§286-2  Definitions.  The followingterms whenever used and referred to in this chapter shall have the followingmeanings unless a different meaning is clearly apparent from the context:

"Alcohol" means the product ofdistillation of any fermented liquid, whether rectified or not, whatever may bethe origin thereof, and includes ethyl alcohol as well as synthetic ethylalcohol, but not denatured or other alcohol which is considered not potableunder the customs laws of the United States.

"Alcohol concentration" means theconcentration of alcohol in a person's blood or breath.  When expressed as apercentage, it means:  (1) the number of grams of alcohol per 100 millilitersof blood; or (2) the number of grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath.

"Bicycle" means every devicepropelled solely by human power upon which any person may ride, having twotandem wheels sixteen inches in diameter or greater, and including any devicegenerally recognized as a bicycle though equipped with two front or two rearwheels.

"Bus" means every motor vehicledesigned for carrying more than ten passengers and used for the transportationof persons.

"Chief of police" means the chief ofpolice of each county.

"Commercial driver's license" (CDL)means a license issued in accordance with the requirements of this chapter toan individual which authorizes the individual to drive a class of commercialmotor vehicle.

"Commercial driver's license informationsystem" (CDLIS) means the information system established pursuant to theFederal Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 (Title XII, Public Law99-570) to serve as a clearinghouse and depository of information pertaining tothe licensing and identification of commercial motor vehicle drivers and thedisqualification of such drivers from driving commercial motor vehicles.

"Commercial motor vehicle" means amotor vehicle or combination of motor vehicles used in commerce to transportpassengers or property:

(1)  If the vehicle has a gross combinationweight rating of 26,001 or more pounds inclusive of a towed unit(s) with agross vehicle weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds;

(2)  If the vehicle has a gross vehicle weight ratingof 26,001 or more pounds;

(3)  If the vehicle is designed to transport sixteenor more occupants, including the driver; or

(4)  If the vehicle, regardless of size, is used inthe transportation of hazardous materials, as defined in this section.

"Controlled substance" means anysubstance so classified under section 102(6) of the Controlled Substance Act(21 United States Code §802(6)), and includes all substances listed onschedules I through V of 21 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 1308, as they maybe revised from time to time.

"Conviction" means an unvacatedadjudication of guilt, or a determination that a person has violated or failedto comply with the law in a court of original jurisdiction or by anadministrative proceeding, an unvacated forfeiture of bail or collateraldeposited to secure the person's appearance in court, a plea of guilty or nolocontendere accepted by the court, the payment of a fine or court cost, orviolation of a condition of release without bail, regardless of whether thepenalty is rebated, suspended, or probated.

"Director" means the state directorof transportation.

"Director of finance" means thedirector of finance of each county.

"Drive" means to drive, operate, orbe in physical control of a motor vehicle in any place open to the generalpublic for purposes of vehicular traffic.

"Driver" means every person who drives,operates, or is in actual physical control of a motor vehicle in any place opento the general public for purposes of vehicular traffic or who is exercisingcontrol over or steering a vehicle being towed or pushed by a motor vehicle.

"Driver's license" means any licenseto operate a motor vehicle issued under the laws of this State.

"Driving instructor" means everyperson who, for compensation, instructs another person in the rudiments andmechanics of the operation of a motor vehicle.

"Employee" means any driver of acommercial motor vehicle, including full time, regularly employed drivers;casual, intermittent, or occasional drivers; and leased drivers andindependent, owner-operator contractors (while in the course of operating acommercial motor vehicle) who are either directly employed by or under lease toan employer.

"Examiner of drivers" means theperson or persons appointed under section 286-101.

"Executive officer" means the mayorof each county.

"Farm tractor" means every motorvehicle designed and used primarily as a farm implement for drawing plows,mowing machines, and other implements of husbandry.

"Felony" means any offense understate or federal law that is punishable by death or imprisonment for a termexceeding one year.

"Foreign jurisdiction" means anyjurisdiction other than a state of the United States.

