(a) The highway department may purchase and test equipment described in W.S. 31-5-934 to determine whether it complies with its standards.
(b) Upon identification of unapproved or substandard devices being sold or offered for sale, the superintendent shall give notice to the person selling them that he is in violation of W.S. 31-5-934 and that selling or offering them for sale is prohibited.
(c) In order to enforce the prohibition against the sale or offer for sale of unapproved or substandard devices, the superintendent may file a petition in the district court to enjoin any further sale or offer of sale of the unapproved or substandard devices. Upon a prima facie showing that the device is of a type required to be approved by the superintendent, it has not been approved and it is being sold or offered for sale, the injunction shall be issued.
(a) Every motor vehicle and every combination of vehicles shall have a service braking system which will stop the vehicle or combination within forty (40) feet from an initial speed of twenty (20) miles per hour on a level, dry, smooth, hard surface or within such shorter distance as may be specified by the superintendent.
(b) Every motor vehicle and combination of vehicles excluding motorcycles, motor-driven cycles and mopeds shall have a parking brake system adequate to hold the vehicle or combination on any grade on which it is operated under all conditions of loading on a surface free from snow, ice or loose material or which shall comply with performance standards issued by the superintendent.
(c) When necessary for safe operation, the superintendent may by regulation require additional braking systems.
(d) The superintendent may adopt performance requirements for braking systems under this section. In formulating these requirements, the superintendent shall consider standards of the United States Department of Transportation, recommendations of other agencies and organizations, different classes of vehicles, deceleration rates, speeds, weather, loads, terrain and all other factors bearing on safe highway operations.
(e) This section applies to motorcycles, motor-driven cycles, multipurpose vehicles and mopeds unless specifically excluded.
(a) The superintendent may require an inspection of the braking system on any motor-driven cycle and disapprove any brake which in his opinion is not so designed or constructed as to insure reasonable and reliable performance in actual use.
(b) The department may refuse to register or may suspend or revoke the registration of any motor-driven cycle when it is notified by the superintendent that the brake thereon does not comply with the provisions of this section.
(c) No person shall operate on any highway any motor-driven cycle if the superintendent has disapproved the brake equipment upon that motor-driven cycle or type of motor-driven cycle.
(a) Every motor vehicle when operated upon a highway shall be equipped with a horn in good working order and capable of emitting sound audible under normal conditions from a distance of not less than two hundred (200) feet, but no horn or other warning device shall emit an unreasonably loud or harsh sound or a whistle. The driver of a motor vehicle shall when reasonably necessary to insure safe operation give audible warning with his horn but shall not otherwise use the horn when upon a highway.
(b) No vehicle shall be equipped with nor shall any person use upon a vehicle any siren, whistle or bell, except as otherwise permitted in this section.
(c) Any vehicle may be equipped with a theft alarm signal device which is so arranged that it cannot be used by the driver as an ordinary warning signal. The theft alarm signal device may use a whistle, bell, horn or other audible signal but shall not use a siren.
(d) Every authorized emergency vehicle, except wreckers, shall be equipped with a siren, whistle or bell, capable of emitting sound audible under normal conditions from a distance of not less than five hundred (500) feet and of a type approved by the superintendent, but the siren shall not be used except when the vehicle is operated in response to an emergency call or in the immediate pursuit of an actual or suspected violator of the law, in which case the driver of the vehicle shall sound the siren when reasonably necessary to warn pedestrians and other drivers of the approach thereof.
(e) This section applies to motorcycles, motor-driven cycles, multipurpose vehicles, mopeds and off-road recreational vehicles as defined by W.S. 31-1-101(a)(xv)(K)(II) that are registered pursuant to W.S. 31-2-232 and off-road recreational vehicles as defined by W.S. 31-1-101(a)(xv)(K) that are operated pursuant to W.S. 31-5-1601.
(a) Every vehicle shall be equipped, maintained and operated so as to prevent excessive or unusual noise. Every motor vehicle shall at all times be equipped with a muffler or other effective noise suppressing system in good working order and in constant operation. No person shall use a muffler cut-out, bypass or similar device.
(b) The engine and power mechanism of every motor vehicle shall be so equipped and adjusted as to prevent the escape of excessive fumes or smoke.
(c) This section applies to motorcycles, motor-driven cycles, multipurpose vehicles, mopeds and off-road recreational vehicles as defined by W.S. 31-1-101(a)(xv)(K)(II) that are registered pursuant to W.S. 31-2-232 and off-road recreational vehicles as defined by W.S. 31-1-101(a)(xv)(K) that are operated pursuant to W.S. 31-5-1601.
(a) Every motor vehicle including motorcycles, motor-driven cycles, multipurpose vehicles, mopeds and off-road recreational vehicles as defined by W.S. 31-1-101(a)(xv)(K)(II) that are registered pursuant to W.S. 31-2-232 and off-road recreational vehicles as defined by W.S. 31-1-101(a)(xv)(K) that are operated pursuant to W.S. 31-5-1601 shall be equipped with a mirror mounted on the left side of the vehicle and so located as to reflect to the driver a view of the highway to the rear of the vehicle.
(b) Every motor vehicle except a motorcycle, motor-driven cycle or moped, shall be equipped with an additional mirror mounted either inside the vehicle approximately in the center or outside the vehicle on the right side and so located as to reflect to the driver a view of the highway to the rear of the vehicle.
