Section 305.19. Doors, hoods, locks, latches and door handles.

 

(1)  Every door, hood and trunk lid of a motor vehicle shall be maintained in proper working condition and shall be equipped with sufficient hinges and latches so it can be opened and securely closed.

(2)  

(a) Every motor vehicle, except those manufactured with removable doors or without doors, shall be equipped with doors. Open top designed vehicles are not required to have operating doors when the vehicle is operated without a top.

(b) The hood or engine of a vehicle shall have no protrusions that will restrict the driver's view by extending more than 3 inches above a line that extends from the center of the hood at the base of the windshield, forward and parallel with the highway.

(3)  A trunk lid or hatchback may be temporarily secured in an open position when transporting oversized objects that prevent complete lid closure.

(4)  

(a) All door handles on every motor vehicle shall be maintained in proper working order.

(b) Except as provided in subs. (5) and (6) , no person may operate, or allow to be operated, on a highway a motor vehicle on which the door handles installed by the manufacturer of the motor vehicle have been disabled, removed or made inoperative. This paragraph does not apply to replica or street modified vehicles.

(5)  Nothing in this section prohibits the interior door handles of the rear door or side rear doors of authorized emergency vehicles being intentionally made inoperative.

(6)  Nothing in this section prohibits the interior door handles of the rear door or side rear doors of a vehicle being intentionally made inoperative by use of a child security door latch system or other door locking mechanism installed by the manufacturer of the vehicle.

History: Cr. Register, February, 1996, No. 482 , eff. 3-1-96; am. (1) and (2) (b), Register, October, 1997, No. 502 , eff. 11-1-97; CR 01-120 : renum. (4) to be (5) and am., cr. (4) and (6) Register May 2002 No. 557 , eff. 6-1-02.

Note

The vehicles to which this section applies include a vehicle designed to transport at least 6, but not more than 14, passengers in addition to the driver and commonly called a "van." In Wisconsin, a van is registered as an automobile if it is primarily used for the transportation of persons; a van is registered as a truck if it is primarily used for the transportation of property. Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1