[Ord. No. 88-39 §24.1510, 7-6-1988]
A. Muffler
cutouts shall not be used upon any vehicle. The motors of all vehicles
shall be fitted with properly attached mufflers of such capacity or
construction as to quiet the maximum possible exhaust noise. Any cutout
or opening in the exhaust pipe between the motor and the muffler on
any motor vehicle shall be completely closed and disconnected from
its operating lever and shall be arranged so that it cannot automatically
open or be opened or operated while the vehicle is in motion.
B. No person
shall drive a vehicle in a manner or condition such that excessive
and unnecessary noises are made by its machinery, motor, signaling
device, tires, or other parts, or by any improperly loaded cargo.
[Ord. No. 88-39 §24.1515, 7-6-1988; Ord. No. 91-25 §3, 3-6-1991]
A. No driver
shall operate a motor vehicle on any highway, roadway or alleyway
during the period from one-half (½) hour after sunset to one-half
(½) hour before sunrise, unless the vehicle displays at least
two (2) lighted lamps on the front, one (1) on each side, having a
light source of equal power, which project either white or yellow
light.
B. Every
person driving a motor vehicle equipped with multiple-beam road lighting
equipment, during the times when lighted lamps are required, shall
use a distribution of light or composite beam, directed high enough
and of sufficient intensity to reveal persons and vehicles at a safe
distance in advance of the vehicle, subject to the following requirements
and limitations: Whenever the driver of a vehicle approaches an on-coming
vehicle within five hundred (500) feet or is within three hundred
(300) feet to the rear of another vehicle traveling in the same direction,
the driver shall dim any high-beam lights operating at the time.
C. No driver
shall operate a motor vehicle except a motorcycle on any highway,
roadway or alleyway during the period from one-half (½) hour
after sunset to one-half (½) hour before sunrise, unless the
vehicle displays two (2) lighted lamps on the rear, which display
a red light visible from the rear for a distance of at least five
hundred (500) feet. The number plate must be illuminated in such a
manner as to render the numerals on the plate visible for at least
fifty (50) feet in the direction from which the vehicle is proceeding.
D. Every
motorcycle shall be equipped with at least one (1) and not more than
two (2) approved headlights. Every motorcycle equipped with a sidecar
or other attachment shall be equipped with a lamp on the outside limit
of the attachment capable of displaying a white light to the front.
E. Every
motorcycle when operated on a highway or roadway shall carry at the
rear a red reflective rear lamp, which shall be of such size and characteristics
and maintained as to be visible during the times when lighted lamps
are required from all distances within three hundred (300) feet to
fifty (50) feet from the vehicle when directly in front of a motor
vehicle displaying lawful undimmed headlamps.
F. Every
passenger car, commercial motor vehicle, motor-drawn vehicle and omnibus
with a capacity of more than six (6) passengers, when operated on
a highway or roadway shall also carry at the rear at least two (2)
approved red reflectors, at least one (1) at each side, so designed,
mounted on the vehicle and maintained as to be visible during the
times when lighted lamps are required from all distances within five
hundred (500) to fifty (50) feet from the vehicle when directly in
front of a motor vehicle displaying lawful undimmed headlamps. Every
reflector shall meet the requirements of this Chapter and shall be
mounted upon the vehicle at a height not to exceed sixty (60) inches
nor less than fifteen (15) inches above the surface upon which the
vehicle stands.
[Ord. No. 88-39 §24.1520, 7-6-1988]
A. Vehicle
mounted headlamps, when illuminated, shall display lights substantially
white in color. Vehicle mounted auxiliary lamps, cowl lamps and spotlamps
when illuminated shall display light substantially white, yellow or
amber in color.
B. No person
shall drive or move any vehicle or equipment upon any highway, roadway,
alleyway or other public way when displaying a flashing warning signal
of any color light visible in any and all directions from the signal,
no matter how such flashing signal is mechanically produced. This
provision shall not apply to school buses, to motor vehicles when
used to transport United States mail from post offices to boxes of
addresses thereof, to authorized emergency vehicles, to vehicles specified
in this Title and to Firemen using blue flashing lights in accordance
with Section 307.175, RSMo., 1969.
[Ord. No. 88-39 §24.1525, 7-6-1988]
No motor vehicle may be equipped with more than three (3) auxiliary
lamps mounted on the front at a height not less than twelve (12) inches
nor more than forty-two (42) inches above the level surface upon which
the vehicle stands.
