# § 31101. Definitions
In this subchapter—
**(1)** “commercial motor vehicle” means (except in section 31106) a self-propelled or towed vehicle used on the highways in commerce principally to transport passengers or cargo, if the vehicle—
**(A)** has a gross vehicle weight rating or gross vehicle weight of at least 10,001 pounds, whichever is greater;
**(B)** is designed to transport more than 10 passengers including the driver; or
**(C)** is used in transporting material found by the Secretary of Transportation to be hazardous under section 5103 of this title and transported in a quantity requiring placarding under regulations prescribed by the Secretary under section 5103.
**(2)** “employee” means a driver of a commercial motor vehicle (including an independent contractor when personally operating a commercial motor vehicle), a mechanic, a freight handler, or an individual not an employer, who—
**(A)** directly affects commercial motor vehicle safety in the course of employment by a commercial motor carrier; and
**(B)** is not an employee of the United States Government, a State, or a political subdivision of a State acting in the course of employment.
**(3)** “employer”—
**(A)** means a person engaged in a business affecting commerce that owns or leases a commercial motor vehicle in connection with that business, or assigns an employee to operate the vehicle in commerce; but
**(B)** does not include the Government, a State, or a political subdivision of a State.
**(4)** “State” means a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
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**Source Credit**: (Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 984; Pub. L. 105–178, title IV, § 4003(a), June 9, 1998, 112 Stat. 395.)
| RevisedSection | Source (U.S. Code) | Source (Statutes at Large) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 31101 | 49 App.:2301(1), (3)–(6). | Jan. 6, 1983, Pub. L. 97–424, § 401(1), (3)–(6), 96 Stat. 2154, 2155. |
| | 49 App.:2301(2). | Jan. 6, 1983, Pub. L. 97–424, § 401(2), 96 Stat. 2154; Oct. 30, 1984, Pub. L. 98–554, § 228(a), (b), 98 Stat. 2852. |
Before clause (1), the words “unless the context otherwise requires” are omitted as unnecessary. The text of 49 App.:2301(4) is omitted as unnecessary because of 1:1. The text of 49 App.:2301(5) is omitted as surplus because the complete name of the Secretary of Transportation is used the first time the term appears in a section.
In clause (1), before subclause (A), the words “(except in section 31106)” are added because the source provisions being restated in section 31106 of the revised title contain a definition of “commercial motor vehicle”.
In clause (4), the words “the Commonwealth of” are omitted for consistency in the revised title and with other titles of the United States Code.
## Editorial Notes
### Amendments
1998—Par. (1)(A). , inserted “or gross vehicle weight” after “rating” and substituted “10,001 pounds, whichever is greater” for “10,000 pounds”.
Par. (1)(C). , inserted “and transported in a quantity requiring placarding under regulations prescribed by the Secretary under section 5103” before period at end.
## Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
### Savings Clause
> “Amendments made by this section [amending this section and sections 31102 to 31104 of this title] shall not affect any funds made available before the date of enactment of this Act [
>
> ].”
, , , provided that: