Illinois Administrative Code
Title 92 - TRANSPORTATION
Part 438 - INSPECTION PROCEDURES FOR SPECIAL VEHICLES
Section 438.20 - Definitions
"Ambulance" means any publicly or privately owned vehicle that is specifically designed, constructed or modified and equipped, and is intended to be used for, and is maintained or operated for, the emergency transportation of persons who are sick, injured, wounded or otherwise incapacitated or helpless. (IVC Section 1-102.01)
"Bead" means that part of the tire usually made of steel wires, rubber and ply cords that are shaped to fit the rim.
"Bottom of the Tread Groove" means the portions of a tread groove nearest the carcass.
"Bumper" means any device or system of devices protruding from and attached to the front and rear of a motor vehicle that has been designed to be used to absorb the impact of a collision. For the purposes of this Part, a bumper also includes a device or system of devices similar in design to those with which new motor vehicles are equipped. (IVC Section 1-106.5)
"Bus" or "Motor Bus" means every motor vehicle, other than a commuter van, designed for carrying more than 10 persons, including the driver. (IVC Section 1-107)
"Carcass" means the tire structure, except the tread and the portion of sidewall rubber outside the cords.
"Charitable Vehicle" or "Religious Organization Bus" means any vehicle that is exclusively owned and operated by a religious or charitable not-for-profit organization and is used primarily in conducting the official activities of the organization. (See IVC Section 1-111.1a.)
"Circumference of the Tire" or "Tire Circumference" means a closed line around the tire perimeter that lies approximately in a plane perpendicular to the axis about which the tire rotates when in use.
"Code" or "IVC" means the Illinois Vehicle Code [625 ILCS 5 ].
"Commuter Van" means a motor vehicle designed for the transportation of not less than 7 nor more than 16 passengers, that is:
used in a ridesharing arrangement; or
owned or leased by or on behalf of a company or an employee organization and operated on a non-profit basis with the primary purpose of transporting employees of the company between the employees' homes and the company's place of business or a public transportation station and in which the operating, administrative, maintenance and reasonable depreciation costs are paid principally by the persons utilizing the commuter van. (IVC Section 1-111.9)
"Contour Type Splash Guard" means rear fender splash guards that contour the wheel. The splash guard shall have a lip or flange on its outside edge to minimize side throw and splash. The lip or flange shall extend toward the center of the wheel, and shall be perpendicular to and extend not less than 2 inches below the inside or bottom surface line or plane of the guard. These contour type splash guards may be constructed of either a rigid or flexible material, but shall be attached in such a manner that, regardless of movement either by the splash guards or the vehicle, the splash guards will retain their general parallel relationship to the tread surface of the tire or wheel under all ordinary operating conditions. (See Section 12-710(a) of the Illinois Vehicle Equipment Law for a more detailed description.)
"Contract Carrier" means a vehicle designed to carry 15 or fewer passengers that is owned by a third party company that is contracted to transport employees of another company in the course of their employment.
"Cord" means a filament or strand of nonrubbery material woven with others or laid parallel with others to form a layer or ply in a tire carcass.
"Department" meanstheDepartment of Transportation of the State of Illinois, acting directly or through its duly authorized officers and agents. (IVC Section 1-115.05)
"Exhaust System" means the manifold and piping leading from the exhaust ports of the engine to and including the muffler, resonator and tail piping. The exhaust system includes each component used to conduct exhaust from an engine exhaust port to an authorized exit point, including each sealing, connecting and supporting component.
"First Division Vehicle" means those motor vehicles that are designed for the carrying of not more than 10 persons, including the driver. (IVC Section 1-217)
"Flap type splash guard" means rear fender splash guards that are wide enough to cover the full tread width of the tire or tires being protected. They shall be so installed that they extend from the underside of the vehicle in a vertical plane behind the rear wheels to within 12 inches of the ground when the vehicle is loaded to maximum legal capacity. Flap type splash guards may be constructed of either a rigid or flexible material. (See Section 12-710(b) of the Illinois Vehicle Equipment Law for a more detailed description.)
"FMVSS" means the rules and standards set forth in 49 CFR 571 and known as the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.
"Fuel Storage and Delivery System" means the fuel tank, fuel pump and necessary piping to carry the fuel from the tank to the fuel intake system.
"Gross Vehicle Weight Rating" or "GVWR" means the value specified by the manufacturer as the loaded weight of the vehicle. (See IVC Section 1-124.5.) (The vehicle's GVWR is located on the federal certification label affixed to the vehicle by the manufacturer.)
"Highway" means the entire width between the boundary lines of every way publicly maintained when any part thereof is open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel or located on public school property. (IVC Section 1-129)
"Illinois Vehicle Equipment Law" means 625 ILCS 5 /Ch. 12.
