Terms Used In Montana Code > Title 61 > Chapter 8 > Part 2 - Traffic Control Devices

• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Authorized emergency vehicle: means a vehicle of a governmental fire agency organized under Title 7, chapter 33, an ambulance, or an emergency vehicle designated or authorized by the department. See Montana Code 61-8-102
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Crosswalk: means :

  (i)that part of a roadway at an intersection included within the connections of the lateral lines of the sidewalks on opposite sides of the highway measured from the curbs or, in the absence of curbs, from the edges of the traversable roadway; or

  (ii)any portion of a roadway at an intersection or elsewhere distinctly indicated for pedestrians crossing by lines or other markings on the surface. See Montana Code 61-8-102

• Department: means the department of justice acting directly or through its duly authorized officers or agents. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• Driver: means a person who drives or is in actual physical control of a vehicle. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• Flag person: means a person who directs, controls, or alters the normal flow of vehicular traffic on a street or highway as a result of a vehicular traffic hazard then present on that street or highway. See Montana Code 61-8-102
• Highway: has the meaning provided in 61-1-101, but includes ways that have been or are later dedicated to public use. See Montana Code 61-8-102
• Highway patrol officer: means a state officer authorized to direct or regulate traffic or to make arrests for violations of traffic regulations. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• Intersection: means the area embraced within the prolongation or connection of the lateral curb lines or if there are no curb lines then the lateral boundary lines of the roadways of two highways that join one another at or approximately at right angles or the area within which vehicles traveling on different highways joining at any other angle may come in conflict. See Montana Code 61-8-102
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Local authorities: means every county, municipal, and other local board or body having authority to enact laws relating to traffic under the constitution and laws of this state. See Montana Code 61-8-102
• Motor vehicle: means :

  (i)a vehicle propelled by its own power and designed or used to transport persons or property on the highways of the state;

  (ii)a quadricycle if it is equipped for use on the highways as prescribed in chapter 9; or

  (iii)a golf cart only if it is equipped for use on the highways as prescribed in chapter 9 and is operated pursuant to 61-8-391 or by a person with a low-speed restricted driver's license. See Montana Code 61-1-101

• Official traffic control devices: means all signs, signals, markings, and devices not inconsistent with this title that are placed or erected by authority of a public body or official having jurisdiction for the purpose of regulating, warning, or guiding traffic. See Montana Code 61-8-102
• Operator: means a person who is in actual physical control of a motor vehicle. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• Peace officer: has the meaning as defined in 46-1-202. See Montana Code 1-1-207
• Pedestrian: means any person on foot or any person in a manually or mechanically propelled wheelchair or other low-powered, mechanically propelled vehicle designed specifically for use by a physically disabled person. See Montana Code 61-8-102
• person: means an individual, corporation, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, state agency, local government unit, another state government, the United States, a political subdivision of this or another state, or any other legal or commercial entity. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• Police officer: means an officer authorized to direct or regulate traffic or to make arrests for violations of traffic regulations. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• Police vehicle: means a vehicle used in the service of any law enforcement agency. See Montana Code 61-8-102
• Property: means real and personal property. See Montana Code 1-1-205
• Railroad: means a carrier of persons or property on cars, other than streetcars, operated on stationary rails. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• Right-of-way: means the privilege of the immediate use of the roadway. See Montana Code 61-8-102
• Roadway: means the portion of a highway that is improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel, including the paved shoulder. See Montana Code 61-8-102
• Sidewalk: means the portion of a street that is between the curb lines or the lateral lines of a roadway and the adjacent property lines and that is intended for use by pedestrians. See Montana Code 61-8-102
• State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• Street: means the entire width between the boundary lines of every publicly maintained way when any part of the publicly maintained way is open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• Traffic: means pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars, and other conveyances either singly or together while using any highways for purposes of travel. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• Traffic control signal: means a device, whether manually, electrically, or mechanically operated, by which traffic is alternately directed to stop and to proceed. See Montana Code 61-8-102
• United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• Vehicle: means a device in, on, or by which any person or property may be transported or drawn on a public highway, except devices moved by animal power or used exclusively on stationary rails or tracks. See Montana Code 61-1-101