New York State Consolidated Laws
Vehicle & Traffic
ARTICLE 9
EQUIPMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES
AND MOTORCYCLES
Section 375. Equipment.
375-a. Prohibition against retaliatory action.
376. Lamps, signaling devices and reflectors on vehicles
376-a. Defective equipment.
377. Vehicles engaged in the transportation of logs and other
materials.
378. Additional safety requirements for commercial vehicles
and vehicles transporting hazardous materials.
380-a. Certain vehicles engaged in the transportation of loose
cargo.
381. Motorcycle equipment.
382. Hydraulic brake fluid.
382-a. Brake linings.
382-b. Service brake system.
382-c. Occupant compartments.
383. Safety belts and anchorage assemblies.
384. Vehicle equipment safety compact.
S 375. Equipment. 1. Every motor vehicle, operated or driven upon the
public highways of the state, shall be provided with adequate brakes and
steering mechanism in good working order and sufficient to control such
vehicle at all times when the same is in use, and a suitable and
adequate horn or other device for signaling, which horn or device shall
produce a sound sufficiently loud to serve as a danger warning but shall
not be used other than as a reasonable warning nor be unnecessarily loud
or harsh.
Every such motor vehicle shall be equipped with suitable wipers or
other device which shall clear a sufficient area of the windshields to
provide reasonable driving vision. The use or placing of posters or
stickers on windshields or rear windows of motor vehicles other than
those authorized by the commissioner of motor vehicles, is hereby
prohibited. The attaching to windshields and windshield wipers of hand
bills and other forms of advertisements, is hereby prohibited.
Every trailer and semi-trailer weighing more than one thousand pounds
unladen and every trailer and semi-trailer manufactured or assembled on
or after January first, nineteen hundred seventy-one having a registered
maximum gross weight, an actual gross weight or gross weight consisting
of the unladen weight and maximum carrying capacity recommended by the
manufacturer in excess of three thousand pounds also shall be equipped
with adequate brakes in good working order if operated or drawn on the
public highways of this state. Every trailer while being drawn upon the
public highways of this state shall be so attached to the vehicle draw-
ing the same as to prevent the wheels of such trailer from being
deflected more than six inches from the path of the towing vehicle`s
wheels. On and after January first nineteen hundred seventy-one every
trailer, except a semi-trailer, while being drawn upon the public high-
ways of this state, shall be attached to the vehicle drawing the same by
a device of a type approved by the commissioner of motor vehicles.
The commissioner shall make rules prescribing standards of brake effi-
ciency, except for motor vehicles the standard of brake efficiency of
which are fixed by the department of public service, and no brakes shall
be deemed adequate within the meaning of this subdivision unless they
meet the requirements of such rules. Such rules shall be filed in the
office of the secretary of state and thereafter published once in the
state advertising bulletin and shall become effective one month after
such publication. Any amendment to such rules shall be likewise filed
and published and shall take effect one month after such publication.
No operator or registered owner of any motor vehicle having a regis-
tered maximum gross weight of eighteen thousand pounds or more shall
disconnect or knowingly permit the disconnection of any set of service
brakes on such motor vehicle. Any violation of the provisions of this
paragraph shall occur only when such vehicle is actually operated on the
public highways. Such violation shall be punishable as a misdemeanor.
2. (a) Every motor vehicle except a motorcycle, driven upon a public
highway during the period from one-half hour after sunset to one-half
hour before sunrise or at any other time when windshield wipers are in
use, as a result of rain, sleet, snow, hail or other unfavorable atmo-
spheric condition, and at such other times as visibility for a distance
of one thousand feet ahead of such motor vehicle is not clear, shall
display:
1. at least two lighted head lamps on the front, one on each side,
having light sources of equal power;
2. if manufactured prior to January first, nineteen hundred fifty-two,
at least one lighted lamp on the rear which shall display a red light
visible from the rear for a distance of at least five hundred feet;
3. if manufactured on or after January first, nineteen hundred fifty-
two, at least two lighted lamps on the rear, one on each side, which
lamps shall display a red light visible from the rear for a distance of
at least one thousand feet; and
4. if required to display a number plate on the rear, a white light
which shall illuminate the numerals on such plate in such manner as to
render such numerals legible for at least fifty feet from the rear. The
provisions of this subparagraph shall also apply to trailers.
(b) All lamps used on a motor vehicle except a motorcycle shall be so
arranged, adjusted and operated, as to avoid dangerous glare or dazzle.
Except as provided in paragraph (d) of this subdivision, the upper
outline of any beam of dazzling light projected to the left of the
longitudinal axis of the vehicle by the lowermost light distribution of
a headlamp designed to produce more than one light distribution, or by
the single light distribution of any other lamp used on such a motor
vehicle, shall not rise higher than the lamp center at a distance of
twenty-five feet nor higher than forty-two inches at a distance of
seventy-five feet. In each case, the height of the beam shall be meas-
ured from the plane upon which the vehicle stands and the distance shall
be measured from the lamp projecting the light.
(c) No lamp shall be used on a motor vehicle having a light source
greater than thirty-two candle power, unless such lamp is approved by
the commissioner as provided by this section. The provisions of this
paragraph shall not apply to any light which is permitted to be
displayed only on an authorized emergency vehicle or a hazard vehicle.
(d) A motor vehicle, other than a motorcycle, equipped with any device
such as, but not limited to, a snow plow blade, which blocks or impairs
the projection of light from the headlamps of such vehicle, shall be
equipped with at least two additional headlamps on the front which head-
lamps meet all the requirements of this subdivision for headlamps except
those provisions of paragraph (b) of this subdivision specifically
limiting the height of the beam of any headlamp.
3. Headlamps required pursuant to the provisions of subdivision two of
this section may be of the multiple beam type designed to produce more
than one distribution of light or of the single beam type designed to
produce only one distribution of light.
