Idaho Code
Idaho Code

Idaho Code § 49-102 (2026)

Definitions — A. 

✓ current as of May 2026
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Definitions — A. 

(1) "Abandon" means to leave a vehicle on private property without the permission of the person having rights to the possession of the property, or on a highway or other property open to the public for the purposes of vehicular traffic or parking, or on or within the right-of-way of any highway, for twenty-four (24) hours or longer.

(2)  "Abandoned vehicle" means any vehicle observed by an authorized officer or reported by a member of the public to have been left within the limits of any highway or on the property of another without the consent of the property owner for a period of twenty-four (24) hours or longer, except that a vehicle shall not be considered abandoned if its owner-operator is unable to remove it from the place where it is located and has notified a law enforcement agency and requested assistance.
(3)  "Accident" means any event that results in an unintended injury or property damage attributable directly or indirectly to the motion of a motor vehicle or its load, a snowmobile or special mobile equipment.
(4)  "Actual physical control" means being in the driver’s position of a motor vehicle with the motor running or the vehicle moving.
(5)  "Administrator" means the federal highway administrator, the chief executive of the federal highway administration, an agency within the U.S. department of transportation.
(6)  "Age of a motor vehicle" means the age determined by subtracting the manufacturer’s year designation of the vehicle from the year in which the designated registration fee is paid. If the vehicle has the same manufacturer’s year designation as the year in which the fee is paid, or if a vehicle has a manufacturer’s year designation later than the year in which the fee is paid, the vehicle shall be deemed to be one (1) year old.
(7)  "Agricultural products" means the following unprocessed products:
(a)  Agricultural, horticultural, floricultural and viticultural products;
(b)  Fruits and vegetable products;
(c)  Field grains, seeds, hay, sod and nursery stock, and other plants, plant products, plant by-products, plant waste and plant compost;
(d)  Livestock, dairy animals, swine, furbearing animals, poultry, eggs, fish and other aquatic species;
(e)  Other animals, animal products and animal by-products, animal waste and animal compost; and
(f)  Bees, bee products and bee by-products.
(8)  "Air-conditioning equipment" means mechanical vapor compression refrigeration equipment that is used to cool the driver’s or passenger’s compartment of any motor vehicle.
(9)  "Alcohol" or "alcoholic beverage" means:
(a)  Beer as defined in 26 U.S.C. 5052(a), of the Internal Revenue Code;
(b)  Wine of not less than one-half of a percent (0.5%) of alcohol by volume; or
(c)  Distilled spirits as defined in 26 U.S.C. 5002(a)(8), of the Internal Revenue Code.
(10)  "Alley" means a public way of limited use intended only to provide access to the rear or side of lots or buildings in urban districts.
(11) "All-terrain vehicle" or "ATV" means an all-terrain vehicle or ATV as defined in section 67-7101, Idaho Code.
(12) "Amateur radio operator." (See "Radio operator, amateur," section 49-119, Idaho Code)
(13) "Ambulance" means a motor vehicle designed and used primarily for the transportation of injured, sick, or deceased persons on stretchers, cots, beds, or other devices for carrying persons in a prone position.
(14) "Applicant" means an individual who applies to obtain, transfer, upgrade, or renew a driver’s license.
(15) "Approved driver training course" means a training course from a school licensed under the provisions of chapter 54, title 54, Idaho Code, or a driver training course approved by another United States jurisdiction, provided the course was taken while an individual was a resident of that United States jurisdiction.
(16) "Approved testing agency" means a person, firm, association, partnership or corporation approved by the director of the Idaho state police that is:
(a)  In the business of testing equipment and systems;
(b)  Recognized by the director as being qualified and equipped to do experimental testing; and
(c)  Not under the jurisdiction or control of any single manufacturer or supplier for an affected industry.
(17) "Armed forces" means the army, navy, marine corps, coast guard, space force, and the air force of the United States.
(18) "Authorized emergency vehicle." (See "Vehicle," section 49-123, Idaho Code)
(19) "Authorized officer" means any member of the Idaho state police, or any regularly employed and salaried deputy sheriff, or other county employee designated to perform the function of removing abandoned vehicles or junk vehicles by the board of county commissioners of the county in which a vehicle is located, or any regularly employed and salaried city peace officer or other city employee designated to perform the function of removing abandoned vehicles or junk vehicles by the city council, or a qualified person deputized or appointed by the proper authority as reserve deputy sheriff or city policeman, authorized within the jurisdiction in which the abandoned vehicle or junk vehicle is located.
(20) "Authorized transportation department employee" means any employee appointed by the board to perform duties relating to enforcement of vehicle laws as have been specifically defined and approved by order of the board pursuant to section 40-510, Idaho Code.
(21) "Auto transporter" means a vehicle combination constructed for the purpose of transporting vehicles.
(22) "Autocycle" means a motor vehicle designed to travel on not more than three (3) wheels in contact with the ground and that has a steering wheel and seating that does not require the operator to straddle or sit astride.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 7 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1994–2025 · leading case: State v. Knott, 974 P.2d 1105 (Idaho 1999).
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State v. Knott, 974 P.2d 1105 (Idaho 1999). · cites it 3× “§ 49-1401, it is not automatic that the legislature would make use of the same definition in I.”
State v. Smith, 569 P.3d 137 (Idaho 2025). · cites it 2× “See I.C. § 49-102(1), (2). The State’s characterization of our decision as a sweeping restriction is inaccurate and discredits the balance that the opinion strikes between public safety and constitutional protections.”
State v. Shearer, 30 P.3d 995 (Idaho Ct. App. 2001). · cites it 2× “§ 49-106(6) as follows: “Excessive” or “unusual noise” means any sound made by a passenger motor vehicle or a motorcycle at any time under any condition of grade, speed, acceleration or deceleration, which exceeds ninety-two (92) decibels, or any lower decibel level that is…”
State v. Gibson, 881 P.2d 551 (Idaho Ct. App. 1994). · cites it 2× “First, the statutory definitions in I.C. §§ 49-102 to -127 are to be exclusively applied to words and phrases used in Title 49.”
State v. Hinders (Idaho Ct. App. 2018). · cites it 2× “Hinders entered a conditional guilty plea to the charges, reserving his right to appeal the denial of his motion to suppress. The district court withheld judgment and placed Hinders on probation for a period of two years.”
Heath v. Denny's Wrecker Serv., Inc. (Idaho 2024). · cites it 2× “Unauthorized vehicles need not meet the provision of section 49-102(2), Idaho Code, in this instance.”
Derek Thomas v. Cassia Cnty. (9th Cir. 2022). “, see Idaho Code § 49-102 (3) (defining “Accident”).”
— Idaho Code § 49-102(1) — 2 cases
State v. Smith, 569 P.3d 137 (Idaho 2025). “See I.C. § 49-102(1), (2). The State’s characterization of our decision as a sweeping restriction is inaccurate and discredits the balance that the opinion strikes between public safety and constitutional protections.”
State v. Hinders (Idaho Ct. App. 2018). “Hinders entered a conditional guilty plea to the charges, reserving his right to appeal the denial of his motion to suppress. The district court withheld judgment and placed Hinders on probation for a period of two years.”
— Idaho Code § 49-102(2) — 1 case
Heath v. Denny's Wrecker Serv., Inc. (Idaho 2024). “Unauthorized vehicles need not meet the provision of section 49-102(2), Idaho Code, in this instance.”
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