[Ord. No. 88-39 §24.1530, 7-6-1988]
All vehicles, including agricultural machinery or implements,
road machinery, road rollers, traction engines and farm tractors,
not in this Title specifically required to be equipped with lamps,
shall be equipped during the times when lighted lamps are required
with at least one (1) lighted lamp or lantern exhibiting a white light
visible from a distance of five hundred (500) feet to the front of
such vehicle and with a lamp or lantern exhibiting a red light visible
from a distance of five hundred (500) feet to the rear, and such lamps
and lanterns shall exhibit to the sides of such vehicle.
[Ord. No. 88-39 §24.1535, 7-6-1988]
Whenever a motor vehicle equipped with headlamps as this Chapter
requires is also equipped with any auxiliary lamps or a spotlamp or
any other lamp on the front of the vehicle projecting a beam of an
intensity greater than three hundred (300) candlepower, not more than
a total of four (4) of any such lamps on the front of a vehicle shall
be lighted at any one time when upon a roadway.
[Ord. No. 88-39 §24.1540, 7-6-1988]
A. Whenever
a vehicle is lawfully parked upon a roadway during the hours between
one-half (½) hour after sunset and one-half (½) hour
before sunrise and in the event there is sufficient light to reveal
any person or object within a distance of five hundred (500) feet
upon the roadway, no lights need to be displayed upon the parked vehicle.
B. Whenever
a vehicle is parked or stopped upon a roadway or shoulder adjacent
to it, whether attended or unattended, during the hours between one-half
(½) hour after sunset and one-half (½) hour before sunrise
and there is not sufficient light to reveal any person or object within
a distance of five hundred (500) feet upon the highway, a vehicle
parked or stopped shall be equipped with one (1) or more lamps meeting
the following requirements: At least one (1) lamp shall display a
white or amber light visible from a distance of five hundred (500)
feet to the front of the vehicle, and the same lamp or at least one
(1) lamp shall display a red light visible from a distance of five
hundred (500) feet to the rear of the vehicle, and the location of
the lamps shall always be such that at least one (1) lamp or combination
of lamps meeting the requirements of this Section is installed as
near as practicable to the side of the vehicle which is closest to
passing traffic. This Section does not apply to a motorized bicycle.
Any lighted headlamp upon a parked vehicle shall be depressed or dimmed.
[Ord. No. 88-39 §24.1545, 7-6-1988]
Any person who places or drives, or causes to be placed or driven,
upon or along any roadway any horse-driven vehicle whatsoever, whether
in motion or at rest, shall after sunset to one-half (½) hour
before sunrise have attached to every such vehicle at the rear a red
taillight or a red reflecting device of not less than three (3) inches
in diameter of effective area or its equivalent in area. When the
device consists of reflecting buttons, there shall be no less than
seven (7) buttons covering an area equal to a circle with a three
(3) inch diameter. The reflector shall be visible to the driver of
any motor vehicle approaching such horse-drawn vehicle from the rear
of a distance of not less than five hundred (500) feet.
[Ord. No. 88-39 §24.1550, 7-6-1988]
A. Brakes. All motor vehicles except motorcycles shall be provided
at all times with two (2) sets of adequate brakes. Motorcycles shall
be provided with one (1) set of adequate brakes kept in good working
order.
B. Mirrors. All motor vehicles which are constructed or loaded
so that the operator cannot see the road behind the vehicle by looking
back or around the side of the vehicle shall be equipped with a mirror
adjusted so as to reveal the road behind and be visible from the operator's
seat.
C. Projections on Vehicles. All vehicles carrying poles or
other objects which project more than five (5) feet from the rear
of the vehicle shall display a red flag or red cloth not less than
sixteen (16) inches square at the end of the projections. During periods
in which lights are required by this Chapter, vehicles carrying such
projection shall carry a red light at or near the end of the projection.
D. Tow Lines. When one (1) vehicle is being towed by another,
they shall be coupled by a line so that the two (2) vehicles will
be separated by not more than fifteen (15) feet. There shall be displayed
on the tow line a white cloth or other material white in color that
is clearly visible to other users of the highway or roadway. During
the time lights are required by this Chapter, the required lights
shall be displayed by both vehicles.
[Ord. No. 88-39 §24.1555, 7-6-1988]
No person shall operate any motor vehicle upon any highway or
roadway between April first (1st) and November first (1st) while the
motor vehicle is equipped with tires containing metal or carbide studs.
