(a) (1) Every motor vehicle, other than a motorcycle or motor-driven cycle, when operated upon a highway, shall be equipped with brakes adequate to control the movement of, and to stop and hold, the vehicle, including two (2) separate means of applying the brakes, each of which means shall be effective to apply the brakes to at least two (2) wheels.
(2) If these two (2) separate means of applying the brakes are connected in any way, they shall be constructed so that failure of any one (1) part of the operating mechanism shall not leave the motor vehicle without brakes on at least two (2) wheels.
(b) Every motorcycle and every motor-driven cycle, when operated upon a highway, shall be equipped with at least one (1) brake, which may be operated by hand or foot.
(c) (1) Every trailer or semitrailer of a gross weight of three thousand pounds (3,000 lbs.) or more when operated upon a highway shall be equipped with brakes adequate to control the movement of, and to stop and to hold, such vehicle and so designed as to be applied by the driver of the towing motor vehicle from its cab; and
(2) The brakes shall be so designed and connected that in case of an accidental break-away of the towed vehicle, the brakes shall be automatically applied.
(d) (1) (A) Every new motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer sold in the state and operated upon the highways shall be equipped with service brakes upon all wheels of every such vehicle, except any motorcycle or motor-driven cycle; and
(B) Any semitrailer of less than one thousand five hundred pounds (1,500 lbs.) gross weight need not be equipped with brakes.
(2) Trucks and truck tractors having three (3) or more axles need not have brakes on the front wheels, except, when the vehicles are equipped with at least two (2) steerable axles, the wheels of one (1) axle need not be equipped with brakes.
(e) (1) Every singly driven motor vehicle and every combination of motor vehicles shall, at all times, be equipped with a parking brake or brakes adequate to hold the vehicle or combination on any grade on which it is operated, under any conditions of loading, on a surface free from ice or snow.
(2) (A) The parking brake or brakes shall, at all times, be capable of being applied in conformance with the requirements of subdivision (e)(1) of this section by either the driver's muscular effort or by spring action or by other energy.
(B) If other energy is depended on for application of the parking brake, then an accumulation of such energy shall be isolated from any common source and used exclusively for the operation of the parking brake.
(3) The parking brake or brakes shall be so designed, constructed, and maintained that when once applied, they shall remain in the applied condition with the required effectiveness despite exhaustion of any source of energy or leakage of any kind and so that they cannot be released unless adequate energy is available upon release of such brake or brakes to make immediate further application with the required effectiveness.
(f) The brake shoes operating within or upon the drums on the vehicle wheels of any motor vehicle may be used for both service and hand operation.
(g) All brakes shall be maintained in good working order and shall be so adjusted as to operate as equally as practicable with respect to the wheels on opposite sides of the vehicle.
History. Acts 1937, No. 300, § 124; Pope's Dig., § 6784; Acts 1959, No. 307, § 51; 1965, No. 566, §§ 1, 2; A.S.A. 1947, § 75-724.
Cross References. Penalty for violation of 1959 amendatory act, § 27-50-305.
Case Notes
In General.
Hand Brake.
Instructions.
Negligence.
While this section does not require two separate braking systems, each capable of stopping the vehicle in substantially the same distance, it does require that the hand brake have stopping power. Yarnell Ice Cream Co. v. Williamson, 244 Ark. 893, 428 S.W.2d 86 (1968).
Hand brake required by this section not only must be capable of holding vehicle on grade but must have stopping power. Houston v. Adams, 239 Ark. 346, 389 S.W.2d 872 (1965).
An instruction as to the statutory duty to have an automobile equipped with proper brakes where there was no evidence that the car was not so equipped was abstract. Arkansas Power & Light Co. v. Cummins, 182 Ark. 1, 28 S.W.2d 1077 (1930) (decision under prior law).
The trial court erred when it refused to instruct the jury with regard to the statute where the defendant testified that he went through a stop sign, but that he had no alternative because his brakes did not work. Vann v. Cook, 70 Ark. App. 299, 17 S.W.3d 103 (2000).
Proof of violation of this section is evidence of negligence. Brand v. Rorke, 225 Ark. 309, 280 S.W.2d 906 (1955); Beaty v. Buckeye Fabric Finishing Co., 179 F. Supp. 688 (E.D. Ark. 1959).
Where plaintiff's testimony in action against driver for personal injuries resulting from automobile wreck because of brake failure was to the effect that this section had been violated, question of negligence was for the jury. Brand v. Rorke, 225 Ark. 309, 280 S.W.2d 906 (1955).
Violation of the provisions of this section requiring adequate brakes is evidence of negligence, and jury may find negligence on part of a driver whose brakes fail suddenly. Houston v. Adams, 239 Ark. 346, 389 S.W.2d 872 (1965).
Cited: Pitts v. Greene, 238 Ark. 438, 382 S.W.2d 904 (1964); Scott v. McClain, 296 Ark. 527, 758 S.W.2d 409 (1988); Southern Farm Bureau Cas. Ins. Co. v. Daggett, 354 Ark. 112, 118 S.W.3d 525 (2003).