Mich. Comp. Laws » Michigan Compiled Laws / Chapter 257 / Act 300 of 1949
Michigan Compiled Laws

Mich. Comp. Laws § 257.705 (2026)

Brake equipment.

✓ current as of July 2026
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MICHIGAN VEHICLE CODE


Act 300 of 1949


257.705 Brake equipment.

Sec. 705.

    (1) Brake equipment shall be required as follows:

    (a) A motor vehicle, other than a motorcycle or moped, and a low-speed vehicle when operated upon a highway shall be equipped with brakes adequate to control the movement of and to stop and hold the vehicle, including 2 separate means of applying the brakes, each of which means shall be effective to apply the brakes to at least 2 wheels. If these 2 separate means of applying the brakes are connected in any way, they shall be constructed in a way that failure of 1 part of the operating mechanism shall not leave the motor vehicle without brakes on at least 2 wheels.

    (b) A motorcycle or moped when operated upon a highway shall be equipped with at least 2 brakes, 1 on the front wheel and 1 on the rear wheel, that may be operated by hand or foot.

    (c) A trailer or semitrailer of a gross weight of 15,001 pounds or more when operated upon a highway shall be equipped with brakes operating on all wheels and designed to be applied by the driver of the towing motor vehicle from its cab.

    (d) A new motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer sold in this state and operated upon the highways shall be equipped with brakes on all wheels, except a motorcycle or moped, and except that a semitrailer, pole trailer, or trailer of less than 3,000 pounds gross weight need not be equipped with brakes if the gross weight of a trailer or pole trailer, no part of the load of which rests upon the towing vehicle, does not exceed 40% of the gross weight of the towing vehicle, and if the gross weight of the towing vehicle and the gross weight of a semitrailer or pole trailer, part of the load of which rests upon the towing vehicle, does not exceed 40% of the gross weight of the towing vehicle when connected to the semitrailer or pole trailer. This subdivision does not apply to a trailer or semitrailer owned by a farmer and used exclusively in connection with the farming operations of the farmer and not used for hire.

    (e) Every bus, school bus, truck, or truck tractor shall be equipped with brakes operating on all wheels, except that a truck or truck tractor that has 3 or more axles need not have brakes on the front wheels if the vehicle was manufactured before July 25, 1980.

    (f) In any combination of motor driven vehicles, means shall be provided for applying the rearmost trailer brakes, for a trailer equipped with brakes, in approximate synchronism with the brakes on the towing vehicle and developing the required braking effort on the rearmost wheels at the fastest rate; or means shall be provided for applying braking effort first on the rearmost trailer equipped with brakes; or both of the above means capable of being used alternatively may be employed.

    (g) A motor vehicle and combination of vehicles, except pole trailers, motorcycles, and mopeds, shall be equipped with parking brakes adequate to hold the vehicle on any grade on which it is operated, under all conditions of loading on a surface free from snow, ice, or loose material. The parking brakes shall be capable of being applied in conformance with the foregoing requirements by the driver's muscular effort or by spring action or by equivalent means. Their operation may be assisted by the service brakes or other source of power if failure of the service brake actuation system or other power assisting mechanism will not prevent the parking brakes from being applied in conformance with the foregoing requirements. The parking brakes shall be designed in a manner that when once applied they shall remain applied with the required effectiveness despite exhaustion of any source of energy or leakage of any kind. The same brake drums, brake shoes, and lining assemblies, brake shoe anchors, and mechanical brake shoe actuation mechanism normally associated with the wheel brake assemblies may be used for both the service brakes and the parking brakes. If the means of applying the parking brakes and the service brakes are connected in any way, they shall be constructed in a manner that failure of 1 part shall not leave the vehicle without operative brakes.

    (h) The brake shoes operating within or upon the drums of the vehicle wheels of a motor vehicle may be used for both service and hand operation.

    (2) A motor vehicle or combination of motor-drawn vehicles shall be capable at all times and under all conditions of loading, of being stopped on a dry, smooth, level road free from loose material within the distances specified in this subsection, or shall be capable of being decelerated at a sustained rate corresponding to these distances upon initial application of the service (foot) brake.

    

    Feet to stop from 20 miles per hour

    Deceleration in feet per second

    Vehicles or combination of vehicles having brakes on all wheels

    30

    14

    Vehicles or combination of vehicles not having brakes on all wheels

    40

    10.7

    (3) Subsection (2) does not apply to a combination of motor-drawn vehicles under all of the following circumstances:

    (a) The drawn vehicle is an implement of husbandry.

