A. No person shall be required to obtain the registration certificate, license plates, or decals for or pay a registration fee for any forklift truck provided it is:
1. Operated by a person holding a valid Virginia driver's license;
2. Operated along or across highways only in traveling from one plant, factory, or job site to another by the most direct route;
3. Not carrying or transporting any object or person, other than the driver;
4. Displaying a slow-moving vehicle emblem in conformity with § 46.2-1081;
5. In compliance with requirements of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration;
6. Not operated on or along any limited access highway; and
7. Not operated for a distance of more than ten miles.
B. For the purposes of this section, "forklift truck" means a self-propelled machine used for hoisting and transporting heavy objects by means of steel fingers inserted under the load.
1973, c. 194, § 46.1-45.2; 1980, c. 37; 1986, c. 220; 1987, cc. 151, 342, 388; 1989, c. 727; 2016, c. 142.