Court Opinion

ID: 9688800
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 18:06:13.583014+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:18:42.348527
License: Public Domain

*425Gribbs, J.
(dissenting). I respectfully dissent. First, I do not agree with the majority’s suggestion that the panel in Calladine v Hyster Co, 155 Mich App 175; 399 NW2d 404 (1986), read into the statute a meaning not intended by the Legislature. As noted in Calladine, p 181, the Legislature evidently intended the statute to "deal primarily with injuries occasioned by automobiles.” See Frazier v Rumisek, 358 Mich 455, 457; 100 NW2d 442 (1960).
It appears to me that the tractor in this case is far closer to being a "vehicle” than the forklift at issue in Calladine. Unlike the forklift in Calladine, the tractor in this case had headlights, seat belts, a windshield, flashers, and rearview mirrors. Moreover, unlike the forklift in Calladine, the tractor in this case had been driven on a highway, though apparently only for needed repairs.
Even so, the tractor in this case lacks many of the equipment features required by the Vehicle Code. The headlights are not a proper distance from the ground, MCL 257.685(c); MSA 9.2385(c). The tractor has no turn signals, MCL 257.697a; MSA 9.2397(1), hazard lights, MCL 257.698a; MSA 9.2398(1), or sideview mirrors, MCL 257.708; MSA 9.2408. It was not registered. For at least the past seventeen years, the tractor had been operated on the premises of the shopping mall where the injury occurred, not on the public highway.
In addition, even if the tractor in this case is a "vehicle,” it clearly was not designed for highway use and it is, therefore, not a "motor vehicle” under the Vehicle Code unless it was actually being operated on a highway at the time of the accident. Jones v Cloverdale Equipment Co, 165 Mich App 511, 514; 419 NW2d 11 (1987). See also DAIIE v Spafford, 76 Mich App 85, 89; 255 NW2d 780 (1977). It is undisputed that the accident in *426this case occurred in the parking lot of a shopping mall, not on a highway.
As noted previously, this is not a case where the tractor at issue is lacking a single headlight or some other solitary feature required by the Vehicle Code. In this case, in addition to lacking the most basic safety equipment, the tractor has no speedometer, is only capable of speeds up to twenty-five miles an hour, and cannot be operated on a public highway without special safety precautions. See, e.g., MCL 257.688; MSA 9.2388. Indeed, on the few occasions this tractor was operated on a public highway, it was operated with a vehicle following it. MCL 257.686(4)(b); MSA 9.2386(4)(b). In light of these facts, it cannot be seriously argued that the tractor in this case was designed for highway use.
Because the tractor in this case was not designed for highway use and was not being operated on a highway when William Mull was injured, it cannot be considered a "motor vehicle” as that term is used in the owner’s liability statute. Id.; MCL 257.33; MSA 9.1833. Accordingly, I would reverse.