GENERAL REFERENCES

Bicycles and play vehicles -- See Ch. 113.

Snowmobiles -- See Ch. 268.

Abandoned vehicles -- See Ch. 301.

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This Page is Currently Under Construction as is the Selected Ordinance Section of this Site.  The Ordinances listed here, at present, should not be considered as the most current revision of the Municipal Codes.

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ARTICLE I, General Provisions

 

 

§ 304-1.  State traffic laws adopted.                                                                 

 

A.        Statutes adopted. Except as otherwise specifically provided in this Code, the statutory provisions in Chs. 340 to 349, Wis. Stats., describing and defining regulations with respect to vehicles and traffic, for which the penalty is a forfeiture only, exclusive of any regulations for which the statutory penalty is a fine or term of imprisonment or exclusively state charges, are hereby adopted and by reference made a part of this chapter as if fully set forth herein. Any act required to be performed or prohibited by any regulation incorporated herein by reference is required or prohibited by this chapter. Any future amendments, revisions or modifications of the statutory regulations in Chs. 340 to 349, Wis. Stats., incorporated herein are intended to be made part of this chapter in order to secure to the extent legally practicable uniform statewide regulation of vehicle traffic on the highways, streets and alleys of the State of Wisconsin. Any person who shall, within the Village of Orfordville, Wisconsin, violate any provisions of any statute incorporated herein by reference shall be deemed guilty of an offense under this section. 

 

B.         Other state laws adopted. There are also hereby adopted by reference the following sections of the Wisconsin Statutes, but the prosecution of such offenses under this chapter shall be as provided in Chs. 340 to 349, Wis. Stats., and the penalty for violation thereof shall be limited to a forfeiture as hereinafter provided in this chapter:

 

             346.935           Intoxicants in motor vehicles    

             941.01             Negligent operation of vehicle off highway       

             943.11             Entry into locked vehicle         

             943.23             Operating motor vehicles without owner's consent       

 

C.        Statutes specifically incorporated by reference. Whenever this chapter incorporates by reference specific sections of the Wisconsin Statutes, such references shall mean the Wisconsin Statutes as from time to time amended, repealed or modified by the Wisconsin Legislature. 

 

D.        General references. General references in this chapter to Wisconsin statutory sections or chapters describing or defining procedures or authority for enactment or enforcement of local traffic regulations shall be deemed to refer to the most recent enactments of the Wisconsin Legislature describing or defining such procedures or authority. 

 

 

 

 

§ 304-2.  State Administrative Code provisions adopted.                                 Page Top

 

A.        Administrative regulations adopted. The following administrative rules and regulations adopted by the Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and published in the Wisconsin Administrative Code, exclusive of any provisions therein relating to the penalties to be imposed, are hereby adopted by reference and made part of this chapter as if fully set forth herein. 

(1)        Chapter MVD 3, Reciprocity - Nonresident Motor Carriers. (Penalties of § 341.04, Wis. Stats., apply.) 

(2)        Chapter MVD 4, Lettering on Vehicles, Display of Evidence of Registration and Dual Permit. 

(3)        Chapter MVD 5, Standards for Motor Vehicle Equipment. 

(4)        Chapter MVD 6, Transportation of Explosives by Motor Vehicle. 

(5)        Chapter MVD 17, Transportation of Explosives by Motor Vehicle. 

(6)        Chapter MVD 18, Protective Headgear Standards and Specifications. 

(7)        Chapter MVD 22, Standards and Specifications - Design and Mounting SMV Emblem.   

 

B.         Noncompliance prohibited. No person shall operate or allow to be operated on any highway, street or alley within the Village a vehicle that is not in conformity with the requirements of Subsection A or the provisions of § 110.075 and Ch. 347, Wis. Stats., incorporated by reference in § 304-1 of this chapter. 

 

C.        Owner's liability. Any owner of a vehicle not equipped as required by this section who knowingly causes or permits such vehicle to be operated on a highway in violation of this section is guilty of the violation the same as if he or she had operated the vehicle. The provisions of § 347.04, Wis. Stats., relating to nonapplicability of demerit points shall apply to owners convicted of a violation of this section. 

