Mississippi Code 1972 (2023) › Title 63 - MOTOR VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC REGULATIONS (§§ 63-1-1 — 63-NEW01-NEW-014) › Chapter 3 - TRAFFIC REGULATIONS AND RULES OF THE ROAD (§§ 63-3-1 — 63-3-1331) › Article 3 - DEFINITIONS (§§ 63-3-101 — 63-3-139) › VEHICLES, EQUIPMENT AND THE LIKE DEFINED (§§ 63-3-103 — 63-3-113) › Section 63-3-103 - Vehicles

(a)
"Vehicle" means every device in, upon or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, except devices used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.
(b)
"Motor vehicle" means every vehicle which is self-propelled and every vehicle which is propelled by electric power obtained from overhead trolley wires, but not operated upon rails. The term "motor vehicle" shall not include electric personal assistive mobility devices, personal delivery devices or electric bicycles.
(c)
"Motorcycle" means every motor vehicle having a saddle for the use of the rider and designed to travel on not more than three (3) wheels in contact with the ground but excluding a tractor. The term "motorcycle" includes motor scooters as defined in subsection (j) of this section. The term "motorcycle" shall not include electric bicycles or personal delivery devices.
(d)
"Authorized emergency vehicle" means every vehicle of the fire department (fire patrol), every police vehicle, every 911 Emergency Communications District vehicle, every such ambulance and special use EMS vehicle as defined in Section
41-59-3
, every Mississippi Emergency Management Agency vehicle as is designated or authorized by the Executive Director of MEMA and every emergency vehicle of municipal departments or public service corporations as is designated or authorized by the commission or the chief of police of an incorporated city.
(e)
"School bus" means every motor vehicle operated for the transportation of children to or from any school, provided same is plainly marked "School Bus" on the front and rear thereof and meets the requirements of the State Board of Education as authorized under Section
37-41-1
.
(f)
"Recreational vehicle" means a vehicular type unit primarily designed as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping or travel use, which either has its own motive power or is mounted on or drawn by another vehicle and includes travel trailers, fifth-wheel trailers, camping trailers, truck campers and motor homes.
(g)
"Motor home" means a motor vehicle that is designed and constructed primarily to provide temporary living quarters for recreational, camping or travel use.
(h)
"Electric assistive mobility device" means a self-balancing two-tandem wheeled device, designed to transport only one (1) person, with an electric propulsion system that limits the maximum speed of the device to fifteen (15) miles per hour.
(i)
"Autocycle" means a three-wheel motorcycle with a steering wheel, nonstraddle seating, rollover protection and seat belts.
(j)
"Motor scooter" means a two-wheeled vehicle that has a seat for the operator, one (1) wheel that is ten (10) inches or more in diameter, a step-through chassis, a motor with a rating of two and seven-tenths (2.7) brake horsepower or less if the motor is an internal combustion engine, an engine of 50cc or less and otherwise meets all safety requirements of motorcycles. The term "motor scooter" shall not include electric bicycles or personal delivery devices.
(k)
"Platoon" means a group of individual motor vehicles traveling in a unified manner at electronically coordinated speeds at following distances that are closer than would be reasonable and prudent without such coordination.
(l)
"Electric bicycle" means a bicycle or tricycle equipped with fully operable pedals, a saddle or seat for the rider, and an electric motor of less than seven hundred fifty (750) watts that meets the requirements of one (1) of the following three (3) classes:
(i)
"Class 1 electric bicycle" means an electric bicycle equipped with a motor that provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling, and that ceases to provide assistance when the bicycle reaches the speed of twenty (20) miles per hour.
(ii)
"Class 2 electric bicycle" means an electric bicycle equipped with a motor that may be used exclusively to propel the bicycle, and that is not capable of providing assistance when the bicycle reaches the speed of twenty (20) miles per hour.
(iii)
"Class 3 electric bicycle" means an electric bicycle equipped with a motor that provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling, and that ceases to provide assistance when the bicycle reaches the speed of twenty-eight (28) miles per hour.
(m)
"Personal delivery device" means a device:
(i)
Solely powered by an electric motor;
(ii)
Intended to be operated primarily on sidewalks, crosswalks, and other pedestrian areas to transport cargo;
(iii)
Intended primarily to transport property on public rights-of-way, and not intended to carry passengers; and
(iv)
Capable of navigating with or without the active control or monitoring of a natural person.
(n)
"Personal delivery device operator" means a person or entity that exercises physical control or monitoring over the operation of a personal delivery device, excluding a person or entity that requests or receives the services of a personal delivery device, arranges for or dispatches the requested services of a personal delivery device, or stores, charges or maintains a personal delivery device.
(o)
"Fully autonomous vehicle" means a motor vehicle equipped with an automated driving system designed to function without a human driver as a Level 4 or Level 5 automation system under the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Standard J3016.
Codes, 1942, § 8127; Laws, 1938, ch. 200; Laws, 1973, ch. 338, § 1; Laws, 1976, ch. 348; Laws, 1980, ch. 316, § 2; Laws, 1983, ch. 350, § 1; Laws, 1986, ch. 459, § 35; Laws, 2000, ch. 318, § 1; Laws, 2003, ch. 485, § 9; Laws, 2004, ch. 425, § 3; Laws, 2012, ch. 452, § 1, eff. 4/18/2012.
Amended by Laws, 2023, ch. 443, HB 1003,§ 16, eff. 7/1/2023.
Amended by Laws, 2022, ch. 439, SB 2508,§ 6, eff. 7/1/2022.
Amended by Laws, 2021, ch. 355, HB 1195,§ 6, eff. 7/1/2021.
Amended by Laws, 2018, ch. 445, HB 1343,§ 1, eff. 1/1/2019.
Amended by Laws, 2018, ch. 304, SB 2629,§ 1, eff. 7/1/2018.
Amended by Laws, 2015, ch. 464, HB 1251, 3, eff. 7/1/2015.
Amended by Laws, 2015, ch. 406, HB 111, 1, eff. 7/1/2015.