1. a. Any person driving any vehicle, object, or contrivance upon any highway or highway structure shall be liable for all damage which said highway or structure may sustain as a result of any illegal operation, driving, or moving of such vehicle, object, or contrivance, or as a result of operation, driving, or moving any vehicle, object, or contrivance weighing in excess of the maximum weight in this chapter but authorized by a special permit issued as provided in this chapter.

 b. Whenever such driver is not the owner of such vehicle, object, or contrivance, but is so operating, driving, or moving the same with the express or implied permission of said owner, then said owner and driver shall be jointly and severally liable for any such damage. Such damage may be recovered in a civil action brought by the authorities in control of such highway or highway structure.

Terms Used In Iowa Code 321.475

  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Department: means the state department of transportation. See Iowa Code 321H.2
  • Driver: means a person who operates a motor vehicle for the transportation of railroad workers in the motor vehicle on behalf of a railroad worker transportation company, whether the person is employed by the company for wages or drives for the company as an independent contractor. See Iowa Code 327F.39
  • highway: means the entire width between property lines of every way or place of whatever nature when any part thereof is open to the use of the public, as a matter of right, for purposes of vehicular travel, except in public areas in which the boundary shall be thirty-three feet each side of the center line of the roadway. See Iowa Code 321I.1
  • Owner: means a person, other than a lienholder, having the property right in or title to an all-terrain vehicle. See Iowa Code 321I.1
  • Person: includes any individual, firm, corporation, partnership, joint adventure, or association, and the plural as well as the singular number. See Iowa Code 321H.2
  • Vehicle: means any vehicle as defined in chapter 321. See Iowa Code 321H.2
 2. The department shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A, stating the department’s policy for recovery of damages to highways or highway structures pursuant to this section. The policy shall exclude from recoverable damages the costs of traffic control at the scene of an accident.
  Previous section
Next section  
 Chapter 321 Contents