semitrailer".
A "semitrailer" shall be considered in this chapter separately
from its power unit.
72. "Sidewalk" means that portion of a street between the
curb lines, or the lateral lines of a roadway, and the adjacent
property lines intended for the use of pedestrians.
73. "Solid tire" means every tire of rubber or other
resilient material which does not depend upon compressed air for the
support of the load.
74. "Specially constructed vehicle" means every vehicle of a
type required to be registered under this chapter not originally
constructed under a distinctive name, make, model, or type by a
generally recognized manufacturer of vehicles and not materially
altered from its original construction. A "specially constructed
vehicle" does not include a street rod or replica vehicle.
75. "Special mobile equipment" means every vehicle not
designed or used primarily for the transportation of persons or
property and incidentally operated or moved over the highways,
including road construction or maintenance machinery and
ditch-digging apparatus. This description does not exclude other
vehicles which are within the general terms of this subsection.
76. "Special truck" means a motor truck or truck tractor not
used for hire with a gross weight registration of six through
thirty-two tons used by a person engaged in farming to transport
commodities produced only by the owner, or to transport commodities
purchased by the owner for use in the owner's own farming operation
or occasional use for charitable purposes. "Special truck" also
means a motor truck or truck tractor not used for hire with a gross
weight registration of six through thirty-two tons used by a person
engaged in farming who assists another person engaged in farming
through an exchange of services. A "special truck" does not
include a truck tractor operated more than fifteen thousand miles
annually.
77. "Stinger-steered automobile transporter" means any
vehicle combination designed and used specifically for the transport
of assembled highway vehicles, recreational vehicles, or boats in
which the fifth wheel is located on a drop frame located below and
behind the rearmost axle of the power unit.
78. "Street" or "highway" means the entire width between
property lines of every way or place of whatever nature when any part
thereof is open to the use of the public, as a matter of right, for
purposes of vehicular traffic.
78A. "Street rod" means any car or motor truck with a gross
vehicle weight rating of less than ten thousand pounds required to be
registered under this chapter, manufactured by a generally recognized
manufacturer of motor vehicles prior to the year 1949, which may
contain a body or frame not manufactured by the original
manufacturer, or any motor vehicle designed and manufactured to
resemble a motor vehicle manufactured prior to the year 1949. For
purposes of vehicle registration, the model year of a street rod
shall be the same as the model year of the motor vehicle that it is
designed to resemble.
79. "Suburban district" means all other parts of a city not
included in the business, school, or residence districts.
80. "Tandem axle" means any two or more consecutive axles
whose centers are more than forty inches but not more than ninety-six
inches apart.
80A. "Tank wagon" means a vehicle designed to carry liquid
animal or human excrement.
81. "Through (or thru) highway" means every highway or
portion thereof at the entrances to which vehicular traffic from
intersecting highways is required by law to stop before entering or
crossing the same and when stop signs are erected as provided in this
chapter or such entrances are controlled by a peace officer or
traffic-control signal. The term "arterial" is synonymous with
"through" or "thru" when applied to highways of this state.
82. "Tourist attraction" means a business, activity, service,
or site where a major portion of the product or service provided is
tourist oriented.
83. "Tourist-oriented directional sign" means a sign
providing identification and directional information for a tourist
attraction.
83A. "Towing or recovery vehicle" means a motor vehicle
equipped with booms, winches, slings, or wheel lifts used to tow,
recover, or transport other motor vehicles.
83B. "Tracked implement of husbandry" means a fence-line
feeder, grain cart, or tank wagon that is mounted on a chassis
attached to a pair of tracks that transfer the weight of the
implement to the ground or the roadway surface.
84. "Traffic" means pedestrians, ridden or herded animals,
vehicles, streetcars, and other conveyances either singly or together
while using any highway for purposes of travel.
85. "Trailer" means every vehicle without motive power
designed for carrying persons or property and for being drawn by a
motor vehicle and so constructed that no part of its weight rests
upon the towing vehicle.
86. Reserved.
87. "Transporter" means a person engaged in the business of
delivering vehicles of a type required to be registered or titled in
this state who has received authority to make delivery as specified
by rules adopted by the department.
88. "Truck tractor" means every motor vehicle designed and
used primarily for drawing other vehicles and not so constructed as
to carry a load other than a part of the weight of the vehicle and
load so drawn. However, a truck tractor may have a box, deck, or
plate for carrying freight, mounted on the frame behind the cab, and
forward of the fifth-wheel connection point.
89. "Used vehicle parts dealer" means a person engaged in the
business of selling bodies, parts of bodies, frames, or component
parts of used vehicles subject to registration under this chapter.
90. "Vehicle" means every device in, upon, or by which any
person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway.
"Vehicle" does not include:
a. Any device moved by human power.
b. Any device used exclusively upon stationary rails or
tracks.
c. Any integral part of a truck tractor or road tractor which
is mounted on the frame of the truck tractor or road tractor
immediately behind the cab and which may be used to transport persons
and property but which cannot be drawn upon the highway by the truck
tractor or another motor vehicle.
d. Any steering axle, dolly, auxiliary axle, or other
integral part of another vehicle which in and of itself is incapable
of commercially transporting any person or property but is used
primarily to support another vehicle.
91. "Vehicle identification number" or the initials VIN mean
the numerical and alphabetical designations affixed to a vehicle or a
component part of a vehicle by the manufacturer or the department or
affixed by, or caused to be affixed by, the owner pursuant to rules
promulgated by the department as a means of identifying the vehicle.