 

D.        Safety checks. 

(1)        Operators to submit to inspection. When directed to do so by any law enforcement officer, the operator of any motor vehicle shall stop and submit such vehicle to an inspection and such tests as are necessary to determine whether the vehicle meets the requirements of this section or that the vehicle's equipment is in proper adjustment or repair. No person, when operating a motor vehicle, shall fail to stop and submit such vehicle to inspection when directed to do so by any law enforcement officer as herein provided. 

(2)        Authority of officer. Any law enforcement officer of the Village is hereby empowered, whenever he or she shall have reason to believe that any provision of this section is being violated, to order the operator of the vehicle to stop and to submit such vehicle to an inspection with respect to brakes, lights, turn signals, steering, horns and warning devices, glass, mirrors, exhaust systems, windshield wipers, tires and other items of equipment. 

(3)        Vehicle to be removed from highway. Whenever, after inspection as provided by this section, a law enforcement officer determines that a vehicle is unsafe for operation, he or she may order it removed from the highway and not operated, except for purposes of removal and repair, until the vehicle has been repaired as directed in a repair order. Repair orders may be in the form prescribed by the Secretary of the Department of Transportation under § 110.075(5), Wis. Stats., and shall require the vehicle owner or operator to cause the repairs to be made and return evidence of compliance with the repair order to the department of the issuing officer within the time specified in the order.   

 

E.         Penalty. Penalty for violation of any provision of this section, including the provisions of the Wisconsin Administrative Code, incorporated herein by reference, shall be as provided in Subsection C of this section, together with the costs of prosecution and applicable penalty assessment.   

 

§ 304-3.  Traffic signs and control devices.                                                   Page Top 

 

A.        Duty of Director of Public Works to erect and install uniform traffic control devices. Whenever traffic regulations created by this chapter, including a State of Wisconsin traffic regulation adopted by reference in § 3041, require the erection of traffic control devices for enforcement, the Director of Public Works shall procure, erect and maintain uniform traffic control devices conforming to the Uniform Traffic Control Device Manual promulgated by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, giving notice of such traffic regulation to the users of the streets and highways on which such regulations apply. Whenever state law grants discretion to local authorities in erecting or placement of a uniform traffic control device, devices shall be erected in such locations and in such a manner as, in the judgment of the Director of Public Works or his designee, will carry out the purposes of this chapter and give adequate warning to users of the streets and highways of the Village of Orfordville. 

 

B.         Code numbers to be affixed to official traffic control devices. The Director of Public Works or his designee shall cause to be placed on each official traffic control sign, guide board, mile post, signal or marker erected under Subsection A a code number assigned by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and shall also place or direct the placing of code numbers on all existing official traffic control devices as required by the laws of the State of Wisconsin. 

 

C.        Prohibited signs and markers in highways. No person other than an officer authorized by this chapter to erect and maintain official traffic control devices or his or her designee shall place within the limits of any street or highway maintained by the Village any sign, signal, marker, mark or monument unless permission is first obtained from the Director of Public Works or, where applicable, the State Highway Commission. Any sign, signal, marker, mark or monument placed or maintained in violation of this subsection shall be subject to removal as provided in Subsection D. 

 

D.        Removal of unofficial signs, markers, signals and traffic control devices. The Director of Public Works or his designee may remove any sign, signal, marking or other device which is placed, maintained or displayed in violation of this chapter or state law. Any charge imposed against premises for removal of a prohibited or illegal sign, signal, marking or device shall be reported by the Director of Public Works or his designee to the Village Board for review and certification at its next regular meeting following the imposition of the charge. Any charge not paid on or before the next succeeding November 15 shall be placed upon the tax roll for collection as other special municipal taxes.   

