2005 Texas Transportation Code CHAPTER 541. DEFINITIONS

TRANSPORTATION CODE

SUBTITLE C. RULES OF THE ROAD

CHAPTER 541. DEFINITIONS

SUBCHAPTER A. PERSONS AND GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITIES


	§ 541.001. PERSONS.  In this subtitle:                                      
		(1)  "Operator" means, as used in reference to a 
vehicle, a person who drives or has physical control of a vehicle.
		(2)  "Owner" means, as used in reference to a vehicle, a 
person who has a property interest in or title to a vehicle.  The 
term:
			(A)  includes a person entitled to use and possess 
a vehicle subject to a security interest;  and
			(B)  excludes a lienholder and a lessee whose 
lease is not intended as security.
		(3)  "Pedestrian" means a person on foot.                                     
		(4)  "Person" means an individual, firm, partnership, 
association, or corporation.
		(5)  "School crossing guard" means a responsible person 
who is at least 18 years of age and is designated by a local 
authority to direct traffic in a school crossing zone for the 
protection of children going to or leaving a school.

Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.  Amended 
by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 165, § 30.103, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.


	§ 541.002. GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITIES.  In this subtitle:                     
		(1)  "Department" means the Department of Public Safety 
acting directly or through its authorized officers and agents.
		(2)  "Director" means the public safety director.                             
		(3)  "Local authority" means:                                                 
			(A)  a county, municipality, or other local entity 
authorized to enact traffic laws under the laws of this state;  or
			(B)  a school district created under the laws of 
this state only when it is designating school crossing guards for 
schools operated by the district.
		(4)  "Police officer" means an officer authorized to 
direct traffic or arrest persons who violate traffic regulations.
		(5)  "State" has the meaning assigned by Section 
311.005, Government Code, and includes a province of Canada.

Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.                    

SUBCHAPTER B. PROPERTY AREAS


	§ 541.101. METROPOLITAN AREA.  In this subtitle, 
"metropolitan area" means an area that:
		(1)  contains at least one municipality with a 
population of at least 100,000;  and
		(2)  includes the adjacent municipalities and 
unincorporated urban districts.

Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.                    


	§ 541.102. RESTRICTED DISTRICTS.  In this subtitle:                         
		(1)  "Business district" means the territory adjacent 
to and including a highway if buildings used for business or 
industrial purposes, including a building used as a hotel, bank, 
office building, public building, or railroad station:
			(A)  are located within a 600-foot segment along 
the highway;  and         
			(B)  within that segment the buildings occupy at 
least 300 feet of frontage:
				(i)  on one side of the highway;  or                                        
				(ii)  collectively on both sides of the 
highway.                          
		(2)  "Residence district" means the territory, other 
than a business district, adjacent to and including a highway, if at 
least 300 feet of the highway frontage is primarily improved with:
			(A)  residences;  or                                                         
			(B)  buildings used for business purposes and 
residences.                  
		(3)  "Urban district" means the territory adjacent to 
and including a highway, if the territory:
			(A)  is not in a municipality;  and                                          
			(B)  is improved with structures that are used for 
business, industry, or dwelling houses and located at intervals of 
less than 100 feet for a distance of at least one-quarter mile on 
either side of the highway.

Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.                    