(a) No person shall drive any motor vehicle with any sign, poster or other material or substance upon or crack within the front windshield, side or rear windows of the vehicle which materially obstructs, obscures or impairs the driver's clear view of the highway or any intersecting highway.
(b) The windshield on every motor vehicle shall be equipped with a device for cleaning rain, snow or other moisture from the windshield, which device shall be so constructed as to be controlled or operated by the driver of the vehicle. This subsection shall apply to multipurpose vehicles as defined in W.S. 31-1-101(a)(xv)(M) when equipped with a windshield and an enclosed cab.
(c) Every motor vehicle shall be equipped with a windshield and a windshield wiper which shall be maintained in good working order.
31-5-956. Tires; restriction of travel under hazardous conditions; penalties.
(a) Every solid rubber tire on a vehicle shall have rubber on its entire traction surface at least one (1) inch thick above the edge of the flange of the entire periphery.
(b) No person shall operate or move on any highway any motor vehicle, trailer or semitrailer having any metal tire in contact with the roadway.
(c) No tire on a vehicle moved on a highway shall have on its periphery any protuberance of any material other than rubber which projects beyond the tread of the traction surface of the tire, except that it shall be permissible to use:
(i) Implements of husbandry with tires having protuberances which will not injure the highway;
(ii) Tire chains of reasonable proportions upon any vehicle when required for safety because of snow, ice or other conditions tending to cause a vehicle to skid;
(iii) Pneumatic tires having studs designed to improve traction without materially injuring the surface of the highway. Pneumatic tires having studs must be approved by the superintendent.
(d) The superintendent and local authorities in their respective jurisdictions may issue special permits authorizing the operation upon a highway of tractors having movable tracks with transverse corrugations upon the periphery of the movable tracks or farm tractors or other farm machinery, the operation of which upon a highway would otherwise be prohibited under this section.
(e) When the superintendent or his authorized representative determines that travel is sufficiently hazardous due to snow, ice or other conditions travel on a highway may be restricted to use only by motor vehicles utilizing adequate snow tires or tire chains, motor vehicles that are all-wheel drive vehicles or necessary emergency vehicles as defined in W.S. 31-5-102(a)(ii), including snow plows. The superintendent or his authorized representative may further restrict travel in extremely hazardous conditions to use only by necessary emergency vehicles as defined in W.S. 31-5-102(a)(ii), including snow plows, and those vehicles utilizing tire chains or to all-wheel drive vehicles utilizing adequate snow tires with a mud and snow or all-weather rating from the manufacturer having a tread of sufficient abrasive or skid-resistant design or composition and depth to provide adequate traction under existing driving conditions. The prohibition or restriction of use shall be effective when signs, including temporary or electronic signs, giving notice thereof are erected upon that portion of the highway, and it shall be unlawful to proceed in violation of the notice. The operator of a commercial vehicle shall affix tire chains to at least two (2) of the drive wheels of the vehicle at opposite ends of the same drive axle when the vehicle is required to utilize tire chains under this subsection. The state highway patrol shall cooperate with the department in the enforcement of any closing or restriction of use under this subsection.
(f) A person shall not operate any vehicle when one (1) or more of the tires in use on that vehicle is in unsafe operating condition or has a tread depth less than four thirty-seconds (4/32) inch in the case of tires which are used on the front wheels of a bus, truck or truck tractor, or two thirty-seconds (2/32) inch in other cases, measured in any two (2) adjacent tread grooves at three (3) equally spaced intervals around the circumference of the tire but the measurements shall not be made at the location of any tread wear indicator, tie bar, hump or fillet. No vehicle shall be operated on any tire that has fabric exposed through the tread or sidewall.
(g) A person in the business of selling tires shall not sell or offer for sale for highway use any tire which is in unsafe condition or which has a tread depth of less than two thirty-seconds (2/32) inch measured as specified in subsection
(f) of this section.
(h) This section applies to motorcycles, motor-driven cycles, multipurpose vehicles, mopeds and off-road recreational vehicles as defined by W.S. 31-1-101(a)(xv)(K)(II) that are registered pursuant to W.S. 31-2-232.
(j) Any person who operates a motor vehicle in violation of restrictions imposed by the department or the highway patrol under subsection (e) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be subject to a penalty of not more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00). Any person who operates a motor vehicle in violation of restrictions imposed by the department or the highway patrol under subsection (e) of this section, where the result of the violation is an incident that causes the closure of all lanes in one (1) or both directions of the highway, is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be subject to a penalty of not more than seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00).
(k) As used in this section, "tire chains" means metal chains which consist of two (2) circular metal loops, one (1) on each side of the tire, connected by not less than nine (9) evenly spaced chains across the tire tread and any other traction devices differing from metal chains in construction, material or design but capable of providing traction equal to or exceeding that of metal chains under similar conditions.
31-5-957. Required flares, lanterns or reflectors for certain vehicles.
