CHAPTER 541. DEFINITIONS - Texas Statutes

TRANSPORTATION CODE

TITLE 7. VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC

SUBTITLE C. RULES OF THE ROAD

CHAPTER 541. DEFINITIONS

SUBCHAPTER A. PERSONS AND GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITIES

Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.

Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 30.103, eff. Sept.

1, 1997.

Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.

SUBCHAPTER B. PROPERTY AREAS

Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.

Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.

SUBCHAPTER C. VEHICLES, RAIL TRANSPORTATION, AND EQUIPMENT

Sec. 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;

(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; or

(G) a vehicle used for law enforcement purposes that is owned or

leased by a federal governmental entity.

(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.

(11-a) "Multifunction school activity 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 other than the standards requiring the bus to

display alternately flashing red lights and to be equipped with

movable stop arms, and that is used to transport preprimary,

primary, or secondary students on a school-related activity trip

other than on routes to and from school. The term does not

include a school bus, a school activity bus, a school-chartered

bus, or a bus operated by a mass transit authority.

(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.

(13-a) "Police vehicle" means a vehicle used by a peace officer,

as defined by Article 2.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, for law

enforcement purposes that:

(A) is owned or leased by a governmental entity;

(B) is owned or leased by the police department of a private

institution of higher education that commissions peace officers

under Section 51.212, Education Code; or

(C) is:

(i) a private vehicle owned or leased by the peace officer; and

(ii) approved for use for law enforcement purposes by the head

of the law enforcement agency that employs the peace officer, or

by that person's designee, provided that use of the private

vehicle must, if applicable, comply with any rule adopted by the

commissioners court of a county under Section 170.001, Local

Government Code, and that the private vehicle may not be

considered an authorized emergency vehicle for exemption purposes

under Section 228.054, 284.070, 366.178, or 370.177,

Transportation Code, unless the vehicle is marked.

(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, a school bus, or a multifunction school activity 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.

Amended by Acts, 75th Leg., ch. 1020, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997;

Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1438, Sec. 8, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts

1999, 76th Leg., ch. 663, Sec. 1, eff. June 18, 1999; Acts 1999,

76th Leg., ch. 797, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1, 1999; Acts 2001, 77th

Leg., ch. 1085, Sec. 5, eff. Sept. 1, 2001; Acts 2003, 78th Leg.,

ch. 1318, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2003; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch.

1276, Sec. 14A.833, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.

Amended by:

Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.

558, Sec. 3, eff. September 1, 2005.

Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch.

258, Sec. 4.06, eff. September 1, 2007.

Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch.

923, Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2007.

Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.

1280, Sec. 1.20, eff. September 1, 2009.

Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.

Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.

SUBCHAPTER D. TRAFFIC, TRAFFIC AREAS, AND TRAFFIC CONTROL

Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.

Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.

Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.

Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.

SUBCHAPTER E. MISCELLANEOUS TERMS

Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.