Assembly Bill No. 77–Assemblymen Angle, Gustavson, Andonov, Beers, Brown, Claborn, Collins, Geddes, Gibbons, Goicoechea, Grady, Griffin, Hardy, Hettrick, Knecht, Mabey, McCleary, Mortenson, Ohrenschall, Sherer and Weber

 

Joint Sponsor: Senator Shaffer

 

CHAPTER..........

 

AN ACT relating to motorcycles; authorizing certain inserts in tail lamps; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN

SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

 

    Section 1.  NRS 484.551 is hereby amended to read as follows:

    484.551  1.  Except as otherwise provided in this chapter[,]

and NRS 486.261, every motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer and any

vehicle which is being drawn at the end of a train of vehicles must

be equipped with at least two tail lamps mounted on the rear, which,

when lighted as required by this chapter, emit a red light plainly

visible from a distance of 500 feet to the rear, except that vehicles

manufactured before July 1, 1969, must have at least one tail lamp if

they were originally equipped with only one tail lamp.

    2.  Only the tail lamp on the rearmost vehicle of a train of

vehicles need actually be seen from the distance specified.

    3.  On vehicles equipped with more than one tail lamp, the

lamps must be mounted on the same level, as widely spaced

laterally as practicable and at a height of not more than 72 inches

nor less than 15 inches.

    4.  Every passenger car, bus and truck under 80 inches in

overall width must be equipped with a lamp so constructed and

placed as to illuminate with a white light the rear registration or

license plate and render it clearly legible from a distance of 50 feet

to the rear.

    5.  All such lamps must be wired to be lighted whenever the

head lamps or auxiliary driving lamps are lighted.

    6.  The provisions of this section do not apply to towable tools

or equipment which is being towed during the hours of daylight.

    Sec. 2.  NRS 484.563 is hereby amended to read as follows:

    484.563  1.  Front clearance lamps, identification lamps and

those marker lamps and reflectors mounted on the front or on the

side near the front of a vehicle [shall] must display or reflect an

amber color.

    2.  Rear clearance lamps, identification lamps and those marker

lamps and reflectors mounted on the rear or on the sides near the

rear of a vehicle [shall] must display or reflect a red color.

    3.  All lighting devices and reflectors mounted on the rear of

any vehicle [shall] must display or reflect a red color, except that:

    (a) The stoplight or other signal device may be red, amber or

yellow.

    (b) The light illuminating the license plate [shall] must be white.

    (c) The light emitted by a backup lamp [shall] must be white or

amber.

    (d) The tail lamp on a motorcycle may contain a blue insert as

authorized in NRS 486.261.

    Sec. 3.  NRS 484.787 is hereby amended to read as follows:

    484.787  1.  Except as otherwise provided in NRS 484.789,

authorized emergency vehicles are vehicles publicly owned and

operated in the performance of the duty of:

    (a) A police or fire department.

    (b) A sheriff’s office.

    (c) The Nevada Highway Patrol.

    (d) The Division of Forestry of the State Department of

Conservation and Natural Resources in responding to a fire.

    (e) A public ambulance agency.

    (f) A public lifeguard or lifesaving agency.

    2.  A vehicle publicly maintained in whole or in part by the

State, or by a city or county, and privately owned and operated by a

regularly salaried member of a police department, sheriff’s office or

traffic law enforcement department, is an authorized emergency

vehicle if:

    (a) The vehicle has a permit, pursuant to NRS 484.789, from the

Department;

    (b) The person operates the vehicle in responding to emergency

calls or fire alarms, or at the request of the Nevada Highway Patrol

or in the pursuit of actual or suspected violators of the law; and

    (c) The State, county or city does not furnish a publicly owned

vehicle for the purposes stated in paragraph (b).

    3.  Every authorized emergency vehicle must be equipped with

at least one flashing red warning lamp visible from the front and a

siren for use as provided in this chapter, which lamp and siren must

be in compliance with standards approved by the Department. In

addition, an authorized emergency vehicle may display revolving,

flashing or steady red or blue warning lights to the front, sides or

rear of the vehicle.

    4.  An authorized emergency vehicle may be equipped with a

system or device that causes the upper-beam head lamps of the

vehicle to continue to flash alternately while the system or device is

activated. The driver of a vehicle that is so equipped may use the

system or device when responding to an emergency call or fire

alarm, while escorting a funeral procession, or when in pursuit of an

actual or suspected violator of the law. As used in this subsection,

“upper-beam head lamp” means a head lamp or that part of a head

lamp which projects a distribution of light or composite beam

meeting the requirements of subsection 1 of NRS 484.587.

    5.  Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4, a person shall

not operate a motor vehicle with any system or device that causes

the head lamps of the vehicle to continue to flash alternately or

simultaneously while the system or device is activated. This

subsection does not prohibit the operation of a motorcycle equipped

with any system or device that modulates the intensity of light

produced by the head lamp of the motorcycle, if the system or

device is used only during daylight hours and conforms to the

requirements of 49 C.F.R. § 571.108.

    6.  A person shall not operate a vehicle with any lamp or device

displaying a red light visible from directly in front of the center of

the vehicle except an authorized emergency vehicle, a school bus or

an official vehicle of a regulatory agency.

    7.  A person shall not operate a vehicle with any lamp or device

displaying a blue light, except a motorcycle pursuant to NRS

486.261 or an authorized emergency vehicle.

    Sec. 4.  NRS 486.261 is hereby amended to read as follows:

    486.261  1.  [Every] Except as otherwise provided in

subsection 3, every motorcycle or moped must be equipped with at

least one tail lamp mounted on the rear, which, when lighted as

required by NRS 486.011 to 486.381, inclusive, emits a red light

plainly visible from a distance of 500 feet to the rear.

    2.  The tail lamp must be wired to be lighted whenever the head

lamp is lighted.

    3.  The tail lamp on a motorcycle may contain a blue insert

that does not exceed 1 inch in diameter.

 

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