At the moment, Law SE has tags vehicle and motor-vehicle. The latter has no usage guidance. Are they synonyms?
2 Answers
Some vehicles are not motorized or simply don't count as what is defined in a statute as a motor vehicle. For example a horsecart is a vehicle but not motorized. All Motor vehicles are vehicles but not the other way round. There are cases if a snowmobile is a motor vehicle for statutes, because lawnmowers aren't, but lawnmower tractors count as such in florida
An example from Germany: the StVO does only partially apply to horse carts like Beer-chariots that are a common sight in some areas in Germany (under § 24 I StVO) making it a vehicle but not a motor vehicle as it lacks a motor (§ 1 II StVG), resulting in the StVO not applying. However, if the horses damage another vehicle, the owner of the horse is liable as the owner of the animal under the BGB, not the driver of a motor vehicle.
Another example, where vehicles and other vehicles are not the same: MICHIGAN VEHICLE CODE Act 300 of 1949 Section 257.604 :
A person riding an animal or driving an animal-drawn vehicle upon a roadway shall be granted all of the rights and shall be subject to all the duties, criminal penalties, and civil sanctions applicable to the driver of a vehicle by this chapter, except those provisions of this chapter which by their very nature may not have application.
Illinois has a special tatract for non-motorized vehicles, NYC has a Horse-drawn-cab-license...
Proposal
Keep the two separate. turn vehicle in a way to not include cars and other motor vehicles (motorcycles, unicycle) and retag questions about cars with motor-vehicle
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1@RodrigodeAzevedo Look at the amish, or horse beer carts for advertisement, or on the Oktoberfest...– TrishCommented Sep 13, 2020 at 15:30
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Sure, but to have such a specific tag strikes me as odd. How many Amish people post here? Wasn't the 2020 Oktoberfest cancelled? Commented Sep 13, 2020 at 15:44
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I mean, not all vehicles are motor vehices. Some states legislate bicycles as vehicles but not motor vehicles. The Oktoberfest might be canceled, but it has regularly sparked damages by horses.– TrishCommented Sep 13, 2020 at 15:48
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4@RodrigodeAzevedo – this distinction is actually gaining new prominence as law tries to distinguish electric-powered or -boosted scooters and bicycles from "motor vehicles."– feetwet ModCommented Sep 13, 2020 at 16:56
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@feetwet I do not understand. Aren't vehicles powered by electric motors considered motor vehicles? Commented Sep 13, 2020 at 17:13
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@RodrigodeAzevedo youtube.com/watch?v=zAoEXmUAAyo - Is a snowmobile a motor vehicle?! it's a vehicle, but is it a motor one?! A riding lawnmower is not a motor vehicle.– TrishCommented Sep 13, 2020 at 17:19
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@Trish A lawnmower is not a vehicle, is it? I do not understand your point. Commented Sep 13, 2020 at 17:30
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@RodrigodeAzevedo a lawnmower is a vehicle, if you drive it on a Florida highway under the influence.– TrishCommented Sep 13, 2020 at 17:33
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@Trish If you say so. I am too much of an urbanite to be acquainted with lawnmowers. Commented Sep 13, 2020 at 17:39
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2@RodrigodeAzevedo: Law can define words to mean things that do not comport with common or even literal connotations. Another example: In the U.S. "firearms" do not include many weapons that propel a projectile by combustion. E.g., muzzle-loading rifles are not firearms under federal law.– feetwet ModCommented Sep 13, 2020 at 19:11
Maybe "motorized-vehicle" tag could be made a synonym of the "motor-vehicle" tag. I have seen the phrase "motorized-vehicle" in a DMV manual before.
I would think that any self-propelled vehicle is not a motor-vehicle. Certainly bicycles are treated differently by law than mopeds are.
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not all motor propelled vehicles are Motor(ized) vehicles. ATVs and Snowmobiles are not. Boats are not.– TrishCommented Oct 12, 2020 at 7:07