Motor vehicle terms defined

NJSA 39:1-1 provides the definition of a Motor vehicle. "Motor vehicle" includes all vehicles propelled otherwise than by muscular power, excepting such vehicles as run only upon rails or tracks and motorized bicycles.

NJSA 39:1-1 also provides definitions, Words and phrases in motor vehicle matters.

39:1-1. As used in this subtitle, unless other meaning is clearly apparent from the language or context, or unless inconsistent with the manifest intention of the Legislature:

"Alley" means a public highway wherein the roadway does not exceed 12 feet in width.

"Authorized emergency vehicles" means vehicles of the fire department, police vehicles and such ambulances and other vehicles as are approved by the chief administrator when operated in response to an emergency call.

"Automobile" includes all motor vehicles except motorcycles.

"Berm" means that portion of the highway exclusive of roadway and shoulder, bordering the shoulder but not to be used for vehicular travel.

"Business district" means that portion of a highway and the territory contiguous thereto, where within any 600 feet along such highway there are buildings in use for business or industrial purposes, including but not limited to hotels, banks, office buildings, railroad stations, and public buildings which occupy at least 300 feet of frontage on one side or 300 feet collectively on both sides of the roadway.

"Car pool" means two or more persons commuting on a daily basis to and from work by means of a vehicle with a seating capacity of nine passengers or less.

"Chief Administrator" or "Administrator" means the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission.

"Commercial motor vehicle" includes every type of motor-driven vehicle used for commercial purposes on the highways, such as the transportation of goods, wares and merchandise, excepting such vehicles as are run only upon rails or tracks and vehicles of the passenger car type used for touring purposes or the carrying of farm products and milk, as the case may be.

"Commission" means the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission established by section 4 of P.L. 2003, c.13 (C. 39:2A-4).

"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Transportation of this State.

"Commuter van" means a motor vehicle having a seating capacity of not less than seven nor more than 15 adult passengers, in which seven or more persons commute on a daily basis to and from work and which vehicle may also be operated by the driver or other designated persons for their personal use.

"Crosswalk" means that part of a highway at an intersection included 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 shoulder, or, if none, from the edges of the roadway; also, any portion of a highway at an intersection or elsewhere distinctly indicated for pedestrian crossing by lines or other marking on the surface.

"Dealer" includes every person actively engaged in the business of buying, selling or exchanging motor vehicles or motorcycles and who has an established place of business.

"Deputy Chief Administrator" means the deputy chief administrator of the commission.

"Deputy director" means the deputy chief administrator.

"Director" means the chief administrator.

"Division" means the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission acting directly or through its duly authorized officers or agents.

"Driver" means the rider or driver of a horse, bicycle or motorcycle or the driver or operator of a motor vehicle, unless otherwise specified.

"Explosives" means any chemical compound or mechanical mixture that is commonly used or intended for the purpose of producing an explosion and which contains any oxidizing and combustive units or other ingredients in such proportions, quantities or packing that an ignition by fire, friction, by concussion, by percussion, or by detonator of any part of the compound or mixture may cause such a sudden generation of highly heated gases that the resultant gaseous pressures are capable of producing destructive effects on contiguous objects or of destroying life or limb.

"Farm tractor" means every motor vehicle designed and used primarily as a farm implement for drawing plows, mowing machines, and other implements of husbandry.

"Flammable liquid" means any liquid having a flash point below 200

degrees Fahrenheit, and a vapor pressure not exceeding 40 pounds. "Gross weight" means the combined weight of a vehicle and a load thereon.

"High occupancy vehicle" or "HOV" means a vehicle which is used to transport two or more persons and shall include public transportation, car pool, van pool, and other vehicles as determined by regulation of the Department of Transportation.

"Highway" means the entire width between the boundary lines of every way publicly maintained when any part thereof is open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel.

"Horse" includes mules and all other domestic animals used as draught animals or beasts of burden.

"Inside lane" means the lane nearest the center line of the roadway.

"Intersection" means the area embraced within the prolongation of the lateral curb lines or, if none, the lateral boundary lines of two or more highways which join one another at an angle, whether or not one such highway crosses another.

"Laned roadway" means a roadway which is divided into two or more clearly marked lanes for vehicular traffic.

"Leased limousine" means any limousine subject to regulation in the State which:

a. Is offered for rental or lease, without a driver, to be operated by a limousine service as the lessee, for the purpose of carrying passengers for hire; and

b. Is leased or rented for a period of one year or more following registration.