(a) No person shall operate any truck more than eighty (80) inches in width, bus, truck-tractor or any motor vehicle towing a house trailer, upon any highway outside an urban district or upon any divided highway unless there is carried in the vehicle the following equipment except as provided in subsection (b) of this section:
(i) At least three (3) flares or three (3) red electric lanterns or three (3) portable red emergency reflectors, each of which shall meet the requirements in SAE Standards J596 and J597 and Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 125. No flare, fusee, electric lantern or warning flag shall be used for the purpose of compliance with the requirements of this section unless the equipment is of a type which has been submitted to the superintendent and approved by him. No portable reflector unit shall be used for the purpose of compliance with the requirements of this section unless it is so designed and constructed as to be capable of reflecting red light clearly visible from all distances within six hundred (600) feet to one hundred (100) feet under normal atmospheric conditions at night when directly in front of lawful lower beams of head lamps and unless it is of a type which has been submitted to the superintendent and approved by him;
(ii) At least three (3) red-burning fusees unless red electric lanterns or red portable emergency reflectors are carried.
(b) No person shall use or permit the use of any flame-producing emergency signal for protecting any vehicle transporting explosives, Class A or Class B, any cargo tank motor vehicle used for the transportation of any flammable liquid or flammable compressed gas, whether loaded or empty, or any motor vehicle using compressed gas as motor fuel. In lieu thereof, emergency reflective triangles, red electric lanterns or red emergency reflectors shall be used, the placement of which shall be in the same manner as prescribed in W.S. 31-5-958.
31-5-958. Display of warning devices when vehicle disabled.
(a) Whenever any truck, bus, truck tractor, trailer, semitrailer or pole trailer eighty (80) inches or more in overall width or thirty (30) feet in overall length is stopped upon a roadway or adjacent shoulder, the driver shall immediately actuate vehicular hazard warning signal lights meeting the requirements of W.S. 31-5-923 when warning signal lights are required by W.S. 31-5-923. The lights need not be displayed by a vehicle parked lawfully in an urban district, or stopped lawfully to receive or discharge passengers, or stopped to avoid conflict with other traffic or to comply with the directions of a police officer or an official traffic-control device or while the devices specified in subsections (b) through
(g) of this section are in place.
(b) Whenever any vehicle of a type referred to in subsection (a) of this section is disabled, or stopped for more than ten (10) minutes, upon a roadway outside of an urban district at any time when lighted lamps are required, the driver of the vehicle shall display the following warning devices except as provided in subsection (c) of this section:
(i) A lighted fusee, a lighted red electric lantern or a portable red emergency reflector shall be immediately placed at the traffic side of the vehicle in the direction of the nearest approaching traffic;
(ii) As soon thereafter as possible but in any event within the burning period of the fusee (ten (10) minutes), the driver shall place three (3) liquid-burning flares (pot torches), three (3) lighted red electric lanterns or three (3) portable red emergency reflectors on the roadway in the following order:
(A) One (1) approximately one hundred (100) feet from the disabled vehicle in the center of the lane occupied by the vehicle and toward traffic approaching in that lane;
(B) One (1) approximately one hundred (100) feet in the opposite direction from the disabled vehicle and in the center of the traffic lane occupied by the vehicle;
(C) One (1) at the traffic side of the disabled vehicle not less than ten (10) feet rearward or forward thereof in the direction of the nearest approaching traffic. If a lighted red electric lantern or a red portable emergency reflector has been placed at the traffic side of the vehicle in accordance with paragraph (b)(i) of this section, it may be used for this purpose.
(c) Whenever any vehicle referred to in this section is disabled, or stopped for more than ten (10) minutes, within five hundred (500) feet of a curve, hillcrest or other obstruction to view, the warning device in that direction shall be so placed as to afford ample warning to other users of the highway, but in no case less than one hundred (100) feet nor more than five hundred (500) feet from the disabled vehicle.
(d) Whenever any vehicle of a type referred to in this section is disabled, or stopped for more than ten (10) minutes, upon any roadway of a divided highway during the time that lighted lamps are required, the appropriate warning devices prescribed in subsections (b) and (e) of this section shall be placed as follows:
(i) One (1) at a distance of approximately two hundred (200) feet from the vehicle in the center of the lane occupied by the stopped vehicle and in the direction of traffic approaching in that lane;
(ii) One (1) at a distance of approximately one hundred (100) feet from the vehicle, in the center of the lane occupied by the vehicle and in the direction of traffic approaching in that lane;
(iii) One (1) at the traffic side of the vehicle and approximately ten (10) feet from the vehicle in the direction of the nearest approaching traffic.
(e) Whenever any motor vehicle used in the transportation of explosives or any cargo tank truck used for the transportation of any flammable liquid or compressed flammable gas is disabled, or is stopped for more than ten (10) minutes, at any time or place mentioned in subsection (b), (c) or (d) of this section, the driver of the vehicle shall immediately display red electric lanterns or portable red emergency reflectors in the same number and manner specified therein. Flares, fusees or signals produced by flame shall not be used as warning devices for disabled vehicles of the type mentioned in this subsection nor for vehicles using compressed gas as a fuel.
(f) The flares, fusees, red electric lanterns and portable red emergency reflectors to be displayed as required in this section shall conform with the requirements of W.S. 31-5-957 applicable thereto.
(g) The warning devices described in subsections (b), (c),
(d) and (e) of this section need not be displayed where there is sufficient light to reveal persons and vehicles within a distance of one thousand (1,000) feet.