    (b) The motor vehicle hauling the implement of husbandry does not exceed a maximum speed of 25 miles per hour if the implement of husbandry being drawn is not equipped with brakes that meet the standards set forth in 49 CFR 393.40 and this act.

    (c) If the implement of husbandry being drawn does not exceed any other implement or component design maximum speed limitation, the combination of vehicles shall not exceed that maximum speed limitation.

    (4) Nothing in this act or rules promulgated under this act requires a slasher saw table to be equipped with brakes.

    (5) All brakes shall be maintained in good working order and shall be adjusted in a manner as to operate as equally as practicable with respect to the wheels on the opposite side of the vehicle.

    

History: 1949, Act 300, Eff. Sept. 23, 1949 ;-- Am. 1964, Act 29, Imd. Eff. May 1, 1964 ;-- Am. 1969, Act 134, Imd. Eff. June 1, 1970 ;-- Am. 1974, Act 60, Imd. Eff. Apr. 1, 1974 ;-- Am. 1976, Act 439, Imd. Eff. Jan. 13, 1977 ;-- Am. 1988, Act 357, Eff. Apr. 1, 1989 ;-- Am. 1995, Act 91, Imd. Eff. June 20, 1995 ;-- Am. 2000, Act 82, Eff. July 1, 2000 ;-- Am. 2000, Act 214, Imd. Eff. June 27, 2000 ;-- Am. 2011, Act 151, Imd. Eff. Sept. 21, 2011

Compiler's Notes:

    In subsection (2), the second column heading that reads “Deceleration in feet per second” evidently should read “Deceleration in feet per second per second.”