Provided that, whenever a vehicle approaching from ahead is within
five hundred feet, or when approaching a moving vehicle from the rear
and within two hundred feet of the same, the headlamps, if of the multi-
ple beam type, or the auxiliary front facing lamps, if the vehicle is so
equipped, shall be operated so that dazzling light does not interfere
with the driver of the approaching vehicle, or the vehicle being
approached, and, whenever the highway is so lighted or traffic thereon
is such that illumination of the highway for more than two hundred feet
ahead of the vehicle by lights on such vehicle is unnecessary or imprac-
ticable, the headlamps, if of the multiple beam type, or the auxiliary
front facing lamps, if the vehicle is so equipped, shall be operated
with the lowermost distribution of light in use. Nothing contained in
this subdivision shall be construed to prevent the use of flashing high
beams to signify an intention to pass a vehicle or vehicles when two or
more vehicles are traveling in the same direction, the operation of any
headlamp as defined in paragraph d of subdivision two of this section,
nor shall it apply to any auxiliary front facing lamp permitted to be
displayed only on an authorized emergency vehicle.
4. No headlamp shall be used upon any motor vehicle except a motorcy-
cle operated upon the public highways of this state, unless such lamp is
approved by the commissioner or is equipped with a lens or other device
approved by the commissioner. Every such headlamp, lens or other device
shall be applied and adjusted in accordance with the requirements of the
certificate approving the use thereof. Every such headlamp shall be
firmly and substantially mounted on the motor vehicle in such manner as
to allow the lamp to be properly and readily adjusted. The operator of
every motor vehicle shall permit any policeman, police officer or other
person exercising police powers to inspect the equipment of such motor
vehicle, and make such tests as may be necessary to determine whether
the provisions of this section are being complied with.
Any certificate of approval heretofore issued pursuant to law, or
hereafter issued by the commissioner may be revoked by the commissioner,
after a hearing of which the person or corporation named therein, or his
or its successor in interest, shall have been given reasonable notice
and an opportunity to appear and be heard upon the ground that the
device does not comply with the provisions of this section, and the
rules and regulations of the commissioner and the decision of the
commissioner revoking such certificate shall be final; such revocation,
however, of a lens or other headlighting device heretofore or hereafter
approved shall not take effect until six months after the decision of
the commissioner revoking the same and shall apply only to vehicles
manufactured and used thereafter on the highways of this state.
The foregoing provisions governing lights on motor vehicles do not
apply to so-called dimmers the use of which is permitted or required by
local ordinances.
The commissioner may make such rules and regulations relative to
lights on motor vehicles and the approval of the same as are not incon-
sistent with the specific provisions of this section.
7. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, association or corpo-
ration to sell or offer for sale a headlighting device without deliver-
ing therewith to the purchaser a printed sheet of instructions describ-
ing the device in detail, its method of mounting, arrangement and
adjustment and specifying the candle power of the lamps to be used ther-
eon and any other matter that may be necessary to insure compliance in
the use of such device with the provisions of this article and the
certificate of approval. Such instructions shall be printed with a
photogravure of the pattern of light from one headlight shown on a regu-
lation testing screen with respect to a horizontal cross line placed
across the face of such screen at a height equal to the height of the
center of such headlight, and with the headlight adjusted in accordance
with the rules and regulations of the commissioner. The sale of a head-
lighting device not approved under the provisions of this section is
prohibited. A violation of any of the provisions of this subdivision
shall be a misdemeanor.
9. Every omnibus operating upon the public highways of the state
having a carrying capacity of ten or more passengers, shall be equipped
with one hand fire extinguisher of at least 4 B:C Underwriters` Labora-
tories rating or a similar rating by any qualified laboratory or testing
organization which meets the criteria of American Society for Testing
Materials test E548-76. Fire extinguishers shall be kept in good oper-
ating condition at all times and must be mounted in a place readily
accessible for use.
10. a. Every motor vehicle, when driven or operated upon a public
highway, shall be equipped with a mirror or other reflecting device so
adjusted that the operator of such vehicle shall have a clear and full
view of the road and condition of traffic behind such vehicle.
b. In addition to the above requirements, an omnibus having a capacity
of ten or more passengers registered in this state and manufactured or
assembled after July first, nineteen hundred seventy, shall be equipped
with a mirror attached to the right side of such vehicle and so adjusted
that the driver thereof shall have a clear and full view of the road and
condition of traffic behind such vehicle.
c. Every passenger motor vehicle registered in this state and manufac-
tured or assembled after June thirtieth, nineteen hundred sixty-nine,
and designated as a nineteen hundred seventy or subsequent year model,
shall be equipped with adjustable interior mirrors meeting specifica-
tions established by the commissioner which specifications may provide
minimum and maximum reflectance values.
d. Every new passenger-type motor vehicle, except a motorcycle, manu-
factured for sale in New York state on or after January first, in the
year next succeeding the effective date of this paragraph shall be manu-
factured with an interior rear-view mirror of the selective position
prismatic type with a reflectance value in the night driving position of
at least four percent; or its functional equivalent. For purposes of
this section, "passenger-type motor vehicle" shall mean any motor vehi-
cle with a seating capacity of not more than fifteen adults, not includ-
ing the driver, that is equipped with one or more rear windows. Any
violation of the provisions of this paragraph by any manufacturer shall
constitute an offense and shall be punishable by a civil fine of not
more than five hundred dollars for each offense.
10-a. It shall be unlawful after July first, nineteen hundred sixty-
seven to operate on any public highway in this state any motor vehicle
registered in this state, manufactured or assembled on or after such
date, and designated as a nineteen hundred sixty-eight or later model,
unless such vehicle is equipped with an adjustable side view mirror
which shall be affixed to the left outside of such vehicle and which
shall be adjustable so that the operator of such vehicle may have a
clear view of the road and condition of traffic on the left side and to
the rear of such vehicle.
10-b. It shall be unlawful after June thirtieth, nineteen hundred
seventy-three to operate on any public highway or street in this state,
any passenger type motor vehicle except convertible, suburban and omni-
bus or other motor vehicle that has a roll-down rear window or a rear
window or windows located in a movable closure (door-like) member regis-
tered in this state, manufactured or assembled after said date, and
designated as a nineteen hundred seventy-four or subsequent model unless
such vehicle be equipped with a rear window defogger or defroster, which
shall be so located and adjusted that its operation will give the opera-
tor of such vehicle, by means of the mirror or other reflecting device
required by subdivision ten of this section, a view of the road and the
condition of traffic behind such vehicle.