 

§ 304-4.  Registration record of vehicle as evidence.                                      Page Top

When any vehicle is found upon a street or highway in violation of any provision of this chapter regulating the stopping, standing or parking of vehicles and the identity of the operator cannot be determined, the owner, as shown by the ownership registration of the vehicle supplied by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, or a comparable authority of any other state, shall be deemed to have committed the violation for purposes of enforcement of this chapter and specifically § 304-1 and shall be subject to the applicable forfeiture penalty, provided that the defenses defined and described in § 346.485(5)(b), Wis. Stats., shall be a defense for an owner charged with such violation. 

 

§ 304-5.  School bus warning lights.                                                                    Page Top

 

A.        Notwithstanding the provisions of § 346.48(2)(b)2, Wis. Stats., adopted by reference in § 304-1, to the contrary and except as provided in Subsection B below, school bus operators shall use flashing red warning lights in residential and business districts when pupils or other authorized passengers are to be loaded or unloaded at locations at which there are no crosswalk or traffic signals so that pupils must cross the street or highway before being loaded or after being unloaded. 

 

B.         Pursuant to § 349.21(2), Wis. Stats., the use of flashing red warning lights by school bus operators is prohibited when pupils or other authorized passengers are loaded or unloaded directly from or onto the school grounds or that portion of the right-of-way between the roadway and the school grounds in a zone designated by "school" warning signs as provided in § 118.08(1), Wis. Stats., in which a street or highway borders the grounds of a school.   

 

§ 304-6.  Blue warning lights on police vehicles.                                                   Page Top

 

A.        Pursuant to §§ 346.03(3), 346.94(14), 346.95(3) and 347.25(1), (1m)(a) and (b) and (4), Wis. Stats., a marked police vehicle under § 340.01(3)(a), Wis. Stats., may be equipped with a blue light and a red light which flash, oscillate or rotate. 

 

B.         If the vehicle is so equipped, the lights shall be illuminated when the operator of the police vehicle is exercising the privileges granted under § 346.03, Wis. Stats. The blue light shall be mounted on the passenger side of the vehicle and the red light shall be mounted on the driver side of the vehicle. The lights shall be designed and mounted so as to be plainly visible and understandable from a distance of 500 feet during normal sunlight and during hours of darkness. No operator of a police vehicle may use the warning lights except when responding to an emergency call or when in pursuit of an actual or suspected violator of the law, when responding to but not upon returning from a fire alarm or when necessarily parked on a highway in a position which is likely to be hazardous to traffic using the highway.   

 

§ 304-7.  Accident reports.                                                                                        Page Top

 

The operator of every vehicle involved in an accident shall, immediately after such accident, file with the Police Department a copy of the report required by § 346.70, Wis. Stats., if any. If the operator is unable to make such report, any occupant of the vehicle at the time of the accident capable of making such report shall have the duty to comply with this section. Such reports shall be subject to the provisions and limitations of §§ 346.70(4)(f) and 346.73, Wis. Stats., specifically that accident reports filed with this section shall be for the confidential use of the Department and shall not be open to public inspection except as permitted by § 346.73, Wis. Stats.  

ARTICLE II, Controlled Intersections; Street Traffic Regulations

 

§ 304-8.  Operators to obey traffic control devices.                                                Page Top

 

Every operator of a vehicle approaching an intersection at which an official traffic control device is erected in accordance with this chapter shall obey the direction of such official traffic control device as required by the Wisconsin Statutes incorporated by reference in § 304-1 of this chapter. Operators of vehicles approaching a stop sign shall stop before entering a highway as required by § 346.46, Wis. Stats. Operators approaching intersections at which a yield sign has been installed shall yield the right-of-way to other vehicles as required by § 346.18(6), Wis. Stats. 

 

§ 304-9.  Heavy traffic routes.                                                                                  Page Top

 

A.        Heavy traffic. For the purposes of this section, "heavy traffic" means all vehicles not operating completely on pneumatic tires and all other vehicles or combination of vehicles, other than motor buses, designed or used for transporting property of any nature and having a gross weight of more than 12,000 pounds. 

 

B.         Heavy traffic prohibited. Pursuant to §§ 61.34(1) and 349.17, Wis. Stats., heavy traffic shall be prohibited on all streets, roads and highways within the corporate limits of the Village of Orfordville, with the exception of state trunk highways and county roads which traverse the corporate limits of the Village. 