(h) When any vehicle described in this section is stopped entirely off the roadway and on an adjacent shoulder at any time and place described, the warning devices shall be placed, as nearly as practicable, on the shoulder near the edge of the roadway.
(a) Any person operating any vehicle transporting any hazardous materials, hazardous substance, hazardous waste, marine pollutant or radioactive material as a cargo or part of a cargo upon a highway shall at all times comply with regulations of the department adopted pursuant to W.S. 31-18-303. The regulations shall be consistent with current hazardous materials regulations of the United States department of transportation.
(b) No person shall dispose of or deposit any hazardous materials, hazardous substance, hazardous waste, marine pollutant or radioactive material upon any public street, road or highway in the state. However, the department of environmental quality or department of transportation may grant approval for the disposal or deposit of any material according to law.
(c) Any person convicted of willfully violating subsection
(b) of this section is guilty of a felony punishable by a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00), imprisonment for not more than five (5) years, or both. Any person convicted of recklessly, as defined by W.S. 6-1-104(a)(ix), violating subsection (b) of this section is guilty of a felony punishable by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000.00), imprisonment for not more than three (3) years, or both. Any person convicted of criminal negligence, as defined by W.S. 6-1-104(a)(iii), in violating subsection (b) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), imprisonment for not more than one (1) year, or both.
(d) As used in this section:
(i) "Hazardous materials" means a substance or material, including a hazardous substance, which has been determined by the United States secretary of transportation under title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations to be capable of posing an unreasonable risk to health, safety and property and which has been so designated;
(ii) "Hazardous waste" means any material that is subject to the hazardous waste manifest requirements of the United States environmental protection agency as specified in 40 C.F.R. part 262;
(iii) "Marine pollutant" means a hazardous substance which is listed in appendix b, 49 C.F.R. part 172.101 and, when in a solution or mixture of one (1) or more marine pollutants, is packaged in a concentration which equals or exceeds:
(A) Ten percent (10%) by weight of the solution or mixture for materials that are listed in the appendix;
(B) One percent (1%) by weight of the solution or mixture for materials that are identified as severe marine pollutants in the appendix.
(iv) "Radioactive material" means any material having a specific activity greater than 0.002 microcuries per gram;
(v) "Specific activity" of a radionuclide means the activity of the radionuclide per unit mass of that nuclide. The specific activity of a material in which the radionuclide is essentially uniformly distributed is the activity per unit mass of the material.
(a) Every pedestrian vehicle operated upon a highway shall be equipped with the following equipment:
(i) A horn meeting the requirements of W.S. 31-5-952(a);
(ii) At least one (1) headlamp of either a single-beam or multiple-beam type which shall be of sufficient intensity to reveal a person or a vehicle at a distance of not less than one hundred (100) feet when operated at any speed less than twenty-five (25) miles per hour;
(iii) Two (2) tail lamps which shall be so wired as to be lighted whenever the headlamp is lighted and which, when lighted, shall emit a red light plainly visible from a distance of at least one hundred (100) feet to the rear;
(iv) Rear stop lamps and turn signals conforming to the requirements of the superintendent;
(v) A brake which conforms to the performance requirements of W.S. 31-5-951; and
(vi) A reflectorized flag mounted in a bracket permanently affixed to the vehicle. The flag, when mounted, shall be visible from all directions at a height of not less than forty-eight (48) inches nor more than seventy-two (72) inches measured from the level ground upon which the vehicle stands and shall conform to the following requirements:
(A) Be constructed of durable, all-weather type material;
(B) Be orange in color;
(C) Be triangular in shape with a minimum base length of eight and one-half (8 1/2) inches and a minimum side length of eleven and one-half (11 1/2) inches.
31-5-961. Television receivers; electronic displays.
(a) No motor vehicle operated on Wyoming highways shall be equipped with television-type receiving equipment so located that the viewer or screen is visible from the driver's seat.
(b) This section does not prohibit the use of television-type receiving equipment used exclusively for safety or law enforcement purposes, provided the use is approved by the highway department.
(c) This section does not prohibit the use of electronic displays used in conjunction with vehicle navigation systems.
(a) As used in this section:
(i) "Dealer" means any person or business engaged in the distribution or installation of sunscreening products or materials designed to be used in conjunction with vehicle glazing materials for the purpose of reducing the effects of the sun;
(ii) "Light transmission" means the ratio of the amount of total light to pass through a product or material to the amount of the total light falling on the product or material;
(iii) "Luminous reflectance" means the ratio of the amount of total light that is reflected outward by the product or material to the amount of the total light falling on the product or materials;
(iv) "Multipurpose passenger vehicle" means a motor vehicle designed to carry ten (10) persons or less which is constructed either on a truck chassis or with special features for occasional off-road operation;
(v) "Nonreflective" means a product or material designed to absorb light rather than to reflect it;
(vi) "Sunscreening device" means film material or device that is designed to be used in conjunction with motor vehicle safety glazing materials for reducing the effects of the sun.
(b) No person may operate an enclosed motor vehicle that is registered or required to be registered in this state on any public highway, road or street that has a sunscreen device on the windshield, the front side wings and side windows adjacent to the right and left of the driver and windows adjacent to the rear of the driver that do not meet the requirements of this section.
