(a) Each motor vehicle, other than a motorcycle, shall be equipped, when operated on a highway, with at least two braking systems one of which shall be a service brake system and the other a parking brake system. Each braking system shall have a separate means of application by the operator. Each braking system, including any power assist devices used to reduce operator braking effort, shall be maintained in good working order at all times.

Terms Used In Connecticut General Statutes 14-80h

  • Commissioner: includes the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles and any assistant to the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles who is designated and authorized by, and who is acting for, the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles under a designation. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
  • Highway: includes any state or other public highway, road, street, avenue, alley, driveway, parkway, place or dedicated roadway for bus rapid transit service, under the control of the state or any political subdivision of the state, dedicated, appropriated or opened to public travel or other use. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
  • Motor vehicle: means any vehicle propelled or drawn by any nonmuscular power, except aircraft, motor boats, road rollers, baggage trucks used about railroad stations or other mass transit facilities, electric battery-operated wheel chairs when operated by persons with physical disabilities at speeds not exceeding fifteen miles per hour, golf carts operated on highways solely for the purpose of crossing from one part of the golf course to another, golf-cart-type vehicles operated on roads or highways on the grounds of state institutions by state employees, agricultural tractors, farm implements, such vehicles as run only on rails or tracks, self-propelled snow plows, snow blowers and lawn mowers, when used for the purposes for which they were designed and operated at speeds not exceeding four miles per hour, whether or not the operator rides on or walks behind such equipment, motor-driven cycles, as defined in §. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
  • Motorcycle: means (A) an autocycle, as defined in this section, or (B) a motor vehicle, with or without a side car, that has (i) not more than three wheels in contact with the ground, (ii) a saddle or seat which the rider straddles or a platform on which the rider stands, and (iii) handlebars with which the rider controls the movement of the vehicle. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
  • Operator: means any person who operates a motor vehicle or who steers or directs the course of a motor vehicle being towed by another motor vehicle and includes a driver. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
  • Person: includes any individual, corporation, limited liability company, association, copartnership, company, firm, business trust or other aggregation of individuals but does not include the state or any political subdivision thereof, unless the context clearly states or requires. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
  • Pole trailer: means a trailer which is (A) intended for transporting long or irregularly shaped loads such as poles, logs, pipes or structural members, which loads are capable of sustaining themselves as beams between supporting connections, and (B) designed to be drawn by a motor vehicle and attached or secured directly to the motor vehicle by any means including a reach, pole or boom. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
  • Stop: means complete cessation of movement. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
  • Truck: means a motor vehicle designed, used or maintained primarily for the transportation of property. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
  • truck tractor: means a motor vehicle designed and used for drawing a semitrailer. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
  • Vehicle: includes any device suitable for the conveyance, drawing or other transportation of persons or property, whether operated on wheels, runners, a cushion of air or by any other means. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1

(b) The service brake system, upon actuation by the operator, shall be effective in directly applying braking action on all wheels except as provided in the Code of Federal Regulations Title 49, Section 393.42, as amended. The service brake system employed on vehicles manufactured after January 1, 1968, shall be so designed and constructed that the wheel brakes on at least one axle operate separately from the wheel brakes on at least one other axle in a manner that will provide braking effort on at least two wheels in the event of a failure in any singular part or component of the service brake system, excluding the common actuation pedal or lever and excluding a structural failure of the brake distribution mechanism housing, effectiveness indicator body or other housing common to the divided brake actuation system. The service brakes, upon application by the operator, shall be capable of bringing the motor vehicle to a controlled stop within such distance and under such conditions as prescribed by the commissioner.

(c) The parking brake system, upon actuation by the operator, shall be effective in applying braking action either directly or indirectly on at least two wheels. The parking brake system shall be capable of holding the motor vehicle or combination of vehicles attached thereto stationary under any condition of loading on any upgrade or downgrade on which it is operated.

(d) If the service brake system or the parking brake system are functionally connected in any way, they shall be so constructed that failure of any one part of the operating mechanism shall not leave the motor vehicle without braking ability on at least two wheels.

(e) The commissioner shall not register a motor vehicle unless it is equipped with brakes which are adequate, in his opinion, to safely control the movement of the motor vehicle. The commissioner may make, or cause to be made, regulations or tests in relation to any motor vehicle brakes.

(f) No person may operate any vehicle with a gross vehicle weight or gross vehicle weight rating of ten thousand pounds or more with a braking system which fails to conform with the safety standards established under the provisions of Subpart C of 49 C.F.R. § part 393, as amended from time to time. Any person who operates any such vehicle in violation of this subsection shall be fined not less than two hundred fifty dollars nor more than five hundred dollars.

(g) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any pole trailer.

(h) Any person who violates any provision of subsections (a) to (e), inclusive, of this section shall be deemed to have committed an infraction for each offense.

(i) Each truck, tractor or truck tractor that is equipped with an engine compression brake device shall be equipped with a muffler, in good working condition, for such device. In addition to any penalty for violating the decibel level provisions of § 14-80a, any person who operates such a truck, tractor or truck tractor in violation of this subsection shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars. The Department of Motor Vehicles may adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, to implement this subsection.