10-c. It shall be unlawful after June thirtieth, nineteen hundred
eighty-five to operate on any public highway or street in this state,
any passenger type motor vehicle that has a rear window or windows
located in a movable closure (door-like) member, except for a multipur-
pose passenger vehicle (designed to carry ten persons or less and
constructed either on a truck chassis or with special features for occa-
sional off-road operation) registered in this state and manufactured or
assembled after said date, and designated as a nineteen hundred eighty-
six or subsequent model unless such vehicle be equipped with a rear
window defogger or defroster, which shall be so located and adjusted
that its operation will give the operator of such vehicle, by means of
the mirror or other reflecting device required by subdivision ten of
this section, a view of the road and the condition of traffic behind
such vehicle.
10-d. It shall be unlawful after December thirty-first, nineteen
hundred ninety-two to operate on any public highway or street in this
state, any passenger type motor vehicle that has a rear window located
in a single movable closure (door-like) member and which has a non-re-
moveable top, registered in this state and manufactured or assembled
after said date, and designated as a nineteen hundred ninety-three or
subsequent model unless such vehicle be equipped with a rear window
defogger or defroster, which shall be so located and adjusted that its
operation will give the operator of such vehicle, by means of the mirror
or other reflecting device required by subdivision ten of this section,
a view of the road and the condition of traffic behind such vehicle.
11. It shall be unlawful after January first, nineteen hundred thir-
ty-four to operate on any public highway or street, in this state, a
motor vehicle manufactured or assembled after said date, designed or
used for the purpose of carrying passengers for hire, or as a public
conveyance to transport school children and others, unless such vehicle
be equipped with safety glass wherever glass is used in doors, windows
and windshields.
12. It shall be unlawful to operate on any public highway or street in
this state any motor vehicle registered in New York state unless such
vehicle be equipped with safety glass wherever glass is used in doors,
windows and windshields. For the purposes of this subdivision, any
device other than a trailer, which is attached to or carried upon a
motor vehicle and which lawfully can be occupied while the motor vehicle
is in motion, shall be considered a part of such motor vehicle.
12-a. (a) Every motor vehicle, except a motorcycle, when driven or
operated upon a public highway, road or street shall be equipped with a
front windshield in a fixed and more or less upright position
constructed of safety glass as defined in subdivision fourteen of this
section and required by subdivisions eleven and twelve hereof. No person
shall drive any motor vehicle with any sign or other nontransparent
material other than a certificate or paper required to be displayed by
law upon the front windshield or the sidewings or side windows on either
side forward of or adjacent to the operator`s seat.
(b) No person shall operate any motor vehicle upon any public highway,
road or street:
(1) the front windshield of which is composed of, covered by or treat-
ed with any material which has a light transmittance of less than seven-
ty percent unless such materials are limited to the uppermost six inches
of the windshield; or
(2) the sidewings or side windows of which on either side forward of
or adjacent to the operator`s seat are composed of, covered by or treat-
ed with any material which has a light transmittance of less than seven-
ty percent; or
(3) if it is classified as a station wagon, sedan, hardtop, coupe,
hatchback or convertible and any rear side window has a light transmit-
tance of less than seventy percent; or
(4) the rear window of which is composed of, covered by or treated
with any material which has a light transmittance of less than seventy
percent. A rear window may have a light transmittance of less than
seventy percent if the vehicle is equipped with side mirrors on both
sides of the vehicle so adjusted that the driver thereof shall have a
clear and full view of the road and condition of traffic behind such
vehicle.
(c) Any person required for medical reasons to be shielded from the
direct rays of the sun and/or any person operating a motor vehicle
belonging to such person or in which such person is an habitual passen-
ger shall be exempt from the provisions of subparagraphs one and two of
paragraph (b) of this subdivision provided the commissioner has granted
an exemption and notice of such exemption is affixed to the vehicle as
directed by the commissioner. The applicant for such exemption must
provide a physician`s statement with the reason for the exemption, the
name of the individual with a medically necessary condition operating or
transported in the vehicle, the specific condition involved, and the
minimum level of light transmission required. The commissioner shall
only authorize exemptions where the medical condition certified by the
physician is contained on a list of medical conditions prepared by the
commissioner of health pursuant to subdivision sixteen of section two
hundred six of the public health law. If such such exemption is granted,
the commissioner shall make a record thereof and shall distribute a
sufficiently noticeable sticker to the applicant to be attached to any
window so shielded or altered pursuant to such exemption.
(d) The commissioner may test any window for a person who has been
charged with violating this subdivision. If such window is found to be
in conformity with this subdivision, a small label attesting to the
conformity shall be affixed to the window tested.
(e) On and after January first, nineteen hundred ninety-two, no person
shall manufacture, sell, offer for sale, equip or operate a motor vehi-
cle in this state in violation of the provisions of this subdivision,
except that a person may operate a nineteen hundred ninety-one or earli-
er model year vehicle without violating this subdivision if the windows
on said vehicle were in conformity with this subdivision as it existed
on December thirty-first, nineteen hundred ninety-one.
(f) The commissioner shall make such rules and regulations as he shall
deem necessary to carry out the provisions of this subdivision.
(ff) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section or any other
general, special or local law, charter, administrative code, ordinance,
rule or regulation to the contrary, any person operating a motor vehicle
in a burial or funeral procession while travelling to or from a funeral,
interment or cremation may place a funeral sign no larger than eight and
one half by fourteen inches in any window of such vehicle, as long as
such sign when so placed will not prevent such person from having a
clear and full view of the road and the condition of traffic behind such
vehicle.
13. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to
replace glass in doors, windows, or windshields of motor vehicles unless
such replacement be made with safety glass.
14. The term "safety glass" as used in this section shall be construed
to mean any product composed of glass, so manufactured, fabricated or
treated as substantially to prevent shattering and flying of the glass
when struck or broken, or such other or similar product as may be
approved by the commissioner.
15. The commissioner of motor vehicles shall maintain a list of types
of glass approved by him as conforming to the specifications and
requirements for safety glass as set forth in this section, and shall
not issue a license for or relicense any motor vehicle subject to the
provisions of subdivisions eleven and twelve unless such motor vehicle
be equipped as therein provided with such approved type of glass.