"Gross combination weight rating"means the value specified by the manufacturer as the loaded weight of acombination (articulated) vehicle.  In the absence of a value specified by themanufacturer, gross combination weight rating shall be determined by adding thegross vehicle weight rating of the power unit and the total weight of the towedunit and any load thereon.

"Gross vehicle weight rating" meansthe value specified by the manufacturer as the loaded weight of a singlevehicle.

"Hazardous materials" means anymaterial that has been designated as hazardous under Title 49 United StatesCode section 5103 and is required to be placarded under Subpart F of Part 172, Title49, Code of Federal Regulations, or any quantity of a material listed as aselect agent or toxin in Title 42 Code of Federal Regulations Part 73.

"Highway" means the entire widthbetween the boundary lines of every way publicly maintained when any part thereofis open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel.

"Intoxicating liquor" includesalcohol, brandy, whiskey, rum, gin, okolehao, sake, beer, ale, porter, andwine; and also includes, in addition to the foregoing, any spirituous, vinous,malt or fermented liquor, liquids, and compounds, whether medicated,proprietary, patented, or not, in whatever form and of whatever constituencyand by whatever name called, containing one-half of one per cent or more ofalcohol by volume, which are fit for use or may be used or readily convertedfor use for beverage purposes.

"Intrastate commerce" means trade,traffic, or transportation between two places in the State that originates andterminates within the State.

"Intrastate driver" means a driver, notless than nineteen years of age, engaged in intrastate commerce, except in thetransportation of passengers in a school vehicle, as defined in section286-181, or in the transportation of hazardous materials, as defined in section286-2.

"Legal owner" includes a person whoholds unencumbered title to a vehicle or is a secured party under a securityinterest in a vehicle.

"Moped" means a device upon which aperson may ride which has two or three wheels in contact with the ground, amotor having a maximum power output capability measured at the motor outputshaft, in accordance with the Society of Automotive Engineers standards, of twohorsepower (one thousand four hundred ninety-two watts) or less and, if it is acombustion engine, a maximum piston or rotor displacement of 3.05 cubic inches(fifty cubic centimeters) and which will propel the moped, unassisted, on alevel surface at a maximum speed no greater than thirty miles per hour; and adirect or automatic power drive system which requires no clutch or gear shiftoperation by the moped driver after the drive system is engaged with the powerunit.

"Motorcycle" means every motorvehicle having a seat or saddle for use of the rider and designed to travel onnot more than three wheels in contact with the ground, but excludes a farmtractor and a moped.

"Motor scooter" means everymotorcycle with a motor which produces not more than five horsepower, butexcludes a moped.

"Motor vehicle" means every vehiclewhich is self-propelled and every vehicle which is propelled by electric powerbut which is not operated upon rails, but excludes a moped.

"Neighborhood electric vehicle" meansa self-propelled electrically powered motor vehicle to which all of thefollowing apply:

(1)  The vehicle is emission free;

(2)  The vehicle is designed to be and is operated atspeeds of twenty-five miles per hour or less;

(3)  The vehicle has four wheels in contact with theground;

(4)  The vehicle has a gross vehicle weight rating ofless than two thousand five hundred pounds; and

(5)  The vehicle conforms to the minimum safetyequipment requirements as adopted in the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety StandardNo. 500, Low Speed Vehicles (49 C.F.R. 571.500).

"Owner" or "registeredowner" includes a legal owner of a vehicle where there is no securityinterest held by anyone on the vehicle, a buyer under a purchase money securityinterest, or a debtor under any security interest.

"Passenger car" means every motorvehicle, except motorcycles and motor scooters, designed for carrying tenpassengers or less and used for the transportation of persons.

"Pole trailer" means every vehiclewithout motive power designed to be drawn by another vehicle and attached tothe towing vehicle by means of a reach or pole, or by being boomed or otherwisesecured to the towing vehicle, and ordinarily used for transporting long orirregularly shaped loads such as poles, pipes, or structural members capable,generally, of sustaining themselves as beams between the supportingconnections.

"Rebuilt vehicle" means any vehiclewhich has been declared a total loss by an insurer and has been rebuilt orrepaired to operate on public highways.  For the purpose of this definition, avehicle is a total loss only if there is material damage to the vehicle's frame,unitized structure, or suspension system, and the projected cost of repairingthe damage exceeds the market value of the vehicle at the time of the incidentcausing it to be declared a total loss.