(c) A sunscreening device when used in conjunction with the windshield shall be a nonreflective type and may not be red, yellow or amber in color. A sunscreening device may be used only along the top of the windshield and may not extend downward beyond the AS-1 line or more than five (5) inches from the top of the windshield, whichever is closer to the top of the windshield.
(d) A sunscreening device, when used in conjunction with the safety glazing materials of the side wings or side windows, or both, located at the immediate right and left of the driver, shall be a nonreflective type and have total light transmission through both the sunscreening device and glazing of not less than twenty-eight percent (28%).
(e) A sunscreening device, when used in conjunction with the safety glazing materials of the side windows behind the driver and the rearmost window, shall be a nonreflective type and have total light transmission through both the sunscreening device and glazing of not less than twenty-eight percent (28%).
(f) No sunscreening device or tinting film may be applied or affixed to any window of a motor vehicle that has a luminous reflectance of light exceeding twenty percent (20%).
(g) If any sunscreen device or tinting film is added to any windows behind the operator, one (1) left and one (1) right outside rearview mirror shall be required.
(h) The requirements of this section shall not apply to windows behind the driver of trucks, buses, motor homes, ambulances, limousines and multipurpose passenger vehicles, to windshields on motorcycles or motor-driven cycles. Except as provided in subsection (j) of this section, vehicle windows with a sunscreen device or tinting film applied prior to July 1, 1996 which do not meet the specifications established by this section shall be in violation after December 31, 1996.
(j) Notwithstanding the requirements of subsections (d) and (e) of this section, any sunscreening device applied prior to July 1, 1996, when used in conjunction with the safety glazing materials of the side wings or side windows located at the immediate right and left of the driver, the side windows behind the driver and the rearmost window shall be of a nonreflective type and have total light transmission through both the sunscreening device and the glazing of not less than thirteen percent (13%).
(k) No person or firm may apply or affix to the windows of any motor vehicle in this state, a sunscreen device or tinting film that is not in compliance with the requirements of this section.
(m) Notwithstanding the requirements of this section, a motor vehicle operated by or regularly used to transport any person with a medical condition which renders him susceptible to harm or injury from exposure to sunlight or bright artificial light may be equipped, on its windshield and any or all of its windows, with sun shading or tinting films or applications which reduce the transmission of light into the vehicle to levels not less than twenty-five percent (25%). The sun shading or tinting film when applied to the windshield of a motor vehicle shall not cause the total light transmittance to be reduced to any level less than seventy percent (70%), except for the upper five (5) inches of the windshield or the AS-1 line, whichever is closer to the top of the windshield. Vehicles equipped with sun shading or tinting films as provided in this subsection shall not be operated on any highway unless the driver or an occupant of the vehicle has in his possession a certificate issued by the director authorizing such operation. The director shall issue the certificate only upon receipt of a signed statement from a licensed physician or licensed optometrist identifying the person seeking the certificate and stating that, in the physician's or optometrist's professional opinion, the equipping of a vehicle with sun shading or tinting films or applications is necessary to safeguard the health of the person seeking the certificate. Certificates issued by the director under this subsection shall be valid so long as the condition requiring the use of sun shading or tinting films or applications persists or until the vehicle is sold, whichever first occurs. In the discretion of the director, one (1) or more certificates may be issued to an individual or a family.
(n) This section shall apply to multipurpose vehicles as defined in W.S. 31-1-101(a)(xv)(M) when equipped with a windshield and an enclosed cab.
No person shall drive or move on the highway any vehicle, including vehicles referenced in W.S. 31-5-901(c), unless the equipment upon the vehicle is in good working order and adjustment as required in this act and unless the vehicle is in such safe mechanical condition as not to endanger the driver or other occupant or any person upon the highway.
Except for the provisions of W.S. 31-18-808 and 31-18-803(a) no vehicle combination composed of more than three (3) single vehicles shall operate by special permit, test permit, or otherwise on the highways of this state.
31-5-1101. Duty to stop vehicle where accident involves death or personal injuries; penalties.
(a) The driver of any vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury to or death of any person shall immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the accident or as close thereto as possible but shall then forthwith return to and in every event shall remain at the scene of the accident until he has fulfilled the requirements of W.S. 31-5-1103. Every stop shall be made without obstructing traffic more than is necessary.
(b) Any person failing to stop or to comply with subsection (a) of this section shall, upon conviction, be imprisoned not more than one (1) year, fined not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000.00), or both.
31-5-1102. Duty to stop vehicle where accident involves damage to attended vehicle or property; penalty.
The driver of a vehicle involved in an accident resulting only in damage to a vehicle or other property which is driven or attended by any person shall immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the accident or as close thereto as possible, but shall forthwith return to and remain at the scene of the accident until he has fulfilled the requirements of W.S. 31-5-1103. Every stop shall be made without obstructing traffic more than is necessary. Any person failing to stop or comply with this section is guilty of a misdemeanor.
31-5-1103. Duty to give information and render aid.
The driver of any vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury to or death of any person or damage to any vehicle or other property which is driven or attended by any person shall give his name, address and the registration number of the vehicle he is driving and shall upon request and if available exhibit his driver's license to the person injured in the accident or to the driver or occupant of or person attending any vehicle or other property damaged in the accident and to any police officer at the scene of or who is investigating the accident. The driver shall also render to any person injured in the accident reasonable assistance, including the carrying, or the making of arrangements for the carrying, of the person to a physician, surgeon or hospital for medical or surgical treatment if it is apparent that the treatment is necessary or if the carrying is requested by the injured person.
