“Vehicle” and “Motor Vehicle”

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  1. Introduction
  2. “Vehicle” and “Motor Vehicle”
  3. “Drive”
  4. “Drugs”
  5. “Legal Limit”
  6. Open Container
  7. Driving Under the Influence (DUI)
  8. Driving Under the Influence Per Se (“DUI Per Se”)
  9. Driving While Ability Impaired (DWAI)
  10. Second and Subsequent Offenses
  11. Underage Drinking and Driving (“UDD” or “Baby DUI”)
  12. Strict Liability
  13. Juveniles and Minors
  14. Evidence of Impairment
  15. Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs)
  16. Drug Recognition Experts (DREs)
  17. Expressed Consent
  18. Breath Tests
  19. Blood Tests
  20. Prima Facie Case Requirement
  21. Preparing for Trial
  22. Voir Dire
  23. Expert Testimony
  24. Proving Chain of Custody
  25. Double-Refusals

“Vehicle”

A vehicle for purposes of most if not all traffic offenses in Colorado, including impaired driving cases, is “a device that is capable of moving itself, or of being moved, from place to place upon wheels or endless tracks.” § 42-1-102(112).

The term includes:

      1. Bicycles,
      2. Electrical assisted bicycles,
      3. Electric scooters, or
      4. EPAMDs (think Segways)

Id.

The term excludes:

      1. Wheelchairs
      2. Off-highway vehicles
      3. Snowmobiles
      4. Farm tractors
      5. Implements of husbandry designed primarily or exclusively for use and used in agricultural operations, and
      6. Any device moved exclusively over stationary rails or tracks or designed to move primarily through the air.

Id.

“Motor Vehicle”

A “Motor Vehicle” means “any self-propelled vehicle that is designed primarily for travel on the public highways and that is generally and commonly used to transport persons and property over the public highways . . . .” § 42-1-102(58).

The term includes:

      1. Low-speed electric vehicles,
      2. Autocycles, or
      3. Low-power scooters for the purposes of sections 42-4-1301 (DUI and DWAI) and 42-4-1301.1 (expressed consent).

Id.

The term excludes:

      1. Electrical assisted bicycles,
      2. Electric scooters,
      3. Low-power scooters except as provided above,
      4. Wheelchairs, or
      5. Vehicles moved solely by human power, and
      6. Farm tractors or off-highway vehicles, except for the purposes of the offenses described in 42-4-1301 (DUI and DWAI), 42-4-1301.1 (expressed consent), and 42-4-1401 (reckless driving), when operated on streets and highways.

Id.

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