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(A) Every driver who transports a child under the age of eight years in a passenger automobile, van, or pickup truck other than one operated for hire shall, while the motor vehicle is in motion and operated on a street or highway, provide for the protection of the child by properly placing, maintaining, and securing the child in a child passenger safety device system meeting applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards; provided, if a child is under the age of eight years and at least four feet and nine inches tall, a safety belt shall be sufficient to meet the requirements of this section.
(B) A violation of this section does not by virtue of the violation constitute evidence of negligence or contributory negligence or comparative negligence in any civil action or proceeding for damages.
(C) If any provision of this section or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity may not affect other provisions or applications of this section and to this end the divisions of this section are declared to be severable.
(D) If all seat belts in a vehicle are being used at the time of examination by a law officer and the vehicle contains more passengers than the total number of seat belts or other safety devices as installed in compliance with federal moto vehicle safety standards, the driver may not be considered in violation of this section.
(Ord. passed 5-11-2021) Penalty, see § 71.999
(A) (1) No person shall operate upon a public street or highway any motor vehicle registered or required to be registered in this state if it has been modified by alteration of its bumper mounting on the frame more than four inches from the lower edge of the original manufactured bumper configuration for that vehicle. The bumper must be at least three inches in vertical width, centered on the center line of the motor vehicle, and not less than the width of the wheel track distance. The maximum distance between the vehicle body to the vehicle frame shall not exceed three inches. The distance from the vehicle body to the vehicle frame shall be measured from the vehicle body mount seat to the vehicle frame mount seat.
(2) No vehicle shall be modified to cause the vehicle body or chassis to come in contact with the ground, expose the fuel tank to damage from collision, or cause the wheels to come in contact with the body under normal operation.
(3) No part of the original suspension system shall be disconnected to defeat the safe operation of the suspension system. Front end suspension by the use of lift blocks is expressly prohibited. However, nothing contained in this section prevents the installation of heavy-duty equipment, including shock absorbers and overload springs. Nothing contained in this section prohibits the operation on a public street or highway of a motor vehicle with normal wear to the suspension system if such normal wear does not adversely affect the control of the vehicle.
(B) No person shall operate upon a public street or highway any motor vehicle registered in this state if it has been modified by alteration of its altitude from the ground to the extent that its bumpers, measured to any point on the lower edge of the main horizontal bumper bar, exclusive of any bumper guards, do not fall within the limits specified herein for its gross vehicle weight rating category. The front and rear bumper height of trucks whose gross vehicle weight rating is 10,000 pounds or less may be no less than six inches and no more than 31 inches. The provisions of this section do not apply to trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating in excess of 10,000 pounds. For the purpose of this section, the term GROSS VEHICLE WEIGHT RATINGS means the manufacturer’s gross vehicle weight ratings established for that vehicle.
(C) In the absence of bumpers, and in cases where bumper heights have been lowered or modified more than four inches, height measurements under division (A) or (B) above shall be made to the bottom of the frame rail.
(D) This section does not apply to specially designed or modified motor vehicles when operated off the public streets or highways in races and similar events. Such motor vehicles may be lawfully towed on the highways of this state.
(E) No person shall operate upon a public street or highway any motor vehicle registered or required to be registered in this state if it has been modified by alteration as set out in the provisions of this section unless the tires on the altered motor vehicle meet specifications approved by the United States Department of Transportation. In addition, neither the motor vehicle nor the chassis shall come in contact with the tires under normal operation.
(F) Modified vehicles must have a special inspection sticker which must be inspected by July 31, 1990. The Municipal Police Department shall record on accident report forms whether a modified vehicle was involved in the accident.
(Ord. passed 5-11-2021) Penalty, see § 71.999
Statutory reference:
W. Va. Code 17C-15-48
(A) No person may operate a motor vehicle that is registered or required to be registered in the State on any public highway, road, or street that has a sun screening 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; provided, law enforcement, K-9, and other emergency vehicles that are designed to haul animals are exempt from this requirement. No unmarked law-enforcement vehicle, herein exempted, may engage in routine traffic stops.
(B) A sun screening device when used in conjunction with the windshield must be nonreflective and may not be red, yellow, or amber in color. A sun screening device may be used only along the top of the windshield and may not extend downward beyond the ASI line or more than five inches from the top of the windshield, whichever is closer to the top of the windshield.
(C) A sun screening device, when used in conjunction with the automotive safety glazing materials of the side wings or side windows located at the immediate right and left of the driver, shall be a nonreflective type with reflectivity of not more than 20% and have a light transmission of not less than 35%. The side windows behind the driver and the rear most windows may have a sun screening device that is designed to be used on automotive safety glazing materials that has a light transmission of not less than 35% and a reflectivity of not more than 20%. If a sun screening device is used on glazing behind the driver, one right and one left outside rear view mirror is required.