31-5-1104. Duty upon colliding with unattended vehicle or property.
The driver of any vehicle which collides with or is involved in an accident with any vehicle or other property which is unattended resulting in any damage to the other vehicle or other property shall immediately stop and shall immediately either locate and notify the operator or owner of the vehicle or other property of his name, address and the registration number of the vehicle he is driving or shall attach securely in a conspicuous place in or on the vehicle or other property a written notice giving his name, address and the registration number of the vehicle he is driving. Every stop shall be made without obstructing traffic more than is necessary.
(a) The driver of a vehicle involved in an accident shall immediately by the quickest means of communication give notice of the accident to:
(i) The local police department if the accident occurs within a municipality; or
(ii) To the nearest office of the state highway patrol or to the office of the county sheriff.
(b) Subsection (a) of this section shall only apply if the accident results in:
(i) Injury to or death of any person; or
(ii) Property damage to the extent the vehicle, excluding bicycles or any other vehicle moved solely by human power, is so disabled as to prevent its normal and safe operation.
31-5-1106. Written reports required of police officers; reporting of vehicles struck by bullets.
(a) Repealed By Laws 2013, Ch. 102, § 3.
(b) Repealed By Laws 2013, Ch. 102, § 3.
(c) Every police officer who investigates a motor vehicle accident shall forward a written report of the accident to the highway department within ten (10) days after his investigation of the accident if the motor vehicle accident results in:
(i) Bodily injury to or death of any person; or
(ii) Total property damage to the extent the vehicle is so disabled as to prevent its normal and safe operation, either:
(A) At the time of and at the scene of the accident; or
(B) After the motor vehicle has been moved from the scene of the accident and the police officer is informed by the participants or witnesses of the accident that the motor vehicle is no longer operable.
(d) The person in charge of any garage or repair shop to which is brought any motor vehicle which shows evidence of having been struck by any bullet, shall report to the local police department if the garage is located within a municipality, otherwise to the county sheriff or nearest office of the state highway patrol, within twenty-four (24) hours after the motor vehicle is received by the garage or repair shop, giving the identifying number, registration number and the name and address of the owner or driver of the vehicle.
31-5-1107. Duty of occupant and owner when driver incapable of reporting.
(a) Repealed By Laws 2013, Ch. 102, § 3.
(b) Whenever the driver of a vehicle is physically incapable of giving an immediate notice of an accident as required in W.S. 31-5-1105 and there was another occupant in the vehicle at the time of the accident capable of doing so, the occupant shall make or cause to be given the notice not given by the driver.
(c) Repealed By Laws 2013, Ch. 102, § 3.
31-5-1108. Report forms; failure to make report; false report.
(a) The highway department shall prepare and upon request supply to police departments, coroners, sheriffs and other suitable agencies or individuals, forms for accident reports required hereunder, appropriate with respect to the persons required to make the reports and the purposes to be served. The written reports to be made by investigating officers shall call for sufficiently detailed information to disclose with reference to a traffic accident the cause, conditions then existing and the persons and vehicles involved.
(b) Every accident report required to be made in writing shall be made on the appropriate form approved by the highway department and shall contain all of the information required therein unless not available.
(c) Every accident report shall also contain information sufficient to enable the department to determine whether the requirements for the deposit of security under any of the laws of this state are inapplicable by reason of the existence of insurance or other exceptions specified therein.
(d) Repealed By Laws 2013
(e) A person shall not give information in oral or written reports as required in W.S. 31-5-1101 through 31-5-1111 knowing or having reason to believe that the information is false.
31-5-1110. Confidentiality of supplemental information to reports; use of reports as evidence; exceptions.
(a) Repealed By Laws 2013, Ch. 102, § 3.
(b) Supplemental information to a crash report filed in connection with the administration of the laws of this state relating to the deposit of security or proof of financial responsibility shall be confidential and not open to general public inspection. The supplemental information may be examined by any person named therein or by his representative designated in writing.
(c) No written reports forwarded under this section shall be used as evidence in any trial, civil or criminal, arising out of a crash except for prosecutions for filing false reports and, except that the highway department shall furnish upon demand of any party to the trial, or upon demand of any court, a certificate showing that a specified crash report has or has not been made to the highway department in compliance with law, and, if a report has been made, the date, time and location of the crash, the names and addresses of the drivers, the owners of the vehicles involved and the investigating officers.
(a) Any municipality may by ordinance require that the driver of a vehicle involved in a crash, or the owner of the vehicle, shall file with a designated city department a report of the crash or a copy of any report herein required to be filed with the highway department. All reports shall be subject to W.S. 31-5-1110. Any crash report required of persons involved in crashes shall be without prejudice to the individual so reporting.
(i) Repealed by Laws 2017, ch. 174, § 2.
(ii) Repealed by Laws 2017, ch. 174, § 2.
The department shall tabulate and may analyze all accident reports and shall publish annually, or at more frequent intervals, statistical information based thereon as to the number and circumstances of traffic accidents.
31-5-1201. Violation of provisions to constitute misdemeanor; penalties; officer training fee.