 

C.        Exceptions. This section shall not apply to heavy traffic using any road other than state trunk highways and county roads within the corporate limits of the Village of Orfordville if such heavy traffic is moving or delivering supplies or commodities or making service calls or any other movement to or from any local residence or business on or adjoining the streets upon which such traffic is generally prohibited. 

 

D.        Administration. The Police Department shall administer this section. Administration shall include the following: 

(1)               Posting of signs. Appropriate signs shall be posted giving notice of this section and of the heavy traffic routes established herein. Yellow signposts may also be used to designate heavy traffic routes. 

(2)               Construction equipment. 

(a)                The Police Department or Village Clerk-Treasurer may grant temporary permits to allow heavy construction equipment to use Village streets or highways not designated as heavy traffic routes. These permits may be granted only when use of a nondesignated route is necessary for the equipment to reach a construction site. No permit may be issued unless the person or corporation owning the equipment agrees to reimburse and hold the Village harmless for any damage done to the Village street by the equipment and/or any personal injury or property damage caused in part or in whole by the street damage. 

(b)               Village-owned or -operated equipment is specifically excluded from the provisions of this section.     

 

E.         Liability. Any operator, corporation, owner or agent whose heavy traffic vehicle damages any Village streets or highways in violating this section shall be liable and required to pay the Village the cost of repair or replacement of the damaged street or highway. 

 

F.         Special and seasonal weight limitations. The Chief of Police shall have the authority to impose special or seasonal weight limits on any highway, bridge or culvert maintained by the Village to prevent injury to the roadway or for the safety of the users of such bridge or culvert and shall be responsible for erecting uniform traffic control devices giving notice thereof in accordance with the proving of § 304-3.   

 

§ 304-10.  Speed limits.                                                                                          Page Top

 

The Village Board of the Village of Orfordville hereby determines that the statutory speed limits on the following streets or portions of streets are modified under authority granted by § 349.11, Wis. Stats.: 

 

1. Thirty-five miles per hour on Beloit Street, between South Main Street and County Highway K
2. Thirty-five miles per hour on Beloit Street, between State Highway 11 and Tollefson Road. 

 

 

 

 

 

§ 304-11.  Through highways designated.                                                                  Page Top 

 

In the interest of public safety and pursuant to § 349.07, Wis. Stats., the following streets or portions thereof are declared to be through highways, and traffic signs or signals giving notice thereof shall be erected by the Village in accordance with § 304-3: 

 

A.        Beloit Street from the northwest Village limits to the southeast Village limits.   

 

§ 304-12.  School zones.                                                                                                Page Top

 

A.        School zone established. In accordance with §§ 118.08 and 346.57, Wis. Stats., a school zone designed to promote the health, safety and welfare of the children going to and from the public schools within the Village of Orfordville is hereby established in the following areas: 

(1)               Church Street from North Clark Street to North Main Street. 

(2)               Richards Street from West Beloit Street to Church Street. 

(3)               Center Street from West Beloit Street to Church Street. 

(4)               North Main Street from a point approximately 300 feet north of its intersection with Church Street to a point approximately 300 feet south of the same intersection. 

(5)               West Beloit Street between Clark Street and Maple Street. 

(6)               Clark Street between Church Street and West Beloit Street.   

 

B.         Marking and designation. The school zones shall be appropriately and properly marked with such speed limit and school zone signs, as well as school crossing signs and other designations, as the Chief of Police shall deem necessary to properly appraise the public of such a school zone and the speed restrictions within such school zone.   

 

§ 304-13.  Stop signs.  [Added 4-14-2003]                                                                        Page Top

 

A.        Authorized. In the interest of public safety and pursuant to § 349.07(8), Wis. Stats., the locations designated in this section, being streets or portions thereof, are declared to be subject to a stop sign, requiring traffic approaching the sign to stop before proceeding. 

 

B.         Locations. At each of the following enumerated locations there shall exist a stop sign: