# Transportation (GTR) ## Title 22. Vehicle Laws -- Equipment of Vehicles ### Subtitle 1. Scope and Effect of Equipment Provisions #### Section 22-101 (a) (1) A person may not drive and the owner may not cause or knowingly permit to be driven on any highway any vehicle or combination of vehicles that: (i) Is in such unsafe condition as to endanger any person; (ii) Does not contain those parts or is not at all times equipped with lamps and other equipment in proper condition and adjustment as required in this title; or (iii) Is equipped in any manner in violation of this title. (2) A person may not do any act forbidden or fail to do any act required under this title. (b) (1) Nothing contained in this title shall be construed to prohibit the use of additional parts and accessories on any vehicle not inconsistent with the provisions of this title. (2) A person may not operate work equipment that is added to a vehicle for a designated purpose other than driving the vehicle on a highway while the vehicle is being driven on a highway unless the vehicle is being used to conduct authorized work on the highway. (3) A person may not operate on a vehicle equipment that is intended for off-road use while the vehicle is being driven on a highway. (c) A person may not display for sale, sell, offer for sale, or deliver for use in, on, or as a part of any motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, or pole trailer, any headlamp, auxiliary or fog lamp, rear lamp, warning lamp, reflector, glazing material, hydraulic brake fluid, brake lining, antifreeze, seat belt, shoulder harness, or seat belt and shoulder harness assembly, or any other item of equipment or device, including eye-protective devices and protective helmets, required to be approved by the Administrator, unless the device is of a type that has been submitted to the Administrator or his authorized agent and has been approved by him. (d) A person may not display for sale, sell, offer for sale, or deliver for use in, on, or as a part of any motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, or pole trailer, any device required to be approved by the Administrator, unless the device bears on it or, where applicable, on the container in which it is sold, the trademark or name under which it has been approved. (e) (1) The provisions of this title with respect to equipment on vehicles do not apply to farm equipment, road machinery, road rollers, farm tractors, mopeds, or motor scooters, except as made applicable in this title. (2) (i) Subject to subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, this title does not apply to low speed vehicles. (ii) (1) A low speed vehicle shall comply with federal standards under 49 C.F.R. 571.500. (2) The Administration may adopt regulations that require equipment for low speed vehicles in addition to equipment required under federal law. #### Section 22-102 (a) The Administrator may approve or disapprove any lighting device or other motor vehicle safety equipment components or assemblies of a type for which approval is specifically required in this title, within a reasonable time after approval has been requested. The approvals may be based on consultations with the Automotive Safety Enforcement Division of the Department of State Police. (b) The Administrator may set up the procedure to be followed when requests for approval of any lighting device or other motor vehicle safety equipment component or assembly is submitted. The procedures may provide for submission of these devices, components, or assemblies to the Automotive Safety Enforcement Division of the Department of State Police. (c) When the Administrator has reason to believe that a device approved under this title is being sold commercially and does not comply with the applicable standards for the device, the Administrator may, after giving 30 days' previous notice to the person who has received the approval for the device, conduct a hearing on the question of compliance of the approved device. After the hearing, the Administrator shall determine whether the devices being sold meet the requirements for approval. If the devices do not meet these requirements, the Administrator shall give notice to the person who has received the previous approval. (d) If, at the expiration of 30 days after this notice, the person who has received the approval of the device has failed to satisfy the Administrator that the devices being sold meet the requirements for approval, the Administrator shall suspend or revoke the approval issued for the device until the device is resubmitted to and tested by an independent testing laboratory approved by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators and is found to meet the applicable standards. The Administrator may require that all of these devices sold since the notification following the hearing be replaced by devices that do comply. The Administrator may, at the time of retest, purchase on the open market and submit for retesting one or more sets of these approved devices, and, if the device on retest fails to meet the approval requirements, the Administrator shall revoke or refuse to renew the approval of the device. (e) Notwithstanding any other provision of the Maryland Vehicle Law, the Administrator may adopt any motor vehicle safety standard prescribed by the Secretary of the United States Department of Transportation under 49 U.S.C. Sec. 30111. #### Section 22-103 (a) In order to assure that required devices displayed for sale, sold, offered for sale, or delivered for use in, on, or as a part of the equipment of a motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, or pole trailer are of a type approved by the Administrator, the Administration may maintain a program of market surveillance. (b) On discovery of unapproved devices being sold, offered for sale, displayed for sale, or being delivered for use on any of the vehicles described in Sec. 22-101(c) of this subtitle, notice shall be given that the seller, jobber, or wholesaler is in violation of Sec. 22-101 and that these unapproved devices may not be sold, displayed for sale, or delivered for use on any of the vehicles described in Sec. 22-101(c) and that any such sale, offer for sale, display for sale, or delivery for use of any unapproved devices is a violation of this title. #### Section 22-104 A person may not willfully or intentionally remove or alter any safety device or equipment that has been placed on any motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, or pole trailer in compliance with any law, rule, regulation, or requirement of any officer or agency of the United States or of this State, if it is intended that the vehicle be operated on highways in this State, unless the removal or alteration is permitted by rule or regulation adopted by the Administrator. #### Section 22-105 (a) (1) If any Class A (passenger) vehicle, any Class E truck with a manufacturer's rating or registered gross vehicle weight of 18,000 pounds or less, or any Class M (multipurpose) vehicle has been altered in any manner that would reduce the effectiveness of its bumpers or suspension or render the vehicle dangerous in the event of a single vehicle accident or a collision with another vehicle, it may not be operated on any highway in this State. (2) Nothing in this section may be construed to exempt a vehicle from the application of paragraph (1) of this subsection solely because the vehicle is in compliance with the provisions of subsection (b) of this section. (b) A person may not operate a vehicle on any highway in the State if, as a result of post-manufacture alterations, the height of the vehicle's frame side rails or either of the vehicle's bumpers exceeds: (1) In the case of a Class A (passenger) vehicle, 20 inches; (2) In the case of a Class M (multipurpose) vehicle, 28 inches; (3) In the case of a Class E truck with a manufacturer's rating or registered gross vehicle weight of 10,000 pounds or less, 28 inches; or (4) In the case of a Class E truck with a manufacturer's rating or registered gross vehicle weight of more than 10,000 pounds but not more than 18,000 pounds: (i) 30 inches; or (ii) If the truck is used for spraying agricultural crops, 32 inches. (c) The Administration and the Automotive Safety Enforcement Division of the Department of State Police jointly shall adopt regulations relating to bumpers, frame side rails, and vehicle suspensions as necessary to implement and enforce the provisions of this section. #### Section 22-106 (a) In this title, "police officer" means: (1) Any uniformed police officer; or (2) Any civilian employee of the Department of State Police or of the Maryland Transportation Authority Police Force assigned to enforce this title or any rule or regulation adopted under this title, but only while acting under written authorization of the Secretary of State Police. (b) (1) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (2) of this subsection, any police officer shall have the authority to enforce this title and any rule or regulation adopted under it. (2) A civilian employee of the Maryland Transportation Authority Police Force shall have the authority stated in paragraph (1) of this subsection only if the individual is: (i) Acting under the immediate direction and control of a uniformed police officer; and (ii) Certified by the Department of State Police to enforce this title and any rule or regulation adopted under it. --- Md. Code Ann., Transp. (as displayed at mgaleg.maryland.gov, October 16, 2026)