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 14 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1953–2026 · leading case: Farm Bureau Mut. Ins. v. Stark, 468 N.W.2d 498 (Mich. 1991).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Farm Bureau Mut. Ins. v. Stark, 468 N.W.2d 498 (Mich. 1991). · cites it 2× “8 Motor Vehicle Code regulations applicable to mopeds include: MCL 257.705(2); MSA 9.2405(2) (brake requirements); MCL 257.”
Kohn v. Ford Motor Co., 390 N.W.2d 709 (Mich. Ct. App. 1986). · cites it 4× “2383(1), MCL 257.705(c); MSA 9.2405(c). [12] MCL 257.”
People v. Pitts, 564 N.W.2d 93 (Mich. Ct. App. 1997). “2400 (multiple-beam headlights), MCL 257.705; MSA 9.2405 (defective brakes), MCL 257.”
McGuire v. Rabaut, 92 N.W.2d 299 (Mich. 1958). “* OLS 1956, § 257.705 (Stat Ann 1952 Rev § 9.2405). † See Liddy’s “Digital Safety Rule” and booklet “What Every Driver Must Know,” Hare and Richardson (1956 edition).”
Baumann v. Potts, 266 N.W.2d 766 (Mich. Ct. App. 1978). · cites it 2× “On appeal plaintiffs claim first, that the sudden emergency defense should not be extended to excuse violation of the brake equipment statute, MCLA 257.705; MSA 9.2405; second, that, if we do allow the sudden emergency defense to be available in brake failure cases, we should…”
Fire Ins. Exch. v. Fox, 423 N.W.2d 325 (Mich. Ct. App. 1988). “We note that mopeds are included in many Michigan statutes regarding their operation on a highway: MCL 257.705(2)(2); MSA 9.2405(a)(2) (brake requirement when moped is operated upon a highway); MCL 257.”
Sleeman v. Dickinson Cnty. Bd. of Road Commissioners, 155 N.W.2d 262 (Mich. Ct. App. 1967). · cites it 2× “1 GLS 1961, § 257.705(a) (Stat Ann 1965 Cum Supp § 9.”
Bauman v. Grand Trunk W. R.R., 171 N.W.2d 468 (Mich. Ct. App. 1969). · cites it 2× “equipped with brakes as required by MCLA § 257.705(b) (Stat Ann 1968 Rev § 9.”
Winekoff v. Pospisil, 164 N.W.2d 387 (Mich. Ct. App. 1968). · cites it 2× “Rabaut (1958), 354 *296 Mich 230 , these tables, along with statutory braking ability, CLS 1961, § 257.705 2 (Stat Ann 1960 Rev § 9.2405) were used to determine that as a matter of law, the favored driver’s negligence in not looking was not a proximate cause of the collision…”
People of Michigan v. Timothy John Otto (Mich. Ct. App. 2023). · cites it 4× “683(6) (cross-referencing MCL 257.705(1)(a) (providing any motor vehicle operating on a highway “shall be equipped with brakes adequate to control the movement of and to stop and hold the vehicle .”
D People of Michigan v. Timothy John Otto (Mich. Ct. App. 2023). · cites it 3× “MCL 257.705(1)(a) requires that any motor vehicle operating on a highway “shall be equipped with brakes adequate to control the movement of and to stop and hold the vehicle .”
Vandenberg v. Prosek, 56 N.W.2d 227 (Mich. 1953). “There was an immaterial change in wording upon the enactment of PA 1949, ,No 300, § 705 (CL 1948, § 257.705 [Stat Ann 1952 Rev § 9.2405]).”
Show all 14 citing cases →
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 257.705(1)(a) — 2 cases
People of Michigan v. Timothy John Otto (Mich. Ct. App. 2023). “683(6) (cross-referencing MCL 257.705(1)(a) (providing any motor vehicle operating on a highway “shall be equipped with brakes adequate to control the movement of and to stop and hold the vehicle .”
D People of Michigan v. Timothy John Otto (Mich. Ct. App. 2023). “MCL 257.705(1)(a) requires that any motor vehicle operating on a highway “shall be equipped with brakes adequate to control the movement of and to stop and hold the vehicle .”
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 257.705(1)(b) — 1 case
Jonathon Emmendorfer v. Pioneer State Mut. Ins. Co. (Mich. Ct. App. 2020).
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 257.705(1)(c) — 2 cases
People of Michigan v. Timothy John Otto (Mich. Ct. App. 2023). “683(6) (cross-referencing MCL 257.705(1)(a) (providing any motor vehicle operating on a highway “shall be equipped with brakes adequate to control the movement of and to stop and hold the vehicle .”
D People of Michigan v. Timothy John Otto (Mich. Ct. App. 2023). “MCL 257.705(1)(a) requires that any motor vehicle operating on a highway “shall be equipped with brakes adequate to control the movement of and to stop and hold the vehicle .”
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 257.705(2) — 2 cases
Farm Bureau Mut. Ins. v. Stark, 468 N.W.2d 498 (Mich. 1991). “8 Motor Vehicle Code regulations applicable to mopeds include: MCL 257.705(2); MSA 9.2405(2) (brake requirements); MCL 257.”
D People of Michigan v. Timothy John Otto (Mich. Ct. App. 2023). “MCL 257.705(1)(a) requires that any motor vehicle operating on a highway “shall be equipped with brakes adequate to control the movement of and to stop and hold the vehicle .”
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 257.705(2)(2) — 1 case
Fire Ins. Exch. v. Fox, 423 N.W.2d 325 (Mich. Ct. App. 1988). “We note that mopeds are included in many Michigan statutes regarding their operation on a highway: MCL 257.705(2)(2); MSA 9.2405(a)(2) (brake requirement when moped is operated upon a highway); MCL 257.”
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 257.705(a) — 1 case
Sleeman v. Dickinson Cnty. Bd. of Road Commissioners, 155 N.W.2d 262 (Mich. Ct. App. 1967). “1 GLS 1961, § 257.705(a) (Stat Ann 1965 Cum Supp § 9.”
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 257.705(b) — 1 case
Bauman v. Grand Trunk W. R.R., 171 N.W.2d 468 (Mich. Ct. App. 1969). “equipped with brakes as required by MCLA § 257.705(b) (Stat Ann 1968 Rev § 9.”
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 257.705(c) — 2 cases
Kohn v. Ford Motor Co., 390 N.W.2d 709 (Mich. Ct. App. 1986). “2383(1), MCL 257.705(c); MSA 9.2405(c). [12] MCL 257.”
Sleeman v. Dickinson Cnty. Bd. of Road Commissioners, 155 N.W.2d 262 (Mich. Ct. App. 1967). “1 GLS 1961, § 257.705(a) (Stat Ann 1965 Cum Supp § 9.”
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 257.705(l)(a) — 1 case
Farm Bureau Mut. Ins. v. Stark, 468 N.W.2d 498 (Mich. 1991). “8 Motor Vehicle Code regulations applicable to mopeds include: MCL 257.705(2); MSA 9.2405(2) (brake requirements); MCL 257.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.