(a) It is a misdemeanor for any person to violate any of the provisions of this act or rules and regulations authorized under this act unless the violation is by this act or other law of this state declared to be a felony.
(b) Every person convicted of a misdemeanor for a violation of any of the provisions of this act or rules and regulations authorized under this act for which another penalty is not provided shall:
(i) For a first conviction be punished by a fine of not more than two hundred dollars ($200.00);
(ii) For a second conviction of the same offense within one (1) year thereafter, be punished by a fine of not more than three hundred dollars ($300.00);
(iii) For a third or subsequent conviction of the same offense within one (1) year after the first conviction, be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) or by imprisonment for not more than six (6) months, or both.
(c) Evidence of a prior conviction or convictions under subsection (a) of this section shall not be introduced during the trial of any case, but shall be introduced only after the completion of the trial for the purpose of determining the penalty to be imposed upon a conviction hereunder.
(d) Except as provided in subsection (g) of this section:
(i) Repealed by Laws 2018, ch. 117, § 2.
(ii) Repealed by Laws 2018, ch. 117, § 2.
(iii) Repealed by Laws 2018, ch. 117, § 2.
(iv) Convictions shall not be considered pursuant to W.S. 31-7-129(a)(i) for driver license suspensions for speeding violations of less than eighty (80) miles per hour where the posted speed limit is at least sixty-five (65) miles per hour or less than six (6) miles per hour over the posted speed limit in all other instances and zones, except speeding violations in school zones, or construction zones;
(v) Notwithstanding W.S. 5-9-107, court fees and costs for violations of W.S. 31-5-301(b) or (c) and the training fee imposed under subsection (h) of this section shall not be assessed for speeds through five (5) miles per hour over the speed limits authorized by W.S. 31-5-301(b) or (c);
(vi) Except for violations in construction or school zones, every person convicted of a violation of W.S. 31-5-301(b)(iii), (iv), (vi), (vii) or (c):
(A) For speeds less than six (6) miles per hour over the legal speed limit, shall be fined five dollars ($5.00) for each mile per hour in excess of the legal speed limit not to exceed twenty-five dollars ($25.00);
(B) For speeds six (6) through ten (10) miles per hour over the legal speed limit, shall be fined thirty dollars ($30.00) plus two dollars ($2.00) for each mile per hour in excess of five (5) miles per hour over the legal speed limit plus assessed fees and costs;
(C) For speeds eleven (11) through twenty (20) miles per hour over the legal speed limit, shall be fined forty-five dollars ($45.00) plus five dollars ($5.00) for each mile per hour in excess of ten (10) miles per hour over the legal speed limit plus assessed fees and costs;
(D) For speeds more than twenty (20) miles per hour over the legal speed limit, shall be fined ninety-five dollars ($95.00) plus five dollars ($5.00) for each mile per hour in excess of twenty (20) miles per hour over the legal speed limit plus assessed fees and costs.
(vii) Every person convicted of a violation of W.S. 31-5-301(b)(ii) or speeding in a construction zone:
(A) For speeds less than six (6) miles per hour over the legal speed limit, shall be fined sixty-five dollars ($65.00) plus two dollars ($2.00) for each mile per hour in excess of the legal speed limit;
(B) For speeds six (6) through ten (10) miles per hour over the legal speed limit, shall be fined forty dollars ($40.00) plus seven dollars ($7.00) for each mile per hour in excess of five (5) miles per hour over the legal speed limit plus assessed fees and costs;
(C) For speeds eleven (11) through twenty (20) miles per hour over the legal speed limit, shall be fined ninety-five dollars ($95.00) plus seven dollars ($7.00) for each mile per hour in excess of ten (10) miles per hour over the legal speed limit plus assessed fees and costs;
(D) For speeds more than twenty (20) miles per hour over the legal speed limit, shall be fined one hundred ninety-five dollars ($195.00) plus seven dollars ($7.00) for each mile per hour in excess of twenty (20) miles per hour over the legal speed limit plus assessed fees and costs.
(viii) Every person convicted of a violation of speeding in a school zone under W.S. 31-5-301(b)(i):
(A) For speeds less than six (6) miles per hour over the legal speed limit, shall be fined fifty dollars ($50.00) plus two dollars ($2.00) for each mile per hour in excess of the legal speed limit;
(B) For speeds six (6) through ten (10) miles per hour over the legal speed limit, shall be fined ninety-five dollars ($95.00) plus ten dollars ($10.00) for each mile per hour in excess of five (5) miles per hour over the legal speed limit plus assessed fees and costs;
(C) For speeds more than ten (10) miles per hour over the legal speed limit, shall be fined two hundred dollars ($200.00) plus ten dollars ($10.00) for each mile per hour in excess of ten (10) miles per hour over the legal speed limit plus assessed fees and costs;
(D) Upon any subsequent conviction of exceeding the legal speed limit in a school zone as provided in W.S. 31-5-301(b)(i) by more than ten (10) miles per hour within one (1) year, a person shall be fined not less than three hundred ninety-five dollars ($395.00) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) plus assessed fees and costs.