(D) Each manufacturer shall:
(1) Certify to the State Police and Division of Motor Vehicles that a sun screening device used by it is in compliance with the reflectivity and transmittance requirements of this section;
(2) Provide a label not to exceed one and one-half square inches in size, with a means for the permanent and legible installations between the sun screening material and each glazing surface to which it is applied that contains the manufacturer’s name and its percentage of light transmission; and
(3) Include instructions with the product or material for proper installation, including the affixing of the label specified in this section. The labeling or marking must be placed in the left lower corner of each glazing surface when facing the vehicle from the outside.
(E) No person shall:
(1) Offer for sale or for use any sun screening product or material for motor vehicle use not in compliance with this subchapter; and
(2) Install any sun screening product or material on vehicles intended for use on public roads without permanently affixing the label specified in this section.
(F) The provisions of this section do not apply to a motor vehicle registered in the state in the name of a person, or the person’s legal guardian, who has an affidavit signed by a physician or an optometrist licensed to practice in the state that states that the person has a physical condition that makes it necessary to equip the motor vehicle with sun screening material which would be of a light transmittance or luminous reflectance in violation of this section. The affidavit must be in the possession of the person so afflicted, or the person’s legal guardian, at all times while being transported in the motor vehicle.
(G) The light transmittance requirement of this section does not apply to windows behind the driver on trucks, buses, trailers, mobile homes, and multipurpose passenger vehicles.
(H) For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
(1) BUS. A motor vehicle with motive power, except a trailer, designed for carrying more than ten persons.
(2) LIGHT TRANSMISSION. 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.
(3) LUMINOUS REFLECTANCE. 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.
(4) MANUFACTURER. Any person engaged in the manufacturing or assembling of sun screening products or materials designed to be used in conjunction with vehicle glazing materials for the purpose of reducing the effects of the sun.
(5) MOTOR HOMES. Vehicular units designed to provide temporary living quarters built into and an integral part of or permanently attached to a self-propelled motor vehicle chassis.
(6) MULTIPURPOSE PASSENGER VEHICLE. A motor vehicle with motive power, except a trailer, designed to carry ten persons or less which is constructed either on a truck chassis or with special features for occasional off-road operation.
(7) NONREFLECTIVE. A product or material designed to absorb light rather than to reflect it.
(8) PASSENGER CAR. A motor vehicle with motive power, except a multipurpose passenger vehicle, motorcycle, or trailer, designed for carrying ten persons or less.
(9) SUN SCREENING DEVICE. 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.
(10) TRUCK. A motor vehicle with motive power, except a trailer, designed primarily for the transportation of property or special purpose equipment.
(Ord. passed 5-11-2021)
Statutory reference:
W. Va. Code 17C-15-36a
(A) A person shall not operate a passenger vehicle on a public street or highway unless the person, any passenger in the back seat under 18 years of age, and any passenger in the front seat of such passenger vehicle is restrained by a safety belt meeting applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards. For the purposes of this section, PASSENGER VEHICLE means a motor vehicle which is designed for transporting ten passengers or less, including the driver, except that such term does not include a motorcycle, a trailer, or any motor vehicle which is not required on the date of the enactment of this section under a federal motor vehicle safety standard to be equipped with a belt system. The provisions of this section shall apply to all passenger vehicles manufactured after the first day of January, 1967, and being 1968 models and newer.
(B) The required use of safety belts as provided herein does not apply to a duly appointed or contracted rural mail carrier of the United States Postal Service who is actually making mail deliveries or to a passenger or operator with a physically disabling condition whose physical disability would prevent appropriate restraint in such safety belt if the condition is duly certified by a physician who shall state the nature of the disability as well as the reason such restraint is inappropriate.
(C) (1) A violation of this section is not admissible as evidence of negligence or contributory negligence or comparative negligence in any civil action or proceeding for damages and shall not be admissible in mitigation of damages; provided, the court may, upon motion of the defendant, conduct an in camera hearing to determine whether an injured party’s failure to wear a safety belt was a proximate cause of the injuries complained of. Upon such a finding by the court, the court may then, in a jury trial, by special interrogatory to the jury, determine:
(a) The injured party failed to wear a safety belt; and
(b) The failure to wear the safety belt constituted a failure to mitigate damages.
(2) The trier of fact may reduce the injured party’s recovery for medical damages by an amount not to exceed 5% thereof. In the event the plaintiff stipulates to the reduction of 5% of medical damages, the court shall make the calculations and the issue of mitigation of damages for failure to wear a safety belt shall not be presented to the jury. In all cases, the actual computation of the dollar amount reduction shall be determined by the court.
(D) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Traffic Code to the contrary, no points may be entered on any driver’s record maintained by the Division of Motor Vehicles as a result of a violation of this section.