"Reconstructed vehicle" means avehicle that is registered to be operated on a public highway, and that is:

(1)  Assembled from new or used parts by a personother than a recognized manufacturer of new vehicles;

(2)  Modified to the extent that the identity of thevehicle's make, model, or type is obscured by material changes in itsappearance; or

(3)  Modified by the removal, addition, alteration, orsubstitution of other than original replacement essential parts, including thevehicle's body, power train, steering system, suspension system, exhaustsystem, intake system, or bumper system;

excluding ordinary body repair that does not changethe exterior structure of the vehicle.  The term does not include a specialinterest vehicle or a motorcycle.

"Rental or U-drive motor vehicle"means a motor vehicle which is rented or leased or offered for rent or leasefor a period of six months or less.

"Semitrailer" means a trailer soconstructed that a substantial part of its weight rests upon the truck-tractorby which it is drawn.

"Special interest vehicle" means avehicle of any age that, because of its significance, is being collected,preserved, restored, or maintained by a collector.  The term includes a streetrod vehicle and a street rod replica vehicle, as those terms are defined insection 286-26.5; a vehicle manufactured before 1968; and a vehiclemanufactured after 1967 to resemble a vehicle manufactured before 1968.

"State", except where reference isclearly to another state, territory, or possession of the United States, means the State of Hawaii.

"Tank vehicle" means any commercialmotor vehicle that is designed to transport any liquid or gaseous materialswithin a tank that is either permanently or temporarily attached to the vehicleor the chassis.  Such vehicles include but are not limited to cargo tanks andportable tanks, as defined in Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations Part 171. This definition does not include portable tanks having a rated capacity underone thousand gallons.

"Third party examiner" means adriver's license examiner who is qualified and has been certified by the Stateto examine applicants for category (4) licenses under section 286-102(b) andcommercial driver licenses.

"Title state or county" means anystate or any county in any state which issues certificates of title and registrationand notes, liens, and other encumbrances thereon.

"Tractor-semitrailer combination"means a truck-tractor in use together with a semitrailer.

"Trailer" means a vehicle designedfor carrying persons or property and for being drawn by a motor vehicle.

"Truck" means a motor vehicledesigned, used, or maintained primarily for the transportation of property.

"Truck-tractor" means a truckdesigned and used primarily for drawing other vehicles and not so constructedas to carry a load to other than a part of the weight of the vehicle and loadso drawn.

"Truck-trailer combination" means atruck in use together with a trailer.

"United States" means the fiftystates and the District of Columbia.

"Vehicle" means every device in,upon, or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upona highway, but excludes devices moved by human power or devices usedexclusively upon stationary rails or tracks and mopeds.

"Vehicle identification number" meansthe unique series of letters and numerals assigned to a vehicle either by thevehicle manufacturer or incomplete vehicle manufacturer as required by federallaw, or by the county director of finance to identify a reconstructed vehicle,special interest vehicle, or motorcycle. [L 1967, c 214, pt of §2; HRS §286-2;am L 1968, c 48, §2(a); am L 1970, c 164, §2; am L 1973, c 152, §1(a); am L1974, c 98, §1; am L 1975, c 187, §3; am L 1977, c 77, §1; am L 1978, c 175,§§7, 8; am L 1984, c 276, §3; am L 1985, c 23, §1; am L 1989, c 320, §3; am L1990, c 43, §2 and c 342, §17; am L 1993, c 270, §1; am L 1997, c 246, §3; am L1999, c 262, §2(1); am L 2002, c 255, §2; am L 2004, c 126, §1; am L 2006, c22, §1 and c 130, §2; am L 2007, c 288, §2]

 

Revision Note

 

  Definition of "director of finance" inserted,definition of "treasurer" deleted, and words "countychairman" deleted from definition of "executive officer" toconform to county charters.

 

Case Notes

 

  Definition of "owner" not applicable to term asused in private insurance policies.  230 F. Supp. 451.