(e) Any person convicted of a violation of W.S. 31-5-507(a) shall be fined not less than one hundred ninety-five dollars ($195.00) nor more than seven hundred forty-five dollars ($745.00) plus assessed fees and costs. Upon any subsequent conviction of a violation of W.S. 31-5-507(a) within one (1) year, a person shall be fined not less than three hundred ninety-five dollars ($395.00) nor more than nine hundred ninety-five dollars ($995.00) plus assessed fees and costs.
(f) Any person convicted of violating W.S. 31-5-229 shall be punished by a fine of not more than seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), imprisonment for not more than six (6) months, or both.
(g) In addition to any other penalty, every person convicted of violating W.S. 31-5-301(b), (c) or 31-5-302 by exceeding the legal speed limit by six (6) or more miles per hour while operating a vehicle or combination of vehicles with a gross vehicle weight or gross vehicle weight rating exceeding thirty-nine thousand (39,000) pounds shall be fined two hundred ninety-five dollars ($295.00) plus assessed fees and costs.
(h) Every person convicted of a violation for which a fine or penalty is set forth under this section shall have imposed in addition to the prescribed fine or penalty and any court fees a police officer continuing education and training fee of five dollars ($5.00) except as provided in paragraph (d)(v) of this section. The fee shall be for police officer as defined in W.S. 31-5-102(a)(xxxiii) continuing education and training that complies with standards promulgated by the peace officers standards and training commission and shall be remitted as provided by W.S. 5-3-205(a)(iii) and 5-9-144 to the account in the enterprise fund under W.S. 9-1-633(n).
(j) Any person convicted of a misdemeanor for a violation of any of the provisions under W.S. 31-5-1102 through 31-5-1108 shall:
(i) For a first conviction be punished by a fine of not more than two hundred dollars ($200.00), by imprisonment for not more than twenty (20) days, or both;
(ii) For a second conviction of the same offense within one (1) year thereafter, be punished by a fine of not more than three hundred dollars ($300.00) or by imprisonment for not more than thirty (30) days, or both;
(iii) For a third or subsequent conviction of the same offense within one (1) year after the first conviction, be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) or by imprisonment for not more than six (6) months, or both.
Every person who commits, attempts to commit, conspires to commit, or aids or abets in the commission of, any act declared herein [in this chapter] to be a crime, whether individually or in connection with one (1) or more other persons or as a principal, agent or accessory, is guilty of the offense, and every person who falsely, fraudulently, forcibly or willfully induces, causes, coerces, requires, permits or directs another to violate any provision of this act is likewise guilty of the offense.
31-5-1203. Unlawful acts by persons owning or controlling vehicles.
It is unlawful for the owner or any other person, employing or otherwise directing the driver of any vehicle to require or knowingly to permit the operation of the vehicle upon a highway in any manner contrary to law.
31-5-1204. Authority to make arrest; general arrest procedures; arrest of nonresidents.
(a) The authority of a police officer to make an arrest is the same as upon an arrest for a felony when the officer has reasonable and probable grounds to believe that the person arrested has committed any of the following offenses and the manner of making arrests shall be as in misdemeanor cases:
(i) Negligent homicide or homicide by vehicle;
(ii) Driving or being in actual physical control of a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or any substance as prohibited by W.S. 31-5-233;
(iii) Failure to stop, failure to give information or failure to render reasonable assistance, in the event of an accident resulting in death or personal injuries as prescribed in W.S. 31-5-1101 and 31-5-1103;
(iv) Failure to stop or give information in the event of an accident resulting in damage to a vehicle or other property as prescribed in W.S. 31-5-1102 through 31-5-1104;
(v) Reckless driving;
(vi) Racing on the highway; or
(vii) Willfully fleeing from or attempting to elude a police officer.
(b) Whenever any person is arrested as authorized in this section he shall be taken without unnecessary delay before the proper court as specified in W.S. 31-5-1205(g), except that in the case of any of the offenses designated in paragraphs (a)(iv) through (vii) of this section, a police officer shall have the same discretion as is provided in other cases in subsection (d) of this section.
(c) Whenever any person is halted by a police officer for any violation of this act, he shall be taken without unnecessary delay before the proper court as specified in W.S. 31-5-1205(g), in any of the following cases:
(i) When the person demands an immediate appearance before a judge; or
(ii) In any other event when the person is issued a traffic citation by a police officer and refuses to give his promise to appear in court manifested by his refusal to accept the citation.
(d) Whenever any person is halted by a police officer for any violation of this act and is not required to be taken before a court as provided by subsection (c) of this section, the person shall, in the discretion of the officer, either be given a traffic citation or be taken without unnecessary delay before the proper judge, as specified in W.S. 31-5-1205(g), in any of the following cases:
(i) When the person does not furnish satisfactory evidence of identity or when the officer has reasonable and probable grounds to believe the person will disregard a promise to appear in court;
(ii) When the person is charged with a violation of W.S. 31-5-959, relating to vehicles transporting hazardous materials;
(iii) When the person is charged with a violation of W.S. 31-18-804.
(e) A police officer who arrests a nonresident of this state for any violation of this act may instead of issuing a traffic citation containing notice to appear in court, take the nonresident without unnecessary delay before the proper court, as specified in W.S. 31-5-1205(g) or pursuant to W.S. 31-5-1205(h) require that the bond be posted in accord with an adopted bond schedule and which may be accepted by the arresting officer for delivery to the court.