(E) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to abrogate or alter the provisions of § 71.110 relating to the mandatory use of child passenger safety devices.
(Ord. passed 5-11-2021) Penalty, see § 71.999
It shall be unlawful for the driver of any vehicle to use or operate or cause to be used or operated within the municipality any engine brake, compression brake, or mechanical exhaust device designed in the aid of braking or decelerating of any vehicle that results in excessive, loud, unusual, or explosive noise from such vehicle on any public ways, including, but not limited to, streets, alleys, easements, and rights-of-way, established for vehicle operation, except when necessary for the protection of persons and/or property which cannot be avoided by application of an alternative braking system. Noise caused by the application of engine compression brakes which is effectively muffled or if the application is necessary for the health, safety, and welfare of the city is exempt from the provisions of this section. Noise created by emergency equipment for emergency purposes is also exempt.
(Ord. passed 5-11-2021) Penalty, see § 71.999
SIZE, WEIGHT, AND LOAD
(A) Use of state route. No person shall operate or move on state routes within the municipality a vehicle, or combination of vehicles, of a size or weight exceeding any limitation stated in W. Va. Code 17C-17. Violation of this division shall constitute a misdemeanor.
(B) Written permit. An applicant may seek special written permit issued by the Commissioner of Highways pursuant to W. Va. Code 17C-17-11, or other applicable state code provisions, to transport a vehicle, or combination of vehicles, that exceed the maximum weight or size specified in W. Va. Code 17C-17-11 or other applicable West Virginia Code provisions. Every such permit shall be carried in the vehicle or combination of vehicles to which it refers and shall be open to inspection by any police officer.
(C) State routes only. A holder of a permit issued by the Commissioner of Highways shall not be required to obtain any local permit or license or pay any local fee or charge for movement on any state route within the municipality; however, it shall be unlawful to operate any such vehicle or combination of vehicles upon any roadway within the municipality which is not a state route, except as provided in division (D) below.
(D) Use of local streets.
(1) On streets and highways under the jurisdiction of this municipality, otherwise known as LOCAL STREETS, no person shall operate a vehicle, or combination of vehicles, exceeding weight limits established in W. Va. Code 17C-17 or exceeding weight limits designated by the municipality to accommodate road conditions within, or on, the municipality’s local streets.
(2) Said limitations do not apply to local streets designated as truck routes and marked as such by appropriate traffic signs and except when such operation is necessary to load or unload property, to go to or from the usual place of storage of such vehicle or to perform any other legitimate business or act other than passage through the municipality. Operators of vehicles so deviating from either a state route or a designated truck route within the municipality shall confine such deviation to that required in order to accomplish the purpose of the departure.
(E) Local permit and conditions. Upon application, the Chief of Police may issue a local permit authorizing an applicant to move an oversize or overweight vehicle, or combination of vehicles, as defined in division (D) above, on local streets, as defined in division (D) above.
(1) The Chief of Police may grant a permit for a single or round trip, or for such period of time not to exceed one year, as the Chief of Police, in his or her discretion, deems advisable, or for the duration of any construction project. The Chief of Police may limit or prescribe terms or conditions of operation for such vehicle or combination of vehicles by designating the route, hours, speed, or such other restrictions as may be necessary for the preservation of the public peace, property, health, and safety. The Chief of Police may require the posting of bond or other security necessary to compensate for any damage to a roadway or road structure.
(2) For each such permit, the Chief of Police shall charge $5, or other amount deemed appropriate by the Municipal Court, and for each hour of time or any part thereof spent by each police officer in supervising the movement of such vehicle, the applicant shall pay the sum of $10, or other amount deemed appropriate by the Municipal Court.
(3) Signs shall be posted indicating “NO THRU TRUCKS 15 TONS OR MORE UNLESS OTHERWISE POSTED”, or words of similar import to apprise drivers of the limitations imposed by this section. No driver shall disobey the instructions indicated on any such sign.
(4) Violation of any of the limitations, terms, or conditions of the permit granted by the Chief of Police shall be cause for immediate revocation or suspension of such permit, and subject to potential denial of request for any future permit. Such violation shall also subject the violator to the penalty prescribed by § 71.999(A).
(Ord. passed 5-11-2021) Penalty, see § 71.999
(A) No passenger-type vehicle shall be operated on any street or highway with any load carried thereon extending beyond the line of the fenders of the left side of such vehicle, nor extending more than six inches beyond the line of the fenders on the right side thereof.
(B) A motor home, travel trailer, or truck camper may exceed the maximum width prescribed in § 71.127, if the excess width is attributable to an appurtenance that does not exceed more than six inches beyond the body of the vehicle.
(Ord. passed 5-11-2021) Penalty, see § 71.999
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