16. The owner and operator of any motor vehicle operated in violation
of the provisions of subdivisions eleven and twelve shall be guilty of a
traffic infraction. In case of the violation of such subdivisions by any
common carrier or person operating under a permit issued by the public
service commission (or other authorized body or person), said permit
shall be revoked, or, in the discretion of the commissioner, suspended
until the provisions of such subdivisions are satisfactorily complied
with.
17. Every omnibus having a seating capacity of more than ten passen-
gers, every truck having a maximum gross weight in excess of twelve
thousand pounds and every combination of tractor and trailer operated
upon a public highway shall carry emergency lighting equipment ready at
all times for immediate use. The equipment of the vehicle or combina-
tion of vehicles may consist of flares of the type used by railroads,
flaring candles, torches, lanterns or red emergency reflectors provided
it is adequate to provide a warning light in all kinds of weather both
in front of and in the rear of the vehicle for at least eight hours. No
red emergency reflector shall be deemed adequate within the meaning of
this subdivision unless it is of a size and type approved by the commis-
sioner, and conforms to minimum specifications established by him, which
minimum shall not be less than the minimum established by the interstate
commerce commission for buses and trucks in interstate commerce. When
any such vehicle or a combination of vehicles, except an omnibus which
stops for the purpose of taking on or discharging passengers, is parked
or left standing on a public highway except within a city or incorpo-
rated village, during the period from one-half hour after sunset to
one-half hour before sunrise, the operator of such vehicle or combina-
tion of vehicles shall cause at least one light, or reflector or lighted
flare to be placed on the highway in front of such vehicle or combina-
tion of vehicles, and at least one light, reflector or lighted flare on
the highway in the rear of such vehicle or combination of vehicles at a
distance of approximately one hundred feet in the front of and at the
rear of such vehicle or combination of vehicles, provided that if such
vehicle is parked or left standing within three hundred feet of a curve,
crest of hill, or other obstruction, the flare, candle, torch, lantern,
or reflector in that direction shall be so placed as to afford ample
warning to other highway users but in no case less than approximately
one hundred feet or more than approximately three hundred feet from the
stopped vehicle.
18. Except as otherwise provided herein, it shall be unlawful to oper-
ate on any public highway or street in this state any motor vehicle, or
combination of motor vehicle and trailer, so constructed or so loaded
that the driver thereof is unable to indicate clearly by hand signals to
approaching and following traffic his intention of stopping or turning,
unless such motor vehicle or combination of vehicles shall be equipped
with directional signals approved by the commissioner, provided, howev-
er, it shall be unlawful after January first, nineteen hundred fifty-two
to operate on any public highway or street in this state any motor vehi-
cle registered in this state, manufactured or assembled after said date
unless such vehicle be equipped with directional signals approved by the
commissioner. It shall also be unlawful to fail to cause such signals to
be maintained, at all times in good and sufficient working order. The
provisions of this subdivision shall not apply to special purpose
commercial motor vehicles registered under schedule F of subdivision
seven of section four hundred one of this chapter or to a vehicle or
combination of vehicles lawfully operated under registration issued,
under section four hundred fifteen of this chapter or under a similar
provision of the law of another jurisdiction.
18-a. Any motor vehicle may be equipped with and every motor vehicle
registered in this state and manufactured or assembled after June thir-
tieth, nineteen hundred sixty-five, and designated as a nineteen hundred
sixty-six or subsequent year model, shall be equipped with a device,
approved by the commissioner, by means of which the operator may cause
the two front and two rear directional signals to flash simultaneously
for the purpose of warning the operators of other vehicles of the pres-
ence of a vehicular traffic hazard requiring the exercise of unusual
care in approaching, overtaking or passing. The provisions of this
subdivision requiring that certain motor vehicles shall be so equipped
shall not apply to special purpose commercial motor vehicles registered
under schedule F of subdivision seven of section four hundred one or to
a vehicle or combination of vehicles lawfully operated under registra-
tion issued under section four hundred fifteen.
19. It shall be unlawful for the owner to operate, park or stand a
motor vehicle or trailer on any public highway or street in this state,
or to authorize another to so operate, park or stand a motor vehicle or
trailer, with the consent of such owner, expressed or implied, unless
such motor vehicle or trailer be equipped and lighted as provided by
this section and by section three hundred seventy-six, and the opera-
tion, parking or standing on a public highway or street in this state of
a motor vehicle or trailer which is not so equipped and lighted or which
is defectively equipped and lighted is hereby prohibited.
20. Every omnibus having a seating capacity of more than seven passen-
gers, used exclusively to transport pupils, teachers and other persons
acting in a supervisory capacity to and from school or school activ-
ities, or to transport children, instructors or other persons acting in
a supervisory capacity to and from child care centers maintained for
migrant farm and food processing laborers or to transport children,
instructors or other persons acting in a supervisory capacity to and
from camp or camp activities, or to transport children, instructors or
other persons acting in a supervisory capacity to and from religious
services or instruction shall be equipped in the manner provided by this
subdivision and any such omnibus used by any state facility or not-for-
profit agency licensed by the state and used to transport persons with
disabilities, instructors or other persons acting in a supervisory
capacity may be equipped in the manner provided by this subdivision:
(a) For each such omnibus having a seating capacity in excess of
fifteen children, there shall be colored flashing signal lamps conform-
ing to regulations prescribed by the commissioner on the front and on
the rear thereof, including at least one flashing red signal lamp on the
front thereof and at least one flashing red signal lamp on the rear
thereof. For each such omnibus having a seating capacity of not more
than fifteen children, there shall be colored flashing signal lamps
conforming to regulations prescribed by the commissioner facing the
front and facing the rear thereof, and at least one flashing red signal
lamp facing the front thereof and at least one flashing red signal lamp
facing the rear thereof. The driver of every such vehicle shall keep
such red signal lamps lighted whenever passengers are being received or
discharged or whenever he has stopped within fifty feet to the rear of a
vehicle with such red signal lamps lighted, and shall light all other
required signal lamps, as a warning, prior to stopping to receive or
discharge passengers in accordance with regulations prescribed by the
commissioner.
(b) (1) In addition to such signal lamps, two signs shall be conspicu-
ously displayed on the exterior of every such omnibus designating it as
a school omnibus by the use of the words "SCHOOL BUS" which shall be
painted or otherwise inscribed thereon in black letters. Such letters
shall be of uniform size, at least eight inches in height, and each
stroke of each letter shall be not less than one inch in width. The
background of each such sign shall be painted the color known as
"national school bus chrome." For each such omnibus having a seating
capacity in excess of fifteen children, such signs shall be securely
mounted on top of such vehicle, one of which shall be affixed on the
front and one on the rear thereof. For each such omnibus having a seat-
ing capacity of not more than fifteen children, such signs shall be
securely mounted on top of such vehicle, one of which shall face the
front and one of which shall face the rear thereof. Each such sign shall
be visible and readable from a point at least two hundred feet distant.
(2) The universal handicapped symbol shall be conspicuously displayed
on the exterior of every omnibus equipped with a wheelchair lift which
transports children with disabilities. The commissioner shall promulgate
regulations regarding the size and location of such universal hand-
icapped symbol.
(c) In the event such vehicle is operated on a public highway during
the period between one-half hour after sunset and one-half hour before
sunrise, the signs required by paragraph (b) of this subdivision shall
be illuminated as to be visible from a point at least five hundred feet
distant.
(d) Every such omnibus shall be equipped as provided in paragraphs (a)
and (b) of this subdivision, and such signs shall be displayed and illu-
minated in accordance with paragraphs (b) and (c) of this subdivision,
and such signal lamps shall be operated as provided in paragraph (a) of
this subdivision at all times when such omnibus shall be engaged in
transporting pupils to and from school or school activities or in trans-
porting children to and from child care centers maintained for children
of migrant farm and food processing laborers, or in transporting chil-
dren to and from camp or camp activities or transporting children to and
from religious services or instruction or transporting persons with
disabilities on any such omnibus used by any state facility or not-for-
profit agency licensed by the state.
(e) Every such omnibus, having its engine located ahead of the driver,
with a seating capacity of more than twelve school children shall be
equipped with a mirror, convex in shape, at least eight inches in diam-
eter, firmly mounted at hood, windshield or fender-top height in front
of the bus. It shall be located on either the left or right side of the
bus in such manner that the seated driver may observe through its use
the road from the front bumper forward to the point where direct obser-
vation is possible.
(f) The commissioner of motor vehicles is hereby authorized and
empowered to adopt and, from time to time, to amend such regulations,
not inconsistent with this subdivision, governing the color, number,
size, type, construction and use of such signal lamps and signs, as he
may deem necessary for public safety. On and after July first, nineteen
hundred fifty-one, no such signal lamp or sign shall be deemed to comply
with the requirements of this subdivision unless it is of a size and
type approved by the commissioner and unless it shall conform to the
specifications prescribed and promulgated by him.
(g) In the event, however, that such an omnibus, equipped as herein
provided, shall cease to be used to transport pupils or pupils and
teachers or children of migrant laborers and migrant child care center
instructors, or children and camp instructors, the equipment, markings
and paint, herein provided for, shall be removed and changed within
fifteen days after relicense. Nothing contained in this section, howev-
er, shall be deemed to waive any other requirements as to equipment,
markings and paint, contained in this chapter.
(h) All the provisions of this chapter relating to school buses shall
apply with equal force and effect to buses used in transporting children
and instructors to and from child care centers maintained for children
of migrant farm and food processing laborers and to buses used in trans-
porting children to and from camp or camp activities and to buses used
in transporting children to and from religious services or instruction.
As used in this subdivision, camp or camp activities shall mean day camp
or day camp activities respectively.
(i) Every omnibus subject to the provisions of this subdivision shall
be operated with headlights and taillights illuminated at all times of
day or night when pupils are being transported.
(j) The commissioner of transportation, in his discretion, by regu-
lation or upon written request, by departmental order, for good cause,
may exempt any school bus that does not receive or discharge passengers
on or along the public highways on regularly scheduled routes from the
requirements of any or all paragraphs of subdivisions twenty and twen-
ty-one of this section.
(k) All omnibuses manufactured or assembled prior to April first,
nineteen hundred seventy-seven and all omnibuses manufactured or assem-
bled after April first, nineteen hundred seventy-seven which do not meet
federal standards for school bus safety, shall be phased out of use
beginning with the nineteen hundred ninety-six--nineteen hundred nine-
ty-seven school year and ending with the nineteen hundred ninety-seven-
-nineteen hundred ninety-eight school year. In each of such school
years, at least one-half of such omnibuses shall be retired from use
according to the following formula: in the nineteen hundred ninety-six-
-nineteen hundred ninety-seven school year, the minimum number of such
omnibuses to be phased out of each owner/operator`s fleet shall be the
total number of such omnibuses divided by two and rounded upwards to the
nearest whole number. All such omnibuses remaining shall be phased out
in the nineteen hundred ninety-seven--nineteen hundred ninety-eight
school year.
Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this paragraph the commis-
sioner of education may make exceptions on a case by case basis if a
school district certifies to the commissioner of education that a
certain omnibus should not be retired for reason of economic hardship
and the commissioner of transportation determines upon inspection that
such omnibus is in good working order. In making his determination, the
commissioner of transportation shall consider, among other relevant
factors, the relative age and structure of each such omnibus. When such
determination is made, every such omnibus so certified shall be rein-
spected by the commissioner of transportation once every six months. Any
school district receiving an exemption from the provisions of this para-
graph for any omnibus shall provide to the commissioner of education an
annual recertification of economic hardship.
21. Every motor vehicle having a seating capacity of more than seven
passengers, and used primarily to transport pupils or pupils and teach-
ers to and from school, shall be painted the color known as "national
school bus chrome."
In the event, however, such a motor vehicle so painted shall cease to
be used to transport pupils or pupils and teachers, the color of paint
herein provided for, shall be changed to another color, within fifteen
days of relicense.
21-a. In any case where a New York state police or New York city,
Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse or Yonkers police department vehi-
cle is painted a distinctive color which would designate it in the
public`s view as such a state or city police vehicle, the purchaser of
such vehicle shall cause the color of its paint to be altered and any
designated markings to be removed within fifteen days of registration.
