The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
A motor vehicle that:
Is inoperable, is more than five years old, and has been left unattended on public property for more than 48 hours;
Has remained illegally on public property for more than 48 hours;
Has remained on private property without the consent of the owner or person in charge of the property for more than 48 hours;
Has been left unattended on the right-of-way of a designated county, state or federal highway for more than 48 hours; or
Has been left unattended for more than 24 hours on the right-of-way of a turnpike project constructed and maintained by the Texas Turnpike Authority or a controlled-access highway.
A passenger car or truck that is at least 35 years old.
A fire department or police vehicle;
A public or private ambulance operated by a person who has been issued a license by the department of state health services;
A municipal department or public service corporation emergency vehicle that has been designated or authorized by the governing body of the municipality;
A private vehicle of a volunteer firefighter or a certified emergency medical services employee or volunteer when responding to a fire alarm or medical emergency;
An industrial emergency response vehicle, including an industrial ambulance, when responding to an emergency, but only if the vehicle is operated in compliance with criteria in effect September 1, 1989, and established by the Texas Industrial Emergency Services Board of the State Firemen's and Fire Marshals' Association of Texas; or
A vehicle of a blood bank or tissue bank, accredited or approved under the laws of this state or the United States, when making emergency deliveries of blood, drugs, medicines or organs.
Any motor vehicle designed or used for the transportation of property, not including a passenger bus, passenger automobile, motorcycle, panel truck or pickup truck.
Any sidewalk customarily used by pedestrians in front of ongoing business establishments.
Any vehicle intended for and primarily used for the conveyance of goods and materials, and specifically excluding conveyances intended primarily to transport persons.
A self-propelled vehicle having a manufacturer's recommended gross vehicle weight (GVW) of greater than 11,000 pounds (including trailers), such as large recreational vehicles (originally manufactured as RVs, not converted), tractor-trailers, buses, vans and other similar vehicles.
A motor vehicle that does not have lawfully affixed either an unexpired license plate or a valid motor vehicle safety inspection certificate, or a vehicle that is not in operating condition because it is wrecked, dismantled, partially dismantled, dilapidated or has one or more flat tires.
A vehicle without a motor, including but not limited to trailers, campers, camper shells, and wheeled towing frames, that is not in operating condition because it is wrecked, dismantled, partially dismantled, dilapidated or has one or more flat tires.
A vehicle that is self-propelled and inoperable [and]:
Living quarters equipped and used for sleeping and eating which may be moved from one location to another over a public street by being pulled behind a motor vehicle.
A person who:
A person in the business of:
An outboard motor subject to registration under V.T.C.A., Parks and Wildlife Code ch. 31.
A continuous surface intended by its construction to be permanent and impervious to penetration by water, and specifically excluding paving stones, bricks or rocks which are not set in concrete.
Every vehicle without motive power designed to be drawn by another vehicle and attached to the towing vehicle by means of a reach or a pole, or by being boomed or otherwise secured to the towing vehicle, and ordinarily used for transporting long or irregularly shaped loads, such as poles, pipes or structural members capable, generally, of sustaining themselves as beams between the supporting connections.
Every vehicle of a trailer type so designed or used in conjunction with a motor vehicle that some part of its own weight and that of its own load rests upon or is carried by another motor vehicle.
Any board, made of any material, of a length not in excess of 35 inches and a width not in excess of 15 inches, having no brakes, motor or steering device, to which wheels, not greater than three inches in diameter, have been affixed.
A motor vehicle of any age that has not been changed from the original manufacturer's specifications and, because of its historic interest, is being preserved by a hobbyist.
A garage, parking lot or establishment for the servicing, repairing or parking of motor vehicles.
Every vehicle without motive power designed or used to carry property or passengers wholly on its own structure and to be drawn by a motor vehicle.
Every motor vehicle designed or used primarily for drawing other vehicles and not so constructed as to carry a load other than a part of the weight of the vehicle and load so drawn.
Every mechanical device in, upon or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a public highway, including motor vehicles, commercial motor vehicles, truck-tractors and semi-trailers, severally as defined in this section, but excepting devices moved by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.
A vessel subject to registration under V.T.C.A., Parks and Wildlife Code ch. 31, or any device used primarily to transport a person or persons over a body of water.
(1999 Code, sec. 86-1)