SUBCHAPTER C. VEHICLES, RAIL TRANSPORTATION, AND EQUIPMENT


	§ 541.201. VEHICLES.  In this subtitle:                                     
		(1)  "Authorized emergency vehicle" means:                                    
			(A)  a fire department or police vehicle;                                    
			(B)  a public or private ambulance operated by a 
person who has been issued a license by the Texas Department of 
Health;
			(C)  a municipal department or public service 
corporation emergency vehicle that has been designated or 
authorized by the governing body of a municipality;
			(D)  a private vehicle of a volunteer firefighter 
or a certified emergency medical services employee or volunteer 
when responding to a fire alarm or medical emergency;
			(E)  an industrial emergency response vehicle, 
including an industrial ambulance, when responding to an emergency, 
but only if the vehicle is operated in compliance with criteria in 
effect September 1, 1989, and established by the predecessor of the 
Texas Industrial Emergency Services Board of the State Firemen's 
and Fire Marshals' Association of Texas;  or
			(F)  a vehicle of a blood bank or tissue bank, 
accredited or approved under the laws of this state or the United 
States, when making emergency deliveries of blood, drugs, 
medicines, or organs.
		(2)  "Bicycle" means a device that a person may ride and 
that is propelled by human power and has two tandem wheels at least 
one of which is more than 14 inches in diameter.
		(3)  "Bus" means:                                                             
			(A)  a motor vehicle used to transport persons and 
designed to accommodate more than 10 passengers, including the 
operator;  or
			(B)  a motor vehicle, other than a taxicab, 
designed and used to transport persons for compensation.
		(4)  "Farm tractor" means a motor vehicle designed and 
used primarily as a farm implement to draw an implement of 
husbandry, including a plow or a mowing machine.
		(5)  "House trailer" means a trailer or semitrailer, 
other than a towable recreational vehicle, that:
			(A)  is transportable on a highway in one or more 
sections;                
			(B)  is less than 40 feet in length, excluding tow 
bar, while in the traveling mode;
			(C)  is built on a permanent chassis;                                        
			(D)  is designed to be used as a dwelling or for 
commercial purposes if connected to required utilities;  and
			(E)  includes plumbing, heating, 
air-conditioning, and electrical systems. 
		(6)  "Implement of husbandry" means a vehicle, other 
than a passenger car or truck, that is designed and adapted for use 
as a farm implement, machinery, or tool for tilling the soil.
		(7)  "Light truck" means a truck, including a pickup 
truck, panel delivery truck, or carryall truck, that has a 
manufacturer's rated carrying capacity of 2,000 pounds or less.
		(8)  "Moped" means a motor-driven cycle that cannot 
attain a speed in one mile of more than 30 miles per hour and the 
engine of which:
			(A)  cannot produce more than two-brake 
horsepower;  and                   
			(B)  if an internal combustion engine, has a 
piston displacement of 50 cubic centimeters or less and connects to 
a power drive system that does not require the operator to shift 
gears.
		(9)  "Motorcycle" means a motor vehicle, other than a 
tractor, that is equipped with a rider's saddle and designed to have 
when propelled not more than three wheels on the ground.
		(10)  "Motor-driven cycle" means a motorcycle equipped 
with a motor that has an engine piston displacement of 250 cubic 
centimeters or less.  The term does not include an electric bicycle.
		(11)  "Motor vehicle" means a self-propelled vehicle or 
a vehicle that is propelled by electric power from overhead trolley 
wires.  The term does not include an electric bicycle or an electric 
personal assistive mobility device, as defined by Section 551.201.
		(12)  "Passenger car" means a motor vehicle, other than 
a motorcycle, used to transport persons and designed to accommodate 
10 or fewer passengers, including the operator.
		(13)  "Pole trailer" means a vehicle without motive 
power:                  
			(A)  designed to be drawn by another vehicle and 
secured to the other vehicle by pole, reach, boom, or other security 
device;  and
			(B)  ordinarily used to transport a long or 
irregularly shaped load, including poles, pipes, or structural 