21-b. The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations for the
use of two-way radios on school buses.
21-c. The commissioner, in consultation with the commissioner of
transportation, shall promulgate rules and regulations for the use of
stop-arms on school buses.
21-d. The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations for the
use of back up beepers on school buses.
21-e. The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations for the
use of front crossing arms on school buses.
21-f. The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations for the
use of safety sensor devices on school buses.
21-g. Every school bus manufactured for use in this state after April
first, nineteen hundred ninety, shall be equipped with back-up beepers.
22. It shall be unlawful to operate a motor vehicle upon the public
highways of this state which is equipped with any glass which is so
broken, fractured or discolored as to distort visibility.
23. Every motor vehicle operated for hire upon the public highways of
this state shall be equipped with handles or other devices which shall
permit the door or doors to the passenger compartment to be readily
opened from the interior of the vehicle.
24. It shall be unlawful to operate upon any public highway in this
state a motor vehicle which is equipped with a television receiving set
within view of the operator or in which a television receiving set is in
operation within the view of the operator. A motor vehicle shall not be
deemed to be equipped with a television receiving set solely because
such set utilizes power from such vehicle. The provisions of this subdi-
vision shall not prohibit a vehicle with a weight of ten thousand pounds
or more or a school bus from using closed-circuit television receiving
equipment exclusively for safety and maneuvering purposes, in accordance
with regulations to be established by the commissioner.
24-a. It shall be unlawful to operate upon any public highway in this
state a motor vehicle, limited use automobile, limited use motorcycle or
bicycle while the operator is wearing more than one earphone attached to
a radio, tape player or other audio device.
25. (a) On and after the first day of January, nineteen hundred seven-
ty-four it shall be unlawful to operate on any public highway or street
in this state any tractor, commercial motor vehicle, combination of a
commercial motor vehicle and trailer, or combination of a truck-tractor
and semi-trailer which is not so constructed or equipped as reasonably
to bar water or other road surface substances from being thrown by the
rearmost wheels beyond the extreme rear of the vehicle or combination of
vehicles, and to minimize side spray.
(b) Unless the commercial vehicle or combination vehicle is so
designed or constructed to accomplish the objectives set forth in para-
graph (a) of this subdivision by reason of fender or body construction
or other means of enclosure, any such commercial vehicle or combination
vehicle shall be equipped, on and after January first, nineteen hundred
fifty-seven, with splash guards and stone deflectors which shall be
composed of materials substantial enough to withstand ripping or tearing
by ordinary means and withstand the action of the elements for a reason-
able length of time. Such splash guards and stone deflectors shall also
have a reasonable degree of flexibility and the distance from the lower
end thereof to the ground shall not exceed one-third of the distance,
measured along the ground, from the bottom of the splash guard to the
point of contact of the rear wheel.
(c) The commissioner of motor vehicles is hereby authorized and
empowered to make rules and regulations with respect to splash guards
and stone deflectors, their type and construction, manner of attachment
to vehicles and all other matters requisite for the proper effectuation
of the purposes of this subdivision. In making such rules and regu-
lations the commissioner shall be guided by the desirability of uniform-
ity in requirements with regard to splash guards and stone deflectors
among the several states.
(d) The provisions of this subdivision shall not apply to motor vehi-
cles, trailers and semi-trailers registered pursuant to subdivision
thirteen of section four hundred one of this chapter, and not operated
upon the public highways in excess of one and one-half miles by direct
route between farms or portions of farms under single or common owner-
ship or operation.
26. A gong or siren whistle shall not be used on any vehicle other
than an authorized emergency vehicle. This shall not be construed to
apply to a gong or siren designed and used solely as a burglar alarm on
a vehicle.
27. When a vehicle (a) has a crane, boom or other similar device
attached or (b) is loaded with any material, and such crane, boom,
device or material extends four feet or more beyond the front or rear of
such vehicle, such vehicle shall be provided with a red flag not less
than twenty-four inches square by day and a red light visible from the
rear and an amber light visible from the front for a distance of at
least five hundred feet by night on the extreme end of the extending
portion of such crane, boom, device or material.
28. No person shall operate upon a public highway a vehicle which
emits unnecessary smoke or unnecessary offensive vapors.
28-a. Except as permitted or authorized by law, no person shall
remove, dismantle or otherwise cause to be inoperative any equipment or
feature constituting an operational element of a motor vehicle`s air
pollution control system or mechanism required by federal or state law
or by any rules or regulations promulgated pursuant thereto.
28-b. Except where inconsistent with federal law, every motor vehicle
registered in this state and manufactured or assembled after June thir-
ty, nineteen hundred sixty-three shall be equipped with a crankcase
ventilating system of a type approved by the state commissioner of envi-
ronmental conservation for the purpose of reducing the emission of
pollutants into the atmosphere. Such system shall be maintained in good
working order in continued conformity with standards promulgated by the
state commissioner of environmental conservation. For the purposes of
this subdivision the term "motor vehicle" shall exclude diesel powered
motor vehicles, motorcycles, vehicles driven by electric power and
special purpose commercial motor vehicles registered under paragraph F
of subdivision seven of section four hundred one of this chapter.
28-c. Except where inconsistent with federal law, rules and regu-
lations, every motor vehicle registered in this state and manufactured
or assembled after June thirty, nineteen hundred sixty-seven and known
as a nineteen hundred sixty-eight or subsequent model shall be equipped
with an air contaminant emission control system of a type approved by
the state commissioner of environmental conservation. Such systems shall
be maintained in good working order in continued conformity with emis-
sion standards promulgated by the state commissioner of environmental
conservation. For the purposes of this subdivision, "air contaminant
emission control systems" may include, but shall not be limited to,
exhaust control systems and gasoline evaporation control systems but
shall exclude crankcase ventilating systems.
28-d. The state commissioner of environmental conservation may exempt
or partially exempt from the provisions of subdivisions twenty-eight-b
and twenty-eight-c of this section any type or class of motor vehicle
for which no practical control systems have been developed or are neces-
sary.
