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Enforcement and Penalties

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All peace officers shall enforce the provisions of this chapter. Any person who violates any provision of this chapter shall not thereby be guilty of a criminal act but shall be subject to a civil penalty of not less than $25.00.

(Ga. L. 1976, p. 330, § 6; Ga. L. 2010, p. 98, § 1-3/HB 207.)

Cross references.

- Jurisdiction to try certain cases involving operation of off-road vehicle, § 15-9-30.8.

CHAPTER 8 EQUIPMENT AND INSPECTION OF MOTOR VEHICLES Article 1 Equipment Generally. Part 1 GENERAL PROVISIONS.

40-8-1. Application of article.
40-8-2. Vehicles within jurisdiction of commissioner of public safety.
40-8-3. Vehicle or load dragging on highway; wheels causing pounding on road surface.
40-8-4. Emblem to be displayed on certain slow-moving vehicles or equipment operating on public roads.
40-8-5. Alteration of odometer; involvement with devices which cause odometer to register other than actual mileage; penalties.
40-8-6. Alteration of suspension system; operation of vehicle with broken springs.
40-8-6.1. Raised chassis vehicles.
40-8-7. Driving unsafe or improperly equipped vehicle; punishment for violations of chapter generally; vehicle inspection by law enforcement officer without warrant.
40-8-8. Speedometer.
40-8-9. Compliance with federal provisions.
40-8-10. Operation of motor vehicles with nitrous oxide; penalty for violation.
40-8-11. Operational rules for autonomous vehicles; state consumer laws applicable.

Part 2 LIGHTING EQUIPMENT.

40-8-20. When lighted headlights and other lights required.
40-8-21. Visibility distance and mounted height; exception for wreckers.
40-8-22. Headlights.
40-8-23. Taillights.
40-8-24. Reflectors.
40-8-25. Brake lights and turn signals required.
40-8-26. Standards for brake lights and signal devices.
40-8-27. Light, flag, or strobe lamp on projecting load; requirements for lamp and flag.
40-8-28. Lights on parked vehicles.
40-8-29. Spotlights, foglights, and auxiliary lights permitted.
40-8-30. Standards for multiple-beam road lighting equipment.
40-8-31. Use of multiple-beam road lighting equipment.
40-8-32. Lights on vehicles of rural mail carriers.
40-8-33. Lights on farm tractors and unlicensed three-wheeled motorcycles used only for agricultural purposes; restrictions on trailers and semitrailers otherwise exempt under Code Section 40-8-1; no duty on manufacturers of lighting systems.
40-8-34. Color in lighting equipment.
40-8-35. Operating low-speed vehicles on highway requires amber strobe light.

Part 3 BRAKES.

40-8-50. Brakes required.
40-8-51. Means of operation.
40-8-52. Parking brakes.
40-8-53. Performance ability of brakes.
40-8-54. Maintenance.

Part 4 HORNS, EXHAUST SYSTEMS, MIRRORS, WINDSHIELDS, TIRES, SAFETY BELTS, ENERGY ABSORPTION SYSTEMS.

40-8-70. Horns and warning devices.
40-8-71. Exhaust system; prevention of noise, smoke, and fumes.
40-8-72. Mirrors.
40-8-73. Windshields and windshield wipers.
40-8-73.1. Tinting of windows or windshields.
40-8-74. Tires.
40-8-75. Tire covers.
40-8-76. Safety belts required as equipment; safety restraints for children.
40-8-76.1. Use of safety belts in passenger vehicles.
40-8-77. Energy absorption system.
40-8-78. Safety glazing.
40-8-79. Unlawfully riding in bed of pickup truck; penalty.

Part 5 EQUIPMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND EMERGENCY VEHICLES.

40-8-90. Restrictions on use of blue lights on vehicles.
40-8-91. Marking and equipment of law enforcement vehicles; motorist allowed to continue to safe location before stopping for law enforcement officer vehicles.
40-8-91.1. Marking and equipment of all-terrain vehicles used as law enforcement vehicles.
40-8-92. Designation of emergency vehicles; flashing or revolving lights; permits; fee; prohibition against use of flashing or revolving green lights by private persons on public property.
40-8-93. Flashing parking or brake lights or directional signals not prohibited.
40-8-94. Sirens, whistles, or bells.
40-8-95. Rules and regulations.
40-8-96. Violation of Code Sections 40-8-90 and 40-8-92.

Part 6 EQUIPMENT OF SCHOOL BUSES.

40-8-110. Identification and color.
40-8-111. Equipment generally.
40-8-112. Compliance with State Board Bus Specifications.
40-8-113. Standards applicable regardless of size or capacity.
40-8-114. Operation of school buses by churches, private schools, and local transit systems; transportation of school children on buses owned or operated by public transit systems.
40-8-115. Identification and equipment of school buses for special school route service.
40-8-116. Unlawful acts.

Article 2 Control of Vehicle Emissions. Part 1 EMISSION CONTROL DEVICES GENERALLY.

40-8-130. Unlawful to operate vehicle without serviceable emission control device; penalty; exceptions.
40-8-131. Inspection without warrant authorized.
40-8-132. Annual inspection [Repealed].

Part 2 ESTABLISHMENT OF EMISSION STANDARDS; INSPECTION OF MOTOR VEHICLES FOR COMPLIANCE WITH STANDARDS [Repealed].

40-8-150 through 40-8-163. [Repealed].

Part 3 VISIBLE EMISSIONS.

40-8-180. Short title.
40-8-181. Visible emissions from vehicles on public roadways prohibited; exceptions.
40-8-182. Enforcement of part; traffic violation citations.
40-8-183. Penalty.
40-8-184. Municipal and county regulation prohibited.
40-8-185. Part not applicable to certain vehicles.

Article 3 Inspections by Officers of Department of Public Safety.

40-8-200. Inspection of vehicles by officers of the Department of Public Safety; certificate of inspection; procedure for noncompliant vehicle.
40-8-201. Duties of owners and drivers of vehicles.

Article 4 Inspection of Public School Buses.

40-8-220. Inspection of public school buses.
40-8-221. Penalty.
40-8-222 through 40-8-264. [Repealed].

Article 5 Vehicle Equipment Safety Compact.

40-8-280 through 40-8-291. [Repealed].

Cross references.

- Duties of state fire marshal regarding setting forth of minimum standards covering design, construction, and other aspects of transportation of liquefied petroleum gas by tank truck, tank trailer, or other method, § 10-1-265.

Regulation of size, weight, and other aspects of vehicles and loads on public highways, § 32-6-20 et seq.

Observance of laws by motor carriers, § 40-1-122.

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Cited in Archer v. Johnson, 90 Ga. App. 418, 83 S.E.2d 314 (1954); Beck v. Wade, 100 Ga. App. 79, 110 S.E.2d 43 (1959); Hodges v. State, 100 Ga. App. 611, 112 S.E.2d 373 (1959); King v. State, 133 Ga. App. 426, 211 S.E.2d 363 (1974).

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Coverage of inspection laws.

- Legislature intended that both owner-drivers and nonowner-drivers of vehicles should be covered by the motor vehicle inspection laws. 1967 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 67-433.

ARTICLE 1 EQUIPMENT GENERALLY

Editor's notes.

- Ga. L. 1982, p. 165, which repealed and reenacted Parts 1 through 4 of this article, contained a legislative intent provision in § 11, not codified by the General Assembly, which stated: "The General Assembly finds that properly equipped and serviced vehicles contribute to the public welfare and safety of the citizens of Georgia through the reduction of motor vehicle accidents resulting from mechanical failure. The General Assembly also finds that it is the responsibility of all motorists to maintain their motor vehicles in proper working condition. It is the intent of this Act to encourage all citizens to maintain their motor vehicles in safe operating condition. It is furthermore the intent of this Act to encourage the Department of Human Resources to promulgate rules and regulations specifying minimum safety standards for motor vehicles used to transport persons to and from day care centers or child care centers licensed by said department."

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Vehicle retains "automobile" status regardless of operability.

- Wheeled vehicle, designed to be self-propelled and to serve as a means of transportation, does not gain or lose status as an "automobile" depending upon whether at any given time it is or is not fully capable of being operated as such. Cotton States Mut. Ins. Co. v. Statiras, 157 Ga. App. 169, 276 S.E.2d 853 (1981).

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Basis for vehicular distinctions.

- Legislature based its vehicular distinctions not solely upon the load carried but upon the manner in which the defined load is carried by the vehicle under consideration. 1968 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 68-308.

Vehicle with flexible, welded joint.

- Type of unit which is secured by a flexible, welded joint is a single unified motor vehicle and not two separate vehicles. As such, it is subject to the braking inspection requirements imposed by law on motor vehicles. 1968 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 68-308.

Pole trailers.

- Legislature intended to classify as pole trailers only those vehicles in which the load thereupon carried was utilized to carry the trailer's own weight between the supporting connections. 1968 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 68-308.

Golf cart is motor vehicle.

- Golf cart was a vehicle other than a tractor, not operated upon a track, and propelled by other than muscular power and thus fell within the definition of "motor vehicle." If it was to be operated upon a public road, the operator must comply with registration and inspection requirements and all equipment requirements of former Code 1933, Ch. 68-17. 1972 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U72-78.

PART 1 GENERAL PROVISIONS

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