[Ord. No. 88-39 §24.1560, 7-6-1988]
A. No metal-tired
vehicles shall be operated over any improved highway or roadway, except
over highways or roadways constructed of gravel or clay bound gravel,
if the vehicle has on the periphery of any of the road wheels any
lug, flange, cleat, ridge, bolt, or any projection of metal or wood
which projects radially beyond the tread or traffic surface of the
tire, unless the roadway is protected by putting down solid planks
or other suitable material, or by attachment to the wheels so as to
prevent such vehicles from damaging the highway or roadway. This prohibition
shall not apply to tractors or traction engines equipped with caterpillar
treads, when the caterpillar does not contain any projection of any
kind likely to injure the surface of the roadway. Tractors, traction
engines and similar vehicles may be operated which have upon their
road wheels "V" shaped, diagonal, or other cleats arranged in a manner
as to be continuously in contact with the road surface if the gross
weight on the wheels per inch of width of such cleats or road surface
does not exceed eight hundred (800) pounds when measured in the direction
of the axle of the vehicle.
B. No tractor,
tractor engine, or other metal-tired vehicle weighing more than four
(4) tons including the weight of the vehicle and its load, shall drive
onto, upon or over the edge of any improved roadway without protecting
the edge by putting down solid planks or other suitable material to
prevent the vehicle from breaking off the edges of the pavement.
C. Any person
violating this Section, whether operating with or without a permit,
or who shall wilfully or negligently damage a highway or roadway,
shall be liable for the amount of the damage caused to any highway,
roadway, bridge, culvert, or sewer, and any vehicle causing such damage
shall be subject to a lien for the full amount of the damage. The
lien shall not be superior to any duly recorded or filed chattel mortgage
or any other lien previously attached to the vehicle. The amount of
the damage may be recovered in any action in any court of competent
jurisdiction, in the name of the City of Bridgeton or other interested
party.
[Ord. No. 88-39 §24.1565, 7-6-1988]
A. Every
motor vehicle shall be equipped with a horn adequate for warning of
the approach of the vehicle to users of the highway, roadway or alleyway
and to pedestrians.
B. No person
shall drive a motor vehicle to which is attached a gong, bell, whistle
or siren, or activate such device while the motor vehicle is on a
roadway.
C. This
Section does not apply to authorized emergency vehicles.
[Ord. No. 88-39 §24.1570, 7-6-1988]
No person shall operate a vehicle without rear fenders upon
any highway, roadway, or alleyway which is not equipped with mudflaps
for the rear wheels. When mudflaps are used, they shall be wide enough
to cover the full tread width of the tire or tires being protected,
shall be installed so that they extend from the underside of the vehicle
body in a vertical plane behind the rear wheels to within eight (8)
inches of the ground, and shall be constructed of rigid material or
a flexible material which is of a sufficient rigid character to provide
adequate protection when the vehicle is in motion. No provision of
this Section shall apply to a motor vehicle in transit and in process
of delivery equipped with temporary mudflaps.
[Ord. No. 88-39 §24.1575, 7-6-1988]
No person shall operate any motor vehicle upon any highway,
roadway or alleyway when the body has been altered in such a manner
that the front or rear of the vehicle is raised at an angle so as
to obstruct the vision of the operator to the front or to the rear
of the vehicle.
[Ord. No. 88-39 §24.1580, 7-6-1988; Ord. No. 97-73 §§1 — 5, 10-1-1997]
A. Except as otherwise provided in this Section, each driver and front seat passenger of a passenger car manufactured after January 1, 1968, operated on a street or highway in this City shall wear a properly adjusted and fastened safety belt that meets Federal National Highway Transportation and Safety Act requirements, except that a child less than four (4) years of age shall be protected as required in Subsection
(E) of this Section.
B. Each
driver of a motor vehicle transporting a child four (4) years of age
or more, but less than sixteen (16) years of age, shall secure the
child in a properly adjusted and fastened safety belt.
1. All
persons operating or riding inside the cab of a truck licensed under
twelve thousand (12,000) pounds gross weight on a street or highway
in this State shall wear a properly adjusted and fastened seat belt.
2. Persons
under the age of eighteen (18) operating or riding inside the cab
of a truck on a street or highway in this State shall wear a properly
adjusted and fastened seat belt regardless of said truck's licensed
gross weight.
C. With respect to Subsections
(A) and
(B) of this Section:
1. No person shall be stopped, inspected or detained solely to determine compliance with Subsections
(A) and
(B) of this Section.
2. The provisions of Subsections
(A) and
(B) of this Section shall not be applicable to persons who have a medical reason for failing to have a seat belt fastened about his or her body or to any person employed by the United States Postal Service while performing duties for the Federal agency which requires the operator to service postal boxes from their vehicles, or which require frequent entry into and exit from their vehicles.