28-e. Standards and exemptions established by the state commissioner
of environmental conservation pursuant to subdivisions twenty-eight-b,
twenty-eight-c and twenty-eight-d of this section, shall be consistent
with applicable federal laws and regulations.
28-f. (a) Except where inconsistent with federal law, rules and regu-
lations, in addition to any air contaminant emission control systems
required by subdivisions twenty-eight-b and twenty-eight-c of this
section, the commissioner of environmental conservation may by regu-
lation require the installation of exhaust emission control devices in
proper working condition on all or any vehicles of any class or classes
of gasoline powered motor vehicle having a registered maximum gross
weight in excess of six thousand pounds. The commissioner of environ-
mental conservation shall not promulgate any such regulation unless he
(i) has determined, with the concurrence of the commissioner, that any
such device is, or devices are, effective and reliable, (ii) has deter-
mined that the installation of any such device on all or any vehicles of
such class or classes is necessary to the achievement of federal ambient
air quality standards pursuant to an approved air quality implementation
plan adopted pursuant to the federal clean air act, as amended (42
U.S.C. 1857 et seq.) and (iii) has determined that the effect of such
regulation will not be diluted by the absence of a comparable require-
ment in an adjoining state; provided, however, that the effective date
of the requirements of such regulation shall not be prior to the
approval or promulgation of a transportation control plan pursuant to
the Federal clean air act as amended for those portions of adjoining
states designated as the territorial areas forming parts of the New
Jersey-New York-Connecticut Interstate Air Quality Control Region under
such act and not prior to the effective date of comparable requirements
for such vehicles registered in, required to be registered in, or oper-
ated in any such portions. Any such requirement shall take effect with
respect to any such motor vehicle as of the date of issuance of a regis-
tration for such vehicle in the year next succeeding the date on which
the regulation requiring the installation of such a device is promulgat-
ed by the commissioner of environmental conservation, but in no event
prior to March first, nineteen hundred seventy-six.
(b) The provisions of paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall apply
only to gasoline powered vehicles which are registered in or are
required by law to be registered pursuant to subdivision seven of
section four hundred one of this chapter in, or are regularly operated
in that portion of the state designated as the territorial area forming
part of the New Jersey-New York-Connecticut Interstate Air Quality-Con-
trol Region under the federal clean air act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 1857
et seq.) or any part of such region.
(c) Whenever a motor vehicle registered pursuant to subdivision seven
of section four hundred one of this chapter is not required by a regu-
lation promulgated pursuant to this subdivision, to have an exhaust
emission control device installed in accordance with this subdivision,
the applicant for registration for any such motor vehicle shall be
required to file a statement as prescribed by the commissioner in
conjunction with such registration that such motor vehicle is not
required to have such a device. A false statement in relation to such
exemption shall constitute a material false statement in an application
for registration.
(d) A notation on the registration for a vehicle and an identifying
sticker on the vehicle, both of which indicate that such vehicle is
required to have an exhaust emission control device shall be presumptive
evidence that such device in proper working condition is required on
that vehicle pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subdivision.
(e) The rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to paragraph (a) of
this subdivision shall contain provisions necessary or appropriate to
implement this subdivision, including the definition of terms and
exemptions for motor vehicles registered in areas from which no substan-
tial numbers of motor vehicles are regulary operated in the portion of
the state referred to in paragraph (b) of this subdivision.
(f) No registered owner shall permit a motor vehicle, required to have
an exhaust emission control device in proper working condition pursuant
to the provisions of this subdivision, to be operated in the portion of
the state to which this subdivision is applicable, unless such vehicle
is equipped with an approved exhaust emission control device in proper
working condition. Every person convicted of a violation of this para-
graph shall for a first violation thereof with respect to a particular
motor vehicle be punished by a fine of five hundred dollars. Such fine
may not be waived, suspended or in any other manner not levied, except
that three hundred dollars of such fine may be waived upon presentation
of acceptable evidence prior to the final determination of the violation
that the device required pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subdivision
has been installed on the vehicle and is in proper working condition.
Every person convicted of a second or subsequent violation with respect
to a particular vehicle shall be punished by a fine of five hundred
dollars, which fine may not be waived, suspended or in any other manner
not levied.
29. (a) A motor vehicle shall not be used to tow more than one other
vehicle.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subdivi-
sion, the following vehicles or combination of vehicles are permitted to
be operated in New York state:
1. Municipal garbage or ash collecting systems consisting of three
vehicles;
2. A tow truck or wrecker being used to tow a disabled tractor semi-
trailer combination;
3. A tractor being used to tow a semitrailer and trailer outside the
city of New York or counties of Nassau and Suffolk or on any qualifying
highway or access highway within the city of New York or counties of
Nassau or Suffolk;
4. Subject to rules and regulations of the commissioner of transpor-
tation, a combination of an automotive powered cab and truck chassis
being used to tow two such additional vehicles in double saddle-mount
fashion, each mounted upon a device designed and constructed so as to be
readily dismountable and which performs the function of a conventional
fifth wheel, so that while all the wheels of the towing powered chassis
touch the roadway, only the wheels on the rear axle of each of the towed
vehicles are in contact with the roadway; and
5. Subject to rules and regulations of the commissioner of transporta-
tion, a combination of an automotive powered cab and truck chassis being
used to tow three such additional vehicles in triple saddle-mount fash-
ion on a qualifying or access highway, each mounted upon a device
designed and constructed so as to be readily dismountable and which
performs the function of a conventional fifth wheel, so that while all
the wheels of the towing powered chassis touch the roadway, only the
wheels on the rear axle of each of the towed vehicles are in contact
with the roadway.
(c) No vehicle shall be towed by a rope or other non-rigid connection
which is longer than sixteen feet.
(d) A motor vehicle being towed by a rope or other non-rigid
connection must have a licensed driver in such motor vehicle who shall
steer it when it is being towed.
29-a. No vehicle or mobile equipment shall be towed with the use of a
dolly unless the dolly, vehicle or mobile equipment is secured to the
towing vehicle by safety chains or cables which will prevent the dolly,
vehicle or mobile equipment from separating from the towing vehicle and
the towed vehicle or mobile equipment is securely fastened to the dolly.