"Leased motor vehicle" means any motor vehicle subject to registration in this State which:

a. Is offered for rental or lease, without a driver, to be operated by the lessee, his agent or servant, for purposes other than the transportation of passengers for hire; and

b. Is leased or rented for a period of one year or more following registration.

"Limited-access highway" means every highway, street, or roadway in respect to which owners or occupants of abutting lands and other persons have no legal right of access to or from the same except at such points only and in such manner as may be determined by the public authority having jurisdiction over such highway, street, or roadway; and includes any highway designated as a "freeway" or "parkway" by authority of law.

"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, including every county governing body with relation to county roads.

"Magistrate" means any municipal court and the Superior Court, and any officer having the powers of a committing magistrate and the chief administrator.

"Manufacturer" means a person engaged in the business of manufacturing or assembling motor vehicles, who will, under normal business conditions during the year, manufacture or assemble at least 10 new motor vehicles.

"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.

"Motorized bicycle" means a pedal bicycle having a helper motor characterized in that either the maximum piston displacement is less than 50 cc. or said motor is rated at no more than 1.5 brake horsepower and said bicycle is capable of a maximum speed of no more than 25 miles per hour on a flat surface.

"Motorcycle" includes motorcycles, motor bikes, bicycles with motor attached and all motor-operated vehicles of the bicycle or tricycle type, except motorized bicycles as defined in this section, whether the motive power be a part thereof or attached thereto and having a saddle or seat with driver sitting astride or upon it or a platform on which the driver stands.

"Motor-drawn vehicle" includes trailers, semitrailers, or any other type of vehicle drawn by a motor-driven vehicle.

"Motor vehicle" includes all vehicles propelled otherwise than by muscular power, excepting such vehicles as run only upon rails or tracks and motorized bicycles.

"Noncommercial truck" means every motor vehicle designed primarily for transportation of property, and which is not a "commercial vehicle."

"Official traffic control devices" means all signs, signals, markings, and devices not inconsistent with this subtitle placed or erected by authority of a public body or official having jurisdiction for the purpose of regulating, warning, or guiding traffic.

"Omnibus" includes all motor vehicles used for the transportation of passengers for hire, except commuter vans and vehicles used in ridesharing arrangements and school buses, if the same are not otherwise used in the transportation of passengers for hire.

"Operator" means a person who is in actual physical control of a vehicle or street car.

"Outside lane" means the lane nearest the curb or outer edge of the roadway.

"Owner" means a person who holds the legal title of a vehicle, or if a vehicle is the subject of an agreement for the conditional sale or lease thereof with the right of purchase upon performance of the conditions stated in the agreement and with an immediate right of possession vested in the conditional vendee or lessee, or if a mortgagor of a vehicle is entitled to possession, then the conditional vendee, lessee or mortgagor shall be deemed the owner for the purpose of this subtitle.

"Parking" means the standing or waiting on a street, road or highway of a vehicle not actually engaged in receiving or discharging passengers or merchandise, unless in obedience to traffic regulations or traffic signs or signals.

"Passenger automobile" means all automobiles used and designed for the transportation of passengers, other than omnibuses and school buses.

"Pedestrian" means a person afoot.

"Person" includes natural persons, firms, copartnerships, associations, and corporations.

"Pneumatic tire" means every tire in which compressed air is designed to support the load.

"Pole trailer" means every vehicle without motive power designed to be drawn by another vehicle and attached to the towing vehicle by means of a reach, or pole, or by being boomed or otherwise secured to the towing vehicle, and ordinarily used for transporting long or irregularly shaped loads, such as poles, pipes, or structural members capable, generally, of sustaining themselves as beams between the supporting connections.

"Private road or driveway" means every road or driveway not open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel.

"Railroad train" means a steam engine, electric or other motor, with or without cars coupled thereto, operated upon rails, except street cars.

"Recreation vehicle" means a self-propelled or towed vehicle equipped to serve as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping or travel purposes and used solely as a family or personal conveyance.

"Residence district" means that portion of a highway and the territory contiguous thereto, not comprising a business district, where within any 600 feet along such highway there are buildings in use for business or residential purposes which occupy 300 feet or more of frontage on at least one side of the highway.

"Ridesharing" means the transportation of persons in a motor vehicle, with a maximum carrying capacity of not more than 15 passengers, including the driver, where such transportation is incidental to the purpose of the driver. The term shall include such ridesharing arrangements known as car pools and van pools.