92. "Vehicle rebuilder" means a person engaged in the
business of rebuilding or restoring to operating condition vehicles
subject to registration under this chapter, which have been damaged
or wrecked.
93. "Vehicle salvager" means a person engaged in the business
of scrapping vehicles, dismantling or storing wrecked or damaged
vehicles or selling reusable parts of vehicles or storing vehicles
not currently registered which vehicles are subject to registration
under this chapter.
94. "Where a vehicle is kept" shall refer to the county of
residence of the owner or to the county where the vehicle is mainly
kept if said owner is a nonresident of the state. Section History: Early Form
[S13, § 1571-m1, -m20; C24, 27, § 4863, 5030, 13012; C31, 35, §
4863, 4960-d1, 5030, 13012; C39, § 5000.01; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62,
66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, § 321.1; 81 Acts, ch 101, § 1; 81 Acts 2d
Ex, ch 2, § 5; 82 Acts, ch 1056, § 1, ch 1122, § 1, ch 1254, § 1] Section History: Recent Form
82 Acts, ch 1062, § 1, 2, 38; 83 Acts, ch 9, § 3, 8; 83 Acts, ch
24, § 1, 12; 84 Acts, ch 1219, § 21; 84 Acts, ch 1252, § 1; 84 Acts,
ch 1292, § 2; 85 Acts, ch 21, § 41; 85 Acts, ch 35, § 1, 2; 85 Acts,
ch 37, § 1; 85 Acts, ch 40, § 1; 86 Acts, ch 1056, § 1; 86 Acts, ch
1071, § 1; 86 Acts, ch 1210, § 1, 2; 86 Acts, ch 1237, § 19; 86 Acts,
ch 1238, § 13; 87 Acts, ch 170, § 2--4; 87 Acts, ch 186, § 1, 2; 87
Acts, ch 189, § 1; 88 Acts, ch 1047, § 1; 88 Acts, ch 1083, § 1, 2;
89 Acts, ch 34, § 1; 89 Acts, ch 83, § 40, 41; 89 Acts, ch 118, § 1;
90 Acts, ch 1183, § 3; 90 Acts, ch 1230, § 6--14; 91 Acts, ch 56, §
1; 91 Acts, ch 219, § 14; 92 Acts, ch 1048, § 1; 92 Acts, ch 1104, §
1; 92 Acts, ch 1175, § 19, 28; 93 Acts, ch 114, § 1; 93 Acts, ch 139,
§ 7; 94 Acts, ch 1087, §1; 95 Acts, ch 10, § 1; 95 Acts, ch 55, § 1,
2; 95 Acts, ch 56, §1; 95 Acts, ch 118, §1, 2; 96 Acts, ch 1005, § 1;
96 Acts, ch 1129, § 113; 97 Acts, ch 100, § 1; 97 Acts, ch 104, §5;
97 Acts, ch 108, § 1, 2; 97 Acts, ch 139, § 1, 17, 18; 97 Acts, ch
148, § 7, 9; 98 Acts, ch 1073, §1--4; 98 Acts, ch 1075, §20; 98 Acts,
ch 1121, §8; 99 Acts, ch 13, §1--3, 29; 99 Acts, ch 108, §1--3; 99
Acts, ch 188, §1; 2000 Acts, ch 1005, §1; 2000 Acts, ch 1016, §1;
2000 Acts, ch 1025, §1, 6; 2000 Acts, ch 1133, §1; 2001 Acts, ch 32,
§15; 2001 Acts, ch 132, §1; 2001 Acts, ch 153, §15, 17; 2001 Acts, ch
176, §80; 2002 Acts, ch 1063, §17, 18; 2003 Acts, ch 6, §1; 2003
Acts, ch 24, §2; 2004 Acts, ch 1013, §1, 35; 2004 Acts, ch 1132, §80;
2004 Acts, ch 1175, §397, 400; 2005 Acts, ch 8, §2, 3; 2005 Acts, ch
20, §4; 2006 Acts, ch 1068, §6, 7, 41; 2008 Acts, ch 1018, § 1--3;
2008 Acts, ch 1021, § 1--4; 2008 Acts, ch 1032, § 106; 2008 Acts, ch
1044, §1--4, 8; 2008 Acts, ch 1113, § 2, 11, 38; 2009 Acts, ch 90,
§1; 2009 Acts, ch 130, §20
Referred to in § 15G.201, 123.48, 142D.2, 321.20B, 321.24, 321.56,
321.105A, 321.121, 321.126, 321.235A, 321.260, 321.285, 321.471,
321.474, 321.486, 321A.1, 321A.32, 321E.7, 321E.14, 321E.34, 321G.9,
321G.20, 321G.24, 321I.7, 321I.21, 321J.4, 321J.6, 321J.8, 322.3,
322.4, 322.27A, 322.35, 322D.1, 325A.2, 326.2, 327F.39, 423.1, 423.6,
423B.2, 452A.74A, 452A.76, 453A.4, 455B.301, 462A.34A, 476.27,
481A.54, 522A.2, 537.3604, 537B.2, 537B.4, 669.14, 670.4, 707.6A,
713.6A, 713.6B, 714.2, 714.8, 805.8A(14i), 805.9, 805.16, 811.9
Disclaimer: These codes may not be the most recent version. Iowa may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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