§ 72.051.Definitions

Ten definitions supporting the 2021 commercial motor vehicle scheme, and several are drawn with care.

"Commercial motor vehicle" means a vehicle being used for commercial purposes in interstate or intrastate commerce to transport property or passengers, deliver or transport goods, or provide services. It does not include a vehicle being used at the time of the collision for personal, family, or household purposes.

Use at the time decides it, not the vehicle's registration or ordinary role. A commercial truck driven home for the weekend is outside the subchapter.

"Operated" reaches further than driving: to cause the vehicle to move or function in any respect, including driving, stopping, or parking or otherwise putting it into use — and the terms include a commercial motor vehicle that has become disabled. A truck stopped on a shoulder is being operated.

"Claimant" excludes a passenger in a commercial motor vehicle unless the person is an employee of the owner, lessor, lessee, or operator. A passenger's claim is outside the subchapter and its bifurcation scheme.

"Employee" is broad — a person who works for another for compensation, including anyone deemed an employee under state or federal law and any other agent or person for whom an employer may be liable under respondeat superior.

"Video" is defined expansively for the admissibility section, covering images with or without audio, stationary or moving, however captured, recorded, or stored.

"Compensatory damages" and "exemplary damages" take their meanings from the damages chapter, which is what the two trial phases divide along.