"Interstate" or "Interstate Commerce" means transportation between 2 or more states or transportation originating in one state and passing into or through other states for delivery in another state, and that is not intrastate. (IVC Section 1-133)
"Intrastate" or "Intrastate Commerce" means transportation originating at any point or place within this State and destined to any other point or place within this State, irrespective of the route, highway or highways traversed, and including transportation that passes into or through another state before delivery is made within this State, and including any act of transportation that includes or completes a pickup within Illinois for delivery within Illinois. (IVC Section 1-134)
"Limousine" means any privately owned First Division vehicle intended to be used for the transportation of persons for-hire when the payment is not based on a meter charge, but is prearranged for a designated destination. (IVC Section 1-139.1)
"Medical Carrier" means any publicly or privately owned vehicle that is specifically designed, constructed or modified and equipped, and is intended to be used for, and is maintained or operated for, the nonemergency transportation of persons for compensation for the purpose of obtained medical services. (IVC Section 1-142.1)
"Medical Transport Vehicle" includes ambulances, medical carriers and rescue vehicles. (IVC Section 1-142.2)
"Motorcycle" means every motor vehicle having a seat or saddle for the use of the rider and designed to travel on not more than 3 wheels in contact with the ground, but excluding an autocycle or tractor. (IVC Section 1-147)
"Multifunction School Activity Bus" or "MFSAB" means a school bus manufactured for the purpose of transporting 11 or more persons, including the driver, whose purposes do not include transporting students to and from home or school bus stops. An MFSAB is prohibited from meeting the special requirements for school buses in IVC Sections 12-801, 12-802(a), 12-803 and 12-805. (IVC Section 1-148.3a5)
"Ply" means a layer of rubber-coated parallel or woven cords, including those laid under a tread in the form of a circumferential belt.
"Recut" or "Regroove" means the deliberate deepening of existing tread grooves or tread wear indicators by cutting, burning or other means or the deliberate forming (by cutting, burning or other means) of a groove or grooves other than the groove molded by the tire manufacturer or retreader.
"Rescue Vehicle" means any publicly or privately owned vehicle that is specifically designed, configured and equipped for the performance of access and extrication of persons from hazardous or life-endangering situations, as well as for the emergency transportation of persons who are sick, injured, wounded or otherwise incapacitated or helpless. (IVC Section 1-171.8)
"Rim" means the metal that supports a tire and that is located between the tire and either the wheel disc or the wheel spokes when on a road wheel. The rim may be integral with, permanently or temporarily attached to, or separate from the wheel.
"Second Division Vehicle" means those motor vehicles that:
are designed for carrying more than 10 persons;
are designed or used for living quarters;
are designed for pulling or carrying property, freight or cargo;
are of the First Division remodelled for use and used as motor vehicles of the Second Division; and
are of the First Division used and registered as school buses. (IVC Section 1-217)
"Separation" means a parting or pulling away from the adjacent portion of the tire material or carcass.
"Sidewall" means the portion of a tire between tread and bead.
"Special Vehicles" means those vehicles listed in Section 438.10.
"Tandem Axles" means any two or more single axles whose centers are more than 40" and not more than 96" apart, measured to the nearest inch between extreme axles in the series, except as provided in IVC Section 15-111 for special hauling vehicles. (IVC Section 1-204.3)
"Tie Bar" means rubber that is molded across a tread groove and braces or stabilizes adjacent tread elements.
"Tow Truck" means every truck designed or altered and equipped for and used to push, tow, carry upon or draw vehicles by means of a crane, hoist, towbar, towline or auxiliary axle, or carried upon to render assistance to disabled vehicles, except for any truck tractor temporarily converted to a tow truck by means of a portable wrecker unit attached to the fifth wheel of the truck tractor and used only by the owner to tow a disabled vehicle also owned by him or her and never used for hire. (IVC Section 1-205.1)
"Tread" means the thickness of the tire rubber that is located outside the carcass and that normally comes into contact with the roadway as the inflated tire wears during use.
"Tread Element" means a distinct portion of the tread (such as a rib, lug or knob) that comes into contact with the surface of a smooth, paved road while the properly inflated tire carries its normal service load.
"Tread Groove" means an elongated void area in a tread that may extend circumferentially or laterally about the tread in a straight, curved or zigzag manner.
"Tread Groove Depth" means the shortest distance from a plane in tangential contact with two adjacent tread elements to the bottom of the tread groove that is located between the adjacent tread elements.
"Tread Wear Indicator" means a molded hump that stands 2/32" above the bottom of a tread groove.
"Truck" means every motor vehicle designed, used or maintained primarily for the transportation of property. (IVC Section 1-211)
"Vehicle" means every device, in, upon or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway or requiring a certificate of title under IVC Section 3-101(d), except devices moved by human power, devices used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks, and snowmobiles as defined in the Snowmobile Registration and Safety Act [625 ILCS 40 ].
For the purposes of this Part, unless otherwise prescribed, a device shall be considered to be a vehicle until such time it either comes within the definition of a junk vehicle, as defined in IVC Section 1-134.1, or a junking certificate is issued for it.
For this Part, vehicles are divided into two divisions:
First Division: Those motor vehicles that are designed for the carrying of not more than 10 persons.
Second Division: Those vehicles that are:
designed for carrying more than 10 persons;
designed or used for living quarters;
designed for pulling or carrying property, freight or cargo;
of the First Division remodelled for use and used as motor vehicles of the Second Division; and
of the First Division used and registered as school buses. (IVC Section 1-217)
"Wheelchair Securement Anchorages" means the provision for transferring wheelchair securement loads to the vehicle structure; commonly referred to as fastening devices. (See 49 CFR 571.222.)
"Wheelchair Securement Device" means a strap, webbing or other device used for securing a wheelchair to the vehicle, including all necessary buckles and other fasteners. (See 49 CFR 571.222.)