Dolly shall mean a multi-wheel device utilized to raise a part of a
towed vehicle or mobile equipment while it is being towed by another
vehicle.
30. It shall be unlawful for any person to operate a motor vehicle
with any object placed or hung in or upon the vehicle, except required
or permitted equipment of the vehicle, in such a manner as to obstruct
or interfere with the view of the operator through the windshield, or to
prevent him from having a clear and full view of the road and condition
of traffic behind such vehicle.
31. Mufflers and exhaust systems. Prevention of noise. Every motor
vehicle, operated or driven upon the highways of the state, shall at all
times be equipped with an adequate muffler and exhaust system in
constant operation and properly maintained to prevent any excessive or
unusual noise and no such muffler or exhaust system shall be equipped
with a cut-out, bypass, or similar device. No person shall modify the
muffler or exhaust system of a motor vehicle in a manner which will
amplify or increase the noise emitted by the motor or exhaust system of
such vehicle above that emitted by the muffler or exhaust system
originally installed on the vehicle and such original muffler and
exhaust system shall comply with all the requirements of this section.
A muffler is a device consisting of a series of chambers or baffle
plates, or other mechanical design for the purpose of receiving exhaust
gas from an internal combustion engine, and effective in reducing noise.
An exhaust system is a series of mechanical devices for the purpose of
receiving exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine and expelling
it into the atmosphere.
31-a. No person shall, in the state, sell, install or use a motorcycle
exhaust device without internal baffles, known as "straight pipes".
31-b. No person shall, in the state, sell, install or use a motorcycle
exhaust device that is intentionally designed to allow for the internal
baffling to be fully or partially removed or interchangeable. This
subdivision shall not apply to a motorcycle manufactured or assembled
prior to nineteen hundred seventy-nine or a motorcycle registered as a
limited use vehicle or an all terrain vehicle pursuant to article
forty-eight-A or forty-eight-B of this chapter.
32. The violation of any of the provisions of this section with
respect to adequate brakes except those relating to emergency or hand
brakes shall constitute a misdemeanor and the violation of any of the
other provisions of this section, including those relating to emergency
or hand brakes, shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding one hundred
dollars or by imprisonment for not exceeding thirty days, or by both
such fine and imprisonment, except as herein otherwise provided.
33. The provisions of this section shall not apply to fire and police
vehicles, self-propelled combines, self-propelled corn and hay harvest-
ing machines, farm type tractors used exclusively for agricultural
purposes or for snow plowing other than for hire, and self-propelled
caterpillar or crawler-type equipment while being operated on the
contract site except when reference is specifically made to such vehi-
cle.
34. Any motor vehicle may be equipped with and every passenger vehicle
registered in this state and manufactured or assembled after January
first, nineteen hundred sixty-nine, shall be equipped with at least one
back-up light. Such light shall display a white light to the rear when
the ignition switch is energized and reverse gear is engaged. Such light
shall not be lighted when the motor vehicle is in forward motion.
35. Tires. (a) The commissioner may establish standards for the manu-
facture, regrooving or retreading of tires which are produced or sold in
this state, and for the use of tires on vehicles operated in this state.
(b) No tire shall be manufactured, distributed, offered for sale or
sold in this state if it does not comply with the standards established
by the commissioner pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subdivision. A
violation of this paragraph shall be punishable as a misdemeanor.
(c) No person shall operate a motor vehicle or a trailer on a public
highway if such vehicle is equipped with tires that do not meet the
standards established by the commissioner pursuant to paragraph (a) of
this subdivision.
35-a. It shall be unlawful to operate a motor vehicle or trailer
equipped with tires having metal objects protruding from the tire tread
upon any public highway. The prohibition contained in this section shall
not apply to pneumatic tires containing metal type studs, the diameter
of which studs inclusive of the stud casing does not exceed three-
eighths of an inch and which do not protrude beyond the tread surface of
such tires more than three thirty-seconds of an inch and the contact
area of which does not exceed three-fourths of one per cent of the total
nominal contact area of said tires determined by multiplying the circum-
ference of the outer most edge of tread times the tread width, except
that no vehicle equipped with such tires, other than school buses and
state or municipally-owned vehicles, may operate on a public highway
during the period from the first day of May to the fifteenth day of
October, inclusive.
36. (a) The slow-moving vehicle emblem as developed by the American
Society of Agricultural Engineers shall be recognized as the official
state slow moving vehicle emblem. The commissioner of motor vehicles
shall adopt standards and specifications for design, creation and use,
in conformance with those recommendations of the American Society of
Agricultural Engineers for the size, design and mounting of said slow-
moving vehicle emblem.
(b) Farm machinery and implements of husbandry and other machinery
including road construction and maintenance machinery designed to oper-
ate at twenty-five miles per hour or less, traveling on a public highway
during day or night shall display on and after January 1, 1972 a slow-
moving vehicle emblem as specified in paragraph (a) of this subdivision.
Such emblem may be displayed prior to January 1, 1972 in accordance with
regulations issued by the commissioner.
(c) The use of such emblem shall be in addition to any lighting
devices, flags or other equipment required by law. Such emblem shall be
used only on farm machinery and implements of husbandry on road
construction and maintenance machinery, and on such other vehicles,
machinery and equipment as may be specified in regulations issued by the
commissioner. All use shall be in accordance with such regulations. Use
of such emblem as a clearance marker or on stationary objects on the
highways is prohibited.
37. The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations prescrib-
ing appropriate cautionary devices to be affixed to motor vehicles
engaged in retail sales of frozen desserts directly to consumers. Such
rules and regulations shall be designed to warn oncoming vehicles of the
likelihood of pedestrians in or about the vicinity of such sales
oriented motor vehicles. No person shall engage in the retail sale by
motor vehicle of frozen desserts directly to consumers in violation of
the rules and regulations promulgated by the commissioner. As used in
this subdivision, "frozen desserts" shall mean ice cream, frozen
custard, French ice cream, French custard ice cream, artificially sweet-
ened ice cream, ice milk, artificially sweetened ice milk, fruit sher-
bet, non-fruit sherbet, water ices, non-fruit water ices, quiescently
frozen confection, quiescently frozen dairy confection, manufactured
desserts mix, