(a) The commissioner may register any vehicle operated upon any public highway as special mobile equipment as defined in section 14-165 and may issue a special number plate which shall be displayed in a conspicuous place at the rear of such vehicle. The commissioner may issue a registration containing any limitation on the operation of any such vehicle which the commissioner deems necessary for its safe operation, provided such vehicle's movement on a highway shall be restricted from its place of storage to the construction site or from one construction site to another. No such vehicle shall be operated upon or across any highway during the times when lights are required as specified in section 14-96a unless it displays the lighted lamps required by sections 14-96b and 14-96c. Such vehicle shall not be used for the transportation of passengers or a payload when operating upon a highway, except that while operating on a highway construction project or on a construction project of any kind which requires the crossing of a highway, such vehicle may carry passengers or a payload to the extent required by the project. A vehicle registered as special mobile equipment shall be exempt from the equipment requirements specified in sections 14-80 to 14-106, inclusive. The commissioner may require that a vehicle for which an application for special mobile equipment registration is submitted pass an inspection prior to the issuance of such registration and at such times as the commissioner deems necessary for the safe operation of such equipment. The commissioner shall charge an annual fee for such registration equal to one-half of the commercial registration fee for a vehicle having the same gross weight.

(b) The commissioner may register any vehicle operated upon any public highway as a special mobile agriculture vehicle, as defined in section 14-165, and may issue a special number plate which shall be displayed in a conspicuous place at the rear of such vehicle. The commissioner may issue a registration containing any limitation on the operation of any such vehicle which he deems necessary for its safe operation, provided such vehicle's operation upon or across a highway shall be restricted as follows: (1) To or from its place of storage, (2) to or from an agriculture location, or (3) from one agriculture location to another. No such vehicle shall be operated upon or across any highway during any time when lights are required pursuant to section 14-96a. Such vehicle shall not be used for the transportation of passengers when operating upon or across a highway. A vehicle registered as a special mobile agriculture vehicle shall be exempt from the equipment requirements set forth in sections 14-80 to 14-106, inclusive, and the provisions of section 14-262. The commissioner may require any vehicle, for which an application for registration as a special mobile agriculture vehicle is submitted, to pass an inspection prior to the issuance of such registration and at such times as he deems necessary for the safe operation of such vehicle. The commissioner shall charge an annual fee of four hundred dollars for the registration of such vehicle.

(P.A. 83-431, S. 1; P.A. 84-546, S. 39, 173; P.A. 08-150, S. 27; P.A. 10-32, S. 48.)

History: P.A. 84-546 made technical changes; P.A. 08-150 designated existing provisions as Subsec. (a) and added Subsec. (b) re registration of special mobile agriculture vehicles, effective June 12, 2008; P.A. 10-32 made technical changes in Subsec. (a), effective May 10, 2010.

Cited. 41 CS 326.