Delaware General Assembly


CHAPTER 85

FORMERLY

HOUSE BILL NO. 11

AS AMENDED BY

HOUSE AMENDMENT NO. 1

AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 43, TITLE 21 OF THE DELAWARE CODE, RELATING TO BUMPER, FRAME RAIL AND BODY HEIGHTS.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE (Two-thirds of all members elected to each house thereof concurring therein):

Section 1. Amend §4318, Title 21, Delaware Code by striking said section in its entirety and by substituting in lieu thereof the following:

§4318. Bumper, Frame Rail, and Body Heights.

(a) No passenger vehicle or station wagon that is required to be registered under Chapter 21 of this Title shall be registered or operated upon any highway of the State if the bumper height of such vehicle exceeds 22 inches from the ground to the bottom of the bumper, or if the vehicle frame rail is higher than the attached bumper, or if the maximum distance between the vehicle body and vehicle frame rail exceeds three inches.

(b) Vehicles not included in subsection (a) of this section that are required to be registered under Chapter 21 of this Title shall not be registered or operated upon any highway of the State if the bumper height of such vehicle exceeds 30 inches from the ground to the bottom of the bumper, or if the vehicle frame rail is higher than the attached bumper, or if the maximum distance between the vehicle body and vehicle frame rail exceeds three inches.

(c) The following vehicles are exempt from this section: antique motor vehicles registered under §2196 of this Title; authorized emergency vehicles; motor vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or greater; and vehicles registered with farm truck plates (FT tags), as defined in §2113(I) of this title.

(d) Any person found guilty of operating a motor vehicle in violation of this section shall, for the first offense, be fined not less than $50.00 nor more than $115.00 For each subsequent like offense within one year, such person shall be fined not less than $100.00 nor more than $230.00. Measurements made with an over-the-counter measuring device shall be prima-facia evidence of a violation."

Section 2. The effective date of §4318(b) of this Act shall be one year after its enactment into law.

Approved June 23, 1995