Current through the 2024 legislative session
Section 31-7-102 - Definitions(a) As used in this act: (i) "Alcohol" means any substance containing any form of alcohol, including but not limited to, ethanol, methanol, propanol and isopropanol;(ii) "Alcohol concentration" means: (A) The number of grams of alcohol per one hundred (100) milliliters of blood;(B) The number of grams of alcohol per two hundred ten (210) liters of breath; or(C) The number of grams of alcohol per seventy-five (75) milliliters of urine.(iii) "Bus" means every motor vehicle designed to transport sixteen (16) or more passengers, including the driver;(iv) "Cancellation" means the annulment or termination by formal action of the division of a person's license because of some error or defect in the license or because the licensee is no longer entitled to the license;(v) "Commerce" means: (A) Trade, traffic and transportation within the jurisdiction of the United States between a place in a state and a place outside of the state, including a place outside the United States; and(B) Trade, traffic and transportation in the United States which affects any trade, traffic and transportation in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph.(vi) "Commercial driver's license" means a license issued in accordance with the requirements of this act to an individual which authorizes the individual to drive a class of commercial motor vehicle;(vii) "Commercial driver license information system" is the information system established pursuant to the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986, 49 U.S.C. 31106, to serve as a clearinghouse for locating information related to the licensing and identification of commercial motor vehicle drivers;(viii) "Commercial vehicle" or "commercial motor vehicle" means any vehicle or vehicle combination used in commerce to transport passengers or property if the motor vehicle: (A) Has a gross vehicle combination weight rating or gross combination weight of twenty-six thousand one (26,001) or more pounds, whichever is greater, inclusive of a towed unit or units with a gross vehicle weight rating or gross vehicle weight of more than ten thousand (10,000) pounds, whichever is greater; or(B) Is designed to transport sixteen (16) or more passengers, including the driver; or(C) Is of any size and is used in the transportation of hazardous materials as defined in W.S. 31-7-102(a)(xxiii); or(D) Has a gross vehicle weight rating or gross vehicle weight of twenty-six thousand one (26,001) pounds or more, whichever is greater.(ix) "Commission" means the transportation commission of Wyoming or any authorized employee of the commission charged with the administration of this act;(x) "Controlled substance" includes:(A) Any drug or substance defined by W.S. 35-7-1002(a)(iv);(B) Any glue, aerosol or other toxic vapor which when intentionally inhaled or sniffed results in impairment of an individual's ability to drive safely.(xi) "Conviction" means a final conviction and shall include:(A) An unvacated adjudication of guilt or a determination of a violation in a court of original jurisdiction or an administrative proceeding;(B) An unvacated forfeiture of bail or collateral deposited to secure the person's appearance in court;(C) A plea of guilty or nolo contendere accepted by the court;(D) The payment of a fine or court cost; or(E) Violation of a condition of release without bail, regardless of whether the penalty is rebated, suspended or probated.(xii) "Department" means the department of transportation;(xiii) "Disqualification" means a prohibition against driving a commercial motor vehicle;(xiv) "Division" means the division within the department which is designated to administer this act;(xv) "Drive" means to function as a driver in any place open to the general public for purpose of vehicular traffic;(xvi) "Driver" means as defined by W.S. 31-5-102(a);(xvii) "Employee" means any operator of a commercial motor vehicle, including full time, regularly employed drivers, casual, intermittent or occasional drivers, leased drivers and independent, owner-operator contractors who are either directly employed by or under lease to an employer;(xviii) "Employer" means any person, including the United States, a state or a political subdivision of a state, who owns or leases a commercial motor vehicle, or assigns a person to drive a commercial motor vehicle;(xix) "Endorsement" means an authorization placed upon an individual's driver's license to permit the individual to operate certain types of motor vehicles;(xx) "Felony" means any offense under state or federal law that is punishable by death or imprisonment for a term exceeding one (1) year;(xxi) "Gross combination weight rating (GCWR)" means the value specified by the manufacturer as the loaded weight of a combination vehicle. In the absence of a value specified by the manufacturer, GCWR will be determined by adding the gross vehicle weight rating of the power unit and the total weight of the towed unit and any load thereon;(xxii) "Gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR)" means the weight specified by the manufacturer as the maximum loaded weight of a single vehicle;(xxiii) "Hazardous materials" means as defined in the federal motor carrier safety regulations, 49 C.F.R. 383.5;(xxiv) "Impaired person" means a person who is afflicted with or suffering from a mental, emotional, physical impairment or disease that may impair the person's ability to safely operate a motor vehicle;(xxv) "License", "driver's license", "digital driver's license", "commercial driver's license", "instruction permit", "commercial learner's permit" or "intermediate permit" means a license or permit secured by a person from the division, in accordance with this act which grants the privilege to drive or operate a motor vehicle on the public highways, streets and roads of this state;(xxvi) "License fee" means the fee imposed by this act;(xxvii) "Motor vehicle" means every vehicle which is self-propelled and designed for normal use