"Right-of-way" means the privilege of the immediate use of the highway.

"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.

"Roadway" means that portion of a highway improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel, exclusive of the berm or shoulder. In the event a highway includes two or more separate roadways, the term "roadway" as used herein shall refer to any such roadway separately, but not to all such roadways, collectively.

"Safety zone" means the area or space officially set aside within a highway for the exclusive use of pedestrians, which is so plainly marked or indicated by proper signs as to be plainly visible at all times while set apart as a safety zone.

"School bus" means every motor vehicle operated by, or under contract with, a public or governmental agency, or religious or other charitable organization or corporation, or privately operated for the transportation of children to or from school for secular or religious education, which complies with the regulations of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission affecting school buses, including "School Vehicle Type I" and "School Vehicle Type II" as defined below:

"School Vehicle Type I" means any vehicle designed to transport 16 of more passengers, including the driver, used to transport enrolled children, and adults only when serving as chaperones, to or from a school, school connected activity, day camp, summer day camp, summer residence camp, nursery school, child care center, preschool center or other similar places of education. Such vehicle shall comply with the regulations of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission and either the Department of Education or the Department of Human Services, whichever is the appropriate supervising agency.

"School Vehicle Type II" means any vehicle designed to transport less than 16 passengers, including the driver, used to transport enrolled children, and adults only when serving as chaperones, to or from a school, school connected activity, day camp, summer day camp, summer residence camp, nursery school, child care center, preschool center or other similar places of education. Such vehicle shall comply with the regulations of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission and either the Department of Education or the Department of Human Services, whichever is the appropriate supervising agency.

"School zone" means that portion of a highway which is either contiguous to territory occupied by a school building or is where school crossings are established in the vicinity of a school, upon which are maintained appropriate "school signs" in accordance with specifications adopted by the chief administrator and in accordance with law.

"School crossing" means that portion of a highway where school children are required to cross the highway in the vicinity of a school.

"Semitrailer" means every vehicle with or without motive power, other than a pole trailer, 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.

"Shipper" means any person who shall deliver, or cause to be delivered, any commodity, produce or article for transportation as the contents or load of a commercial motor vehicle. In the case of a sealed ocean container, "shipper" shall not be construed to include any person whose activities with respect to the shipment are limited to the solicitation or negotiation of the sale, resale, or exchange of the commodity, produce or article within that container.

"Shoulder" means that portion of the highway, exclusive of and bordering the roadway, designed for emergency use but not ordinarily to be used for vehicular travel.

"Sidewalk" means that portion of a highway intended for the use of pedestrians, between the curb line or the lateral line of a shoulder, or if none, the lateral line of the roadway and the adjacent right-of-way line.

"Sign." See "Official traffic control devices."

"Slow-moving vehicle" means a vehicle run at a speed less than the maximum speed then and there permissible.

"Solid tire" means every tire of rubber or other resilient material which does not depend upon compressed air for the support of the load.

"Street" means the same as highway.

"Street car" means a car other than a railroad train, for transporting persons or property and operated upon rails principally within a municipality.

"Stop," when required, means complete cessation from movement.

"Stopping or standing," when prohibited, means any cessation of movement of a vehicle, whether occupied or not, except when necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic or in compliance with the directions of a police officer or traffic control sign or signal.

"Suburban business or residential district" means that portion of highway and the territory contiguous thereto, where within any 1,320 feet along that highway there is land in use for business or residential purposes and that land occupies more than 660 feet of frontage on one side or collectively more than 660 feet of frontage on both sides of that roadway.

"Through 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.

"Trackless trolley" means every motor vehicle which is propelled by electric power obtained from overhead trolley wires but not operated upon rails.

"Traffic" means pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, street cars, and other conveyances either singly, or together, while using any highway for purposes of travel.

"Traffic control signal" means a device, whether manually, electrically, mechanically, or otherwise controlled, by which traffic is alternately directed to stop and to proceed.

"Trailer" means every vehicle with or without motive power, other than a pole trailer, 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.

"Truck" means every motor vehicle designed, used, or maintained primarily for the transportation of property.

"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.

"Van pooling" means seven or more persons commuting on a daily basis to and from work by means of a vehicle with a seating arrangement designed to carry seven to 15 adult passengers.

