THE 1968 UNIFORM VEHICLE CODE 465

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of a driver who damages unattended property - he must locate and tell the owner or attach a note and notify the police . Chapter II ( Rules of the Road ) will be discussed later , in considerable detail .

Chapters 12 and 13 cover equipment and inspection . Equip ment revisions include a requirement that lights be in use when visibility is reduced to 1 , 000 feet rather than to 500 feet , a recodi fication of requirements for motorcycles , and regulations concerning the use of vehicular hazard warning signals on trucks and buses . New provisions were added on safety belts ( seat and shoulder ) , television , and safety glass in campers . A particularly significant revision would provide for adoption of the Department of Trans portation ' s Hazardous Materials Regulations in each state and would penalize transportation of such materials in violation of those regulations . The effect on state motor vehicle and equipment laws of the Motor Vehicle Safety Standards issued under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act is also a subject covered in footnotes that were added to UVC , Chapter 12 , in 1968 . 4 As to UVC , Chapter 13 , on inspection , sections relating to on - highway inspections by police officers and to periodic inspection of all registered vehicles at stations were revised extensively to reflect state experience and improve the equitable , reasonable , and efficient administration of programs designed to foster the main tenance of vehicles in a safe operating condition .

Chapter 14 contains restrictions on the size , weight , and load of vehicles . Revisions approved in 1968 include increasing the maximum height to 1312 feet , increasing the length of a combination of two vehicles to 55 feet , and a new provision which authorizes combinations of three vehicles up to 65 feet in length on highways where it has been determined that such combinations can be op erated safely .

The most significant changes in Chapter 15 on the respective powers of state and local governments involve the role of municipal traffic ordinances . Prior to 1968 , the Uniform Vehicle Code provided

4 . 80 Stat . 718 ( 1966 ) , 15 USC $ $ 1381 - 1425 ( Supp . III , 1968 ) , provides authority for regulating equipment and design features of vehicles . Pursuant to this authority , Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards have been issued by the United States Depart ment of Transportation that are applicable to vehicles made after January 1 , 1968 . See 49 Code of Federal Regulations , Part 371 , as added by 33 Federal Register , 19700 , 19703 - 25 ( December 25 , 1968 ) .