members, generally capable of sustaining themselves as beams 
between the supporting connections.
		(14)  "Road tractor" means a motor vehicle designed and 
used to draw another vehicle but not constructed to carry a load 
independently or a part of the weight of the other vehicle or its 
load.
		(15)  "School activity bus" means a bus designed to 
accommodate more than 15 passengers, including the operator, that 
is owned, operated, rented, or leased by a school district, county 
school, open-enrollment charter school, regional education service 
center, or shared services arrangement and that is used to 
transport public school students on a school-related activity trip, 
other than on routes to and from school.  The term does not include a 
chartered bus, a bus operated by a mass transit authority, or a 
school bus.
		(16)  "School bus" means a motor vehicle that was 
manufactured in compliance with the federal motor vehicle safety 
standards for school buses in effect on the date of manufacture and 
that is used to transport pre-primary, primary, or secondary 
students on a route to or from school or on a school-related 
activity trip other than on routes to and from school. The term does 
not include a school-chartered bus or a bus operated by a mass 
transit authority.
		(17)  "Semitrailer" means a vehicle with or without 
motive power, other than a pole trailer:
			(A)  designed to be drawn by a motor vehicle and to 
transport persons or property;  and
			(B)  constructed so that part of the vehicle's 
weight and load rests on or is carried by another vehicle.
		(18)  "Special mobile equipment" means a vehicle that 
is not designed or used primarily to transport persons or property 
and that is only incidentally operated on a highway.  The term:
			(A)  includes ditchdigging apparatus, well boring 
apparatus, and road construction and maintenance machinery, 
including an asphalt spreader, bituminous mixer, bucket loader, 
tractor other than a truck tractor, ditcher, levelling grader, 
finishing machine, motor grader, road roller, scarifier, 
earth-moving carryall and scraper, power shovel or dragline, or 
self-propelled crane and earth-moving equipment;  and
			(B)  excludes a vehicle that is designed to 
transport persons or property and that has machinery attached, 
including a house trailer, dump truck, truck-mounted transit mixer, 
crane, and shovel.
		(19)  "Towable recreational vehicle" means a 
nonmotorized vehicle that:     
			(A)  is designed:                                                            
				(i)  to be towable by a motor vehicle;  and                                 
				(ii)  for temporary human habitation for 
uses including recreational camping or seasonal use;
			(B)  is permanently built on a single chassis;                               
			(C)  may contain one or more life-support systems;  
and                    
			(D)  may be used permanently or temporarily for 
advertising, selling, displaying, or promoting merchandise or 
services, but is not used for transporting property for hire or for 
distribution by a private carrier.
		(20)  "Trailer" means a vehicle, other than a pole 
trailer, with or without motive power:
			(A)  designed to be drawn by a motor vehicle and to 
transport persons or property;  and
			(B)  constructed so that no part of the vehicle's 
weight and load rests on the motor vehicle.
		(21)  "Truck" means a motor vehicle designed, used, or 
maintained primarily to transport property.
		(22)  "Truck tractor" means a motor vehicle designed 
and used primarily to draw another vehicle but not constructed to 
carry a load other than a part of the weight of the other vehicle and 
its load.
		(23)  "Vehicle" means a device that can be used to 
transport or draw persons or property on a highway.  The term does 
not include:
			(A)  a device exclusively used on stationary rails 
or tracks;  or          
			(B)  manufactured housing as that term is defined 
by Chapter 1201, Occupations Code.
		(24)  "Electric bicycle" means a bicycle that:                                
			(A)  is designed to be propelled by an electric 
motor, exclusively or in combination with the application of human 
power;
			(B)  cannot attain a speed of more than 20 miles 
per hour without the application of human power;  and
			(C)  does not exceed a weight of 100 pounds.                                 

Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.  Amended 
by Acts, 75th Leg., ch. 1020, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997;  Acts 1997, 
75th Leg., ch. 1438, § 8, eff. Sept. 1, 1997;  Acts 1999, 76th 
Leg., ch. 663, § 1, eff. June 18, 1999;  Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 
797, § 3, eff. Sept. 1, 1999;  Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1085, 
§ 5, eff. Sept. 1, 2001;  Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1318, § 2, 
eff. Sept. 1, 2003;  Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1276, § 14A.833, 
eff. Sept. 1, 2003;  Acts 2005, 79th Leg., ch. 558, § 3, eff. 
Sept. 1, 2005.


	§ 541.202. RAIL TRANSPORTATION.  In this subtitle:                          
		(1)  "Railroad" means a carrier that operates cars, 
other than streetcars, on stationary rails to transport persons or 
property.
		(2)  "Railroad train" means a steam engine or electric 
or other motor with or without an attached car operated on rails, 
other than a streetcar.
		(3)  "Streetcar" means a car, other than a railroad 
train, used to transport persons or property and operated on rails 
located primarily within a municipality.

Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.                    


	§ 541.203. EQUIPMENT.  In this subtitle:                                    
		(1)  "Exhaust emission system" means a motor vehicle 
engine modification designed to control or reduce the emission of 
substances from a motor vehicle or motor vehicle engine, of a model 
year of 1968 or later, and installed on or incorporated in a motor 
vehicle or motor vehicle engine in compliance with requirements 
imposed by the Motor Vehicle Air Pollution Control Act (42 U.S.C. 
Section 1857 et seq.) or other applicable law.
		(2)  "Metal tire" includes a tire the surface of which 
in contact with the highway is wholly or partly made of metal or 
other hard, nonresilient material.
		(3)  "Muffler" means a device that reduces noise using:                       
			(A)  a mechanical design, including a series of 
chambers or baffle plates, to receive exhaust gas from an internal 
combustion engine;  or
			(B)  turbine wheels to receive exhaust gas from a 
diesel engine.           
		(4)  "Solid tire" includes only a tire that:                                  
			(A)  is made of rubber or another resilient 
material;  and                 
			(B)  does not use compressed air to support its 
load.                      

Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.                    

SUBCHAPTER D. TRAFFIC, TRAFFIC AREAS, AND TRAFFIC CONTROL


	§ 541.301. TRAFFIC.  In this subtitle "traffic" means 
pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, and conveyances, including 
vehicles and streetcars, singly or together while using a highway 
for the purposes of travel.

Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.                    


	§ 541.302. TRAFFIC AREAS.  In this subtitle:                                
		(1)  "Alley" means a street that:                                             
			(A)  is not used primarily for through traffic;  
and                       
			(B)  provides access to rear entrances of 
buildings or lots along a street.
		(2)  "Crosswalk" means:                                                       
			(A)  the portion of a roadway, including an 
intersection, designated as a pedestrian crossing by surface 
markings, including lines;  or
			(B)  the portion of a roadway at an intersection 
that is within the connections of the lateral lines of the sidewalks 
on opposite sides of the highway measured from the curbs or, in the 
absence of curbs, from the edges of the traversable roadway.
		(3)  "Freeway" means a divided, controlled-access 
highway for through traffic.
		(4)  "Freeway main lane" means a freeway lane having an 
uninterrupted flow of through traffic.
		(5)  "Highway or street" means the width between the 
boundary lines of a publicly maintained way any part of which is 
open to the public for vehicular travel.
		(6)  "Improved shoulder" means a paved shoulder.                              
		(7)  "Laned roadway" means a roadway that is divided 
into at least two clearly marked lanes for vehicular travel.
		(8)  "Limited-access or controlled-access highway" 
means a highway or roadway to which:
			(A)  persons, including owners or occupants of 
abutting real property, have no right of access;  and
			(B)  access by persons to enter or exit the 
highway or roadway is restricted under law except at a place and in 
the manner determined by the authority that has jurisdiction over 
the highway or roadway.
		(9)  "Private road or driveway" means a privately owned 
way or place used for vehicular travel and used only by the owner 
and persons who have the owner's express or implied permission.
		(10)  "Ramp" means an interconnecting roadway of a 
traffic interchange, or a connecting roadway between highways at 
different levels or between parallel highways, that allows a 
vehicle to enter or exit a roadway.
		(11)  "Roadway" means the portion of a highway, other 
than the berm or shoulder, that is improved, designed, or 
ordinarily used for vehicular travel.  If a highway includes at 
least two separate roadways, the term applies to each roadway 
separately.
		(12)  "Safety zone" means the area in a roadway 
officially designated for exclusive pedestrian use and that is 
protected or so marked or indicated by adequate signs as to be 
plainly visible at all times while so designated.
		(13)  "School crossing zone" means a reduced-speed zone 
designated on a street by a local authority to facilitate safe 
crossing of the street by children going to or leaving a public or 
private elementary or secondary school during the time the reduced 
speed limit applies.
		(14)  "School crosswalk" means a crosswalk designated 
on a street by a local authority to facilitate safe crossing of the 
street by children going to or leaving a public or private 
elementary or secondary school.
		(15)  "Shoulder" means the portion of a highway that 
is:                    
			(A)  adjacent to the roadway;                                                
			(B)  designed or ordinarily used for parking;                                
			(C)  distinguished from the roadway by different 
design, construction, or marking;  and
			(D)  not intended for normal vehicular travel.                               
		(16)  "Sidewalk" means the portion of a street that is:                       
			(A)  between a curb or lateral line of a roadway 
and the adjacent property line;  and
			(B)  intended for pedestrian use.                                            

Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.                    