"Vehicle" means every device in, upon or by which a person or property is or may be transported upon a highway, excepting devices moved by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks or motorized bicycles. Conclusion

Driving Under Influence and other Motor vehicle violations can cost you. You will have to pay fines in court, or receive points on your driver's license. A conviction will require you to pay expensive surcharges to the N.J. MVC [Division of Motor Vehicles] and have your license suspended. In New Jersey, the Judge does not have to rule that you were drunk. The prosecutor only needs to prove a driver was under the influence of alcohol. Don't give up! The Law Office of Kenneth Vercammen offers information and can provide experienced attorney representation for Driving Under Influence and other Motor vehicle violations. When your driver's license is in jeopardy, or you are facing thousands of dollars in fines, DMV surcharges and car insurance increases, you need excellent legal representation. The least expensive attorney is not always the answer. Please schedule an appointment if you need experienced legal representation in a traffic/municipal court matter. Our website www.njlaws.com provides information on traffic offenses of which we can be retained to represent people. Our website also provides details on jail terms for Driving Under Influence and car insurance eligibility points. Car insurance companies increase rates or drop customers based on moving violations. If charged with a serious motor vehicle violation, such as Driving While Intoxicated, immediately schedule an in-office appointment with a trial attorney. Don't rely on a real estate attorney, public defender or a family member who simply attended law school. When your driving privileges and ability to drive to work is on the line, hire an experienced attorney.

Consequences of a Criminal Guilty Plea

1. You will have to appear in open court and tell the judge what you did that makes you guilty of the particular offense(s)

2. Do you understand that if you plead guilty:

a. You will have a criminal record

b. You may go to Jail or Prison.

c. You will have to pay Fines and Court Costs.

3. If you are on Probation, you will have to submit to random drug and urine testing. If you violate Probation, you often go to jail.

4. In indictable matters, you will be required to provide a DNA sample, which could be used by law enforcement for the investigation of criminal activity, and pay for the cost of testing.

5. You must pay restitution if the court finds there is a victim who has suffered a loss and if the court finds that you are able or will be able in the future to pay restitution.

6. If you are a public office holder or employee, you can be required to forfeit your office or job by virtue of your plea of guilty.

7. If you are not a United States citizen or national, you may be deported by virtue of your plea of guilty.

8. You must wait 5-10 years to expunge a first offense. 2C:52-3

9. You could be put on Probation.

10. In Drug Cases, a mandatory DEDR penalty of $500-$1,000, and lose your driver's license for 6 months - 2years. You must pay a Law Enforcement Officers Training and Equipment Fund penalty of $30.

11. You may be required to do Community Service.

12. You must pay a minimum Violent Crimes Compensation Board assessment of $50 ($100 minimum if you are convicted of a crime of violence) for each count to which you plead guilty.

13. You must pay a $75 Safe Neighborhood Services Fund assessment for each conviction.

14. If you are being sentenced to probation, you must pay a fee of up to $25 per month for the term of probation.

15. You lose the presumption against incarceration in future cases. 2C:44-1

16. You may lose your right to vote.

The defense of a person charged with a criminal offense is not impossible. There are a number of viable defenses and arguments which can be pursued to achieve a successful result. Advocacy, commitment, and persistence are essential to defending a client accused of a criminal offense.

Jail for Crimes and Disorderly Conduct:

If someone pleads Guilty or is found Guilty of a criminal offense, the following is the statutory Prison/Jail terms.

NJSA 2C: 43-8 (1) In the case of a crime of the first degree, for a specific term of years which shall be fixed by the court and shall be between 10 years and 20 years;

(2) In the case of a crime of the second degree, for a specific term of years which shall be fixed by the court and shall be between five years and 10 years;

(3) In the case of a crime of the third degree, for a specific term of years which shall be fixed by the court and shall be between three years and five years;

(4) In the case of a crime of the fourth degree, for a specific term which shall be fixed by the court and shall not exceed 18 months.

2C:43-3 Fines have been increased recently! 2C:43-3. Fines and Restitutions. A person who has been convicted of an offense may be sentenced to pay a fine, to make restitution, or both, such fine not to exceed:

a. (1) $200,000.00 when the conviction is of a crime of the first degree;

(2) $150,000.00 when the conviction is of a crime of the second degree;

b. (1) $15,000.00 when the conviction is of a crime of the third degree;

(2) $10,000.00 when the conviction is of a crime of the fourth degree;

c. $1,000.00, when the conviction is of a disorderly persons offense;

d. $500.00, when the conviction is of a petty disorderly persons offense;

If facing any criminal charge, retain an experienced attorney immediately to determine you rights and obligations to the court.