Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations
Chapter 347 - Equipment of vehicles.
347.35 - Brakes.

347.35 Brakes.
(1) Motor vehicles. No person shall operate any motor vehicle, other than a moped or motorcycle, upon a highway unless such motor vehicle is equipped with brakes adequate to control the movement of and to stop and hold such vehicle and capable of meeting the performance specifications under s. 347.36. There shall be 2 separate means of applying the brakes, each of which means shall be effective to apply the brakes to at least 2 wheels.
(1a) Parking brakes. Every such vehicle and combination of vehicles, except mopeds and motorcycles, 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 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 provided that failure of the service brake actuation system or other power assisting mechanism will not prevent the parking brakes from being applied. The parking brakes shall be so designed 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 so constructed that failure of any one part shall not leave the vehicle without operative brakes.
(2) Mopeds and motorcycles. No person may operate a moped or motorcycle upon a highway unless the moped or motorcycle is equipped with at least one brake capable of meeting the performance specifications set forth in s. 347.36. The brake may be designed to be operated either by hand or by foot.
(3) Trailers, semitrailers and towed vehicles.
(a) Except as provided in par. (am), no person shall operate on a highway any trailer, semitrailer or other towed vehicle having a gross weight of 3,000 pounds or more and manufactured after January 1, 1942 unless such vehicle is equipped with brakes adequate to control the movement of and to stop and hold it.
(am) A motor vehicle may be towed without being equipped with brakes as provided in par. (a) if the gross weight of the towed vehicle is not more than 40 percent of the gross weight of the towing vehicle and the brakes on the towing vehicle are capable of bringing the combination of towing vehicle and towed vehicle to a stop as provided in s. 347.36 (1).
(b) Every full trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer or other towed vehicle required to be equipped with brakes shall be equipped with brake systems of such design and type, and capable of meeting such performance standards, as established by rule of the department.
(c) This subsection does not apply to farm trailers or to disabled vehicles while being towed to a place of repair or to automobiles or trucks while being towed or being transported pursuant to s. 341.47 (1) (b).
(4) Mobile homes and recreational vehicles. No person shall manufacture and no person shall sell a mobile home or recreational vehicle in this state unless such mobile home or recreational vehicle is equipped with brakes adequate to control the movement of and to stop and hold it. No person shall operate on a highway any mobile home registered as a 1940 or later year model or recreational vehicle unless such mobile home or recreational vehicle is equipped with brakes adequate to control the movement of and to stop and hold it.
(5) Implements of husbandry.
(a) No person may operate on a highway any self-propelled implement of husbandry manufactured after February 1, 1985, unless the vehicle is equipped with brakes or other stopping device adequate to control the movement of and to stop and hold the implement of husbandry.
(b) Every self-propelled implement of husbandry required to be equipped with brakes or other stopping device shall be equipped with brakes or a stopping device that meets design, type or performance standards established by the department by rule. The rule of the department under this paragraph shall comply with the applicable standard established by the American society of agricultural engineers.
History: 1977 c. 29 s. 1654 (7) (e); 1979 c. 163; 1983 a. 124, 243, 244; 1985 a. 65; 2007 a. 11; 2019 a. 50.

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