	§ 541.303. INTERSECTION.  (a) In this subtitle, 
"intersection" means the common area at the junction of two 
highways, other than the junction of an alley and a highway.
	(b)  The dimensions of an intersection include only the 
common area:         
		(1)  within the connection of the lateral curb lines 
or, in the absence of curb lines, the lateral boundary lines of the 
roadways of intersecting highways that join at approximate right 
angles;  or
		(2)  at the place where vehicles could collide if 
traveling on roadways of intersecting highways that join at any 
angle other than an approximate right angle.
	(c)  Each junction of each roadway of a highway that includes 
two roadways at least 30 feet apart with the roadway of an 
intersecting highway, including each roadway of an intersecting 
highway that includes two roadways at least 30 feet apart, is a 
separate intersection.

Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.                    


	§ 541.304. TRAFFIC CONTROL.  In this subtitle:                              
		(1)  "Official traffic-control device" means a sign, 
signal, marking, or device that is:
			(A)  consistent with this subtitle;                                          
			(B)  placed or erected by a public body or officer 
having jurisdiction;  and
			(C)  used to regulate, warn, or guide traffic.                               
		(2)  "Railroad sign or signal" means a sign, signal, or 
device erected by a railroad, public body, or public officer to 
notify traffic of railroad tracks or an approaching railroad train.
		(3)  "Traffic-control signal" means a manual, 
electric, or mechanical device that alternately directs traffic to 
stop and to proceed.

Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.                    

SUBCHAPTER E. MISCELLANEOUS TERMS


	§ 541.401. MISCELLANEOUS TERMS.  In this subtitle:                          
		(1)  "Daytime" means the period beginning one-half hour 
before sunrise and ending one-half hour after sunset.
		(2)  "Explosive" means a chemical compound or 
mechanical mixture that:      
			(A)  is commonly intended for use or used to 
produce an explosion;  and    
			(B)  contains ingredients, which may include 
oxidizing or combustive units, in packing, proportions, or 
quantities that, if ignited by fire, friction, concussion, 
percussion, or detonator, could suddenly generate highly heated 
gases that could damage surrounding objects or destroy life or 
limb.
		(3)  "Flammable liquid" means a liquid that has a flash 
point of not more than 70 degrees Fahrenheit as determined by a 
tagliabue or equivalent closed-cup test device.
		(4)  "Gross vehicle weight" means the weight of a 
vehicle and the weight of its load.
		(5)  "Nighttime" means the period beginning one-half 
hour after sunset and ending one-half hour before sunrise.
		(6)  "Park" or "parking" means to stand an occupied or 
unoccupied vehicle, other than temporarily while loading or 
unloading merchandise or passengers.
		(7)  "Personal injury" means an injury to any part of 
the human body and that requires treatment.
		(8)  "Right-of-way" means the right of one vehicle or 
pedestrian to proceed in a lawful manner in preference to another 
vehicle or pedestrian that is approaching from a direction, at a 
speed, and within a proximity that could cause a collision unless 
one grants precedence to the other.
		(9)  "Stand" or "standing" means to halt an occupied or 
unoccupied vehicle, other than temporarily while receiving or 
discharging passengers.
		(10)  "Stop" or "stopping" means:                                             
			(A)  when required, to completely cease movement;  
and                     
			(B)  when prohibited, to halt, including 
momentarily halting, an occupied or unoccupied vehicle, unless 
necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic or to comply with the 
directions of a police officer or a traffic-control sign or signal.

Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.