[muawiyah]

I think you took the point wrong. Plenty of folks out there operating stationary engines found themselves getting subjected to government regulation when they argued that laws about motor vehicles didn't really apply to them.

Still, you can find plenty of modern statutes that state "driving or operating", or have different sections relating to motor vehicles, stationary engines, and so on.

I would imagine some state laws were slow to get into line with the modern sense of words and the understanding of what was going on. Obviously a vehicle in a garage being subjected to maintenance isn't the same as a vehicle on the highway ~ but in both cases there are environmental laws that require adherence to the same standards, plus OSHA has a whole great big pile of regs about maintenance.

[Mojave]

Plenty of folks out there operating stationary engines found themselves getting subjected to government regulation when they argued that laws about motor vehicles didn't really apply to them.

And don't forget the fringe on the flag.

[Seven plus One]

Still, you can find plenty of modern statutes that state "driving or operating", or have different sections relating to motor vehicles, stationary engines, and so on.

A few posts back you mentioned the 'stationary engine' thing relating to a ferris wheel. A ferris wheel is full of people, who paid to be spun around. It could be powered by a water wheel or a hand crank, the passengers could still be injured or killed by unsafe equipment or negligent operation. Hence inspection and licensing. Working the controls of any piece of equipment, car, locomotive, ferris wheel, or rocket launcher is 'operating' it. A ferris wheel is not a car is not a suck pump, so different licensing categories exist.