on the highways;(xxviii) "Motorcycle" means as defined by W.S. 31-5-102(a);(xxix) "Nonresident" means a person who is not a resident of this state;(xxx) "Nonresident operating privilege" is the privilege conferred upon a nonresident by the laws of this state pertaining to the driving by the person of a motor vehicle or the use of a vehicle in this state;(xxxi) "Other law prohibiting driving while under the influence" means a statute of another state, the United States, a territory or district of the United States or an ordinance of a governmental entity of this or another state or of an Indian tribe which prohibits driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor, alcohol, controlled substances or drugs;(xxxii) "Out-of-service" means a temporary prohibition against driving a commercial motor vehicle;(xxxiii) "Owner" means as defined by W.S. 31-5-102(a);(xxxiv) "Pedestrian vehicle" means as defined by W.S. 31-5-102(a);(xxxv) "Registration" means the registration certificate or certificates and registration plates issued under the laws of this state pertaining to the registration of motor vehicles;(xxxvi) "Representative vehicle" means a motor vehicle which represents the type and class of motor vehicle that the driver applicant operates or expects to operate;(xxxvii) "Resident" means as defined in W.S. 31-1-101(a)(xxi)(A);(xxxviii) "Restriction" means a restriction placed on an individual's license to indicate the driver's eligibility to operate a motor vehicle;(xxxix) "Revocation" means the termination by formal action of the division of a person's license or privilege to drive a motor vehicle on the public highways;(xl) "School bus" means every motor vehicle that is owned by, leased to or registered to a public school district, a private school or a carrier under contract to a public or private school and is used to transport children to or from school or in connection with school activities and is designed for and capable of carrying sixteen (16) or more passengers, but not including buses operated by common carriers in transportation of school children;(xli) "Serious traffic violation" means: (A) Excessive speeding, as defined by rule and regulation of the United States secretary of transportation involving any single offense for any speed of fifteen (15) miles per hour or more above the posted speed limit;(B) Reckless driving as defined by W.S. 31-5-229;(C) Repealed by Laws 2004, Ch. 11, § 2.(D) Erratic lane changes;(E) Following the vehicle ahead too closely;(F) A violation of state or local law relating to motor vehicle traffic control, arising in connection with a fatal accident;(G) Driving a commercial vehicle without obtaining a commercial driver's license;(H) Driving a commercial motor vehicle without a commercial driver's license in the driver's possession. An individual shall not be guilty of a violation of this subparagraph if the individual provides proof prior to or at a court or administrative hearing establishing that the individual held a valid commercial driver's license on the date of the citation; or(J) Driving a commercial motor vehicle without the proper class of commercial driver's license or endorsements for the specific vehicle group being operated or for the passengers or type of cargo being transported.(xlii) "State" means a state, territory or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico;(xliii) "State of domicile" means the state where a person has his true, fixed and permanent home and principal residence and to which he has the intention of returning whenever he is absent;(xliv) "Suspension" means the temporary withdrawal for a specified period by formal action of the division of a person's license or privilege to drive a motor vehicle on the public highways;(xlv) "Tank vehicle" means any commercial motor vehicle that is designed to transport any liquid or gaseous materials within a tank or tanks having an individual rated capacity of more than one hundred nineteen (119) gallons and an aggregate rated capacity of one thousand (1,000) gallons or more which are either permanently or temporarily attached to the vehicle or the chassis. A commercial motor vehicle transporting an empty storage container tank, not designed for transportation, with a rated capacity of one thousand (1,000) gallons or more that is temporarily attached to a flatbed trailer is not considered a tank vehicle;(xlvi) "Vehicle" means as defined in W.S. 31-5-102(a)(lviii);(xlvii) "Multipurpose vehicle" means as defined in W.S. 31-1-101(a)(xv)(M);(xlviii) "Commercial learner's permit" means a permit issued to an individual which, when carried with a valid driver's license issued in accordance with this act, authorizes an individual to operate a commercial motor vehicle when accompanied by a passenger holding a valid commercial driver's license for the class and type of vehicle being driven;(xlix) "Digital driver's license" means a secure electronic representation of a physical driver's license that is stored on the driver's portable electronic device and may be viewed or verified by a person to whom access is allowed. A digital driver's license is optional to purchase, supplemental to a physical driver's license and may be accepted in lieu of a physical driver's license at the option of the person requesting or requiring proof of licensure or identification;(l) "Last known address" means the address, email address or other electronic contact information, as applicable, according to the sending method, on file with the division;(li) "Portable electronic device" means an electronic device that is portable in nature, is easily carried or conveyed by hand and may be used to display, transmit, or both;(lii) "REAL ID Act" means the REAL ID Act of 2005, Public Law 109-13, 119 Stat. 302, enacted May 11, 2005, and subsequent amendments thereto;(liii) "This act" means W.S. 31-7-101 through 31-7313.Amended by Laws 2020 , ch. 15, § 1, eff. 7/1/2020.Amended by Laws 2013 , ch. 71, § 1, eff. 1/1/2014.Amended by Laws 2011 , ch. 31, § 1, eff. 7/1/2011.