3. As used in these Subsections
(A) and
(B) of this Section, the term
"passenger car" means every motor vehicle designed for carrying
ten (10) persons or less and used for the transportation of persons;
except that the term
"passenger car" shall not include
motorcycles, motorized bicycles and motor tricycles.
D. Each person who violates the provisions of Subsections
(A) or
(B) of this Section shall, prior to July 1, 1987 receive a warning citation only. After July 1, 1987, such persons shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine not to exceed ten dollars ($10.00) in amount. All other provisions of law and court rules to the contrary notwithstanding, no court costs may be imposed if court costs have been assessed on any other charge arising out of the same occurrence.
E. Every
person transporting a child under the age of four (4) years residing
in this State shall be responsible, when transporting such child in
a motor vehicle operated by that person on the streets or highways
of this City for providing for the protection of such child. When
traveling in the front seat of a motor vehicle, the child shall be
protected by a child passenger restraint system approved by the Missouri
Department of Public Safety when traveling in the rear seat of a motor
vehicle, the child shall be protected by either a child passenger
restraint system approved by the Missouri Department of Public Safety,
or the vehicle's seat belt. When the number of child passengers exceeds
the number of available passenger positions, and all passenger positions
are in use, remaining children shall be transported in the rear seat
of the motor vehicle.
F. With respect to Subsection
(E) of this Section, it shall not apply to motor vehicles registered in another State, or to a temporary substitute vehicle.
G. This
Section does not apply to any public carrier for hire.
H. No person
shall operate any truck with a licensed gross weight of less than
twelve thousand (12,000) pounds on any highway which is part of the
State or Federal highway system, or when such truck is operated within
the corporate limits of any City, when any person under eighteen (18)
years of age is riding in the unenclosed bed of such truck. No person
under eighteen (18) years of age shall ride in the unenclosed bed
of such truck when the truck is in operation.
1. The
provisions of this Section shall only apply when a truck described
in this Subsection is operated on a highway which is part of the State
or Federal highway system or when such truck is operated within the
corporate limits of any City. The provisions of this Section shall
not apply to:
a. An
employee engaged in the necessary discharge of the employee's duties
where it is necessary to ride in the unenclosed bed of the truck;
b. Any
person while engaged in agricultural activities where it is necessary
to ride in the unenclosed bed of the truck;
c. Any
person riding in the unenclosed bed of a truck while such truck is
being operated in a parade, caravan or exhibition which is authorized
by law;
d. Any
person riding in the unenclosed bed of a truck if such truck has installed
a means of preventing such person from being discharged or such person
is secured to the truck in a manner which will prevent the person
from being thrown, falling or jumping from the truck;
e. Any
person riding in the unenclosed bed of a truck if such truck is being
operated solely for the purposes of participating in a special event
and it is necessary that the person ride in such unenclosed bed due
to a lack of available seating. "Special event" for
the purposes of this Section, is a specific social activity of a definable
duration which is participated in by the person riding in the unenclosed
bed;
f. Any
person riding in the unenclosed bed of a truck if such truck is being
operated solely for the purposes of providing assistance to, or ensuring
the safety of, other persons engaged in a recreational activity; or
g. Any
person riding in the unenclosed bed of a truck if such truck is the
only legally titled, licensed and insured vehicle owned by the family
of the person riding in the unenclosed bed and there is insufficient
room in the passenger cab of the truck to accommodate all passengers
in such truck. For the purposes of this Subdivision, the term "family" shall mean any person related within the first
degree of consanguinity.
I. Provisions
of this Section shall not be applicable to persons who have a medical
reason for failing to have a seat belt fastened about their body,
nor shall the provisions of this Section be applicable to persons
while operating or riding a motor vehicle being used in agricultural
work-related activities. Non-compliance with this Subsection shall
not constitute probable cause for violation of any other provision
of law.
1. If there
are more persons than there are seat belts in the enclosed area of
a motor vehicle, then the driver and passengers are not in violation
of this Section.
J. Each
driver who violates the provisions of this Section is guilty of an
infraction for which a fine not to exceed ten dollars ($10.00) may
be imposed. All other provisions of law and court rules to the contrary
notwithstanding, no court costs shall be imposed on any person due
to a violation of this Section. In no case shall points be assessed
against any person, pursuant to Section 302.302, RSMo., for a violation
of this Section.
[Ord. No. 88-39 §24.1585, 7-6-1988]
No person shall operate a motor vehicle unless the operator
has a clear vision of all parts of the roadway essential to the safe
operation of the vehicle unobstructed by the vehicle's load, modifications
to the vehicle, accumulation on the windshield or other windows of
snow, mud, or other material, or any other cause.