Rhode Island Code of Regulations › Title 280 - Department of Revenue › Chapter 30 - Division of Motor Vehicles › Subchapter 15 - Safety and Emissions › Part 1 - Rhode Island Motor Vehicle Safety and Emission Control Regulation No.1 › Section 280-RICR-30-15-1.3 - Definitions

Current through June 14, 2024
A. As used in these regulations, the
				 following terms shall, where the context permits, be construed as follows:
1. "Authorized inspection repair station" or
				 "AIRS" means an inspection location authorized by the Department to provide
				 motor vehicle safety and emission inspection and repairs, or inspections
				 only.
2. "Calibration" means the
				 act of checking and adjusting the exhaust emission analyzer by introducing
				 reference gases of known concentrations into the analyzer.
3. "CIRT" or "Certified inspection repair
				 technician" means a person certified by the Department to provide both
				 inspection and repairs for motor vehicle safety and emissions.
4. "CIT" or "Certified inspection technician"
				 means a person certified by the Department to perform motor vehicle safety and
				 emission inspections.
5.
				 "Compliance certificate" means a written document or device with a serial
				 number indicating that a motor vehicle complies with the requirements of the
				 Department's regulations.
6. "Day"
				 means a calendar day, unless otherwise designated.
7. "Dealer" means a person or entity engaged
				 in the business of buying, selling, or exchanging vehicles and who has an
				 established place of business for such purpose and as further defined in R.I.
				 Gen. Laws §
											31-1-19(b).
8. "Department" means the Department of
				 Revenue.
9. "Director" means the
				 Director of the Department of Revenue.
10. "Emission control device" means a
				 component installed on or in a vehicle for the sole or primary purpose of
				 reducing emissions (not including those vehicle components which were in
				 general use prior to model year 1968 and the primary function of which is not
				 related to emission control).
11.
				 "Exchange engine" means an engine other than the specific engine originally
				 installed by the vehicle manufacturer.
12. "Exhaust emissions standard" means the
				 maximum allowable levels of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and oxides of
				 nitrogen appropriate for the age and type of vehicle tested.
13. "Fleet vehicle" means a nonexempt motor
				 vehicle owned or leased by a fleet owner or operator.
14. "Gross vehicle weight rating" or "GVWR"
				 means the weight value specified by the vehicle manufacturer on the Federal
				 weight certification label as the loaded weight of a vehicle.
15. "Hearing board" means a board comprised
				 of three (3) members as designated by the Administrator of Motor Vehicles to
				 conduct hearings required by these regulations.
16. "Homemade vehicle" means a vehicle which
				 has been materially altered from its original configuration so that it cannot
				 be visually identified as a vehicle produced by a particular vehicle
				 manufacturer; or a vehicle constructed entirely from homemade parts, or parts
				 from one or more vehicles, or constructed by the use of custom kits and which
				 cannot be identified as a specific make or model.
17. "Inspection" means the testing of the
				 exhaust and functional emission controls along with a safety inspection of a
				 subject vehicle.
18. "Inspection
				 report" means a document or device automatically generated as a result of the
				 enhanced safety and emission inspection, containing detailed inspection
				 information.
19. "Inspection
				 station" means a facility for motor vehicle safety, on-board diagnostics and
				 emissions inspection operated by an AIRS.
20. "Model-year" means the manufacturer's
				 annual production period for each engine family which includes January 1 of a
				 calendar year or, if the manufacturer has no annual production period, the
				 calendar year. In the case of any motor vehicle manufactured in two or more
				 stages, the time of manufacture shall be the date of completion of the
				 chassis.
21. "Motor vehicle" means
				 every vehicle which is self-propelled, except vehicles moved exclusively by
				 human power and motorized wheelchairs.
22. "Motor vehicle safety and emission
				 inspection" means a test of exhaust emissions of air contaminants from a motor
				 vehicle and any functional evaporative emission tests related to the emission
				 of air contaminants from a motor vehicle along with safety device inspection
				 conducted pursuant to these regulations.
23. "New motor vehicle" means a motor vehicle
				 that the equitable or legal title has never been transferred to the first
				 person who in good faith purchases the vehicle for purposes other than
				 resale.
24. "Operator" means any
				 person in control of a motor vehicle.
25. "On-board diagnostics" and "OBD" mean the
				 system that monitors and records the operations and faults of a vehicle's
				 emissions controls and related systems.
26. "Person" means any individual,
				 partnership, corporation, whether private, public or quasi-municipal,
				 municipality, state governmental department or other legal entity.
27. "Reconstructed vehicle" means a vehicle
				 constructed from two or more commercially manufactured vehicles of the same
				 type and year which has not been altered and is recognizable as a commercially
				 manufactured vehicle of a given year.
28. "Rhode Island I/M program" means the
				 Rhode Island Motor Vehicle Inspection/Maintenance Program.
29. "Rhode Island I/M program manager" means
				 a person, business firm, partnership, or corporation with whom the Department
				 has a contract that provides for the establishment and operation of the Rhode
				 Island Motor Vehicle Inspection/Maintenance Program.
30. "Remote sensing device" is a device which
				 directs an infra-red or laser beam across a lane of traffic to instantly detect
				 and read the concentrations of pollutants in a vehicle's exhaust.
31. "Safety and emission inspection program"
				 means an enhanced vehicle emission inspection program as defined by the
				 Environmental Protection Agency including, but not limited to, a network of
				 computerized emission analyzers, on-road testing, and inspection of vehicle
				 safety devices through an inspection program.
32. "Tampering" means the removal,
				 disconnection, or rendering inoperative a safety or emission control
				 device.
33. "Test" and "testing"
				 mean the use of analyzers and diagnostic equipment as appropriate and the
				 application of techniques, methods policies and procedures established or
				 approved by the Department for the purpose of comparing emission levels and/or
				 operating systems in vehicles to regulatory safety and emission
				 standards.
34. "Vehicle
				 identification number" and "VIN" means a combination of letters and numbers a
				 vehicle manufacturer assigns to a vehicle for identification
				 purposes.
35. "Waiver certificate"
				 means a written document, instrument or device indicating the requirement of
				 compliance with the standards and criteria for the Rhode Island I/M Program
				 inspection for a particular motor vehicle has been waived.
36. "Waiver inspector" means a Department
				 employee or designee who reviews, issues and audits waiver requests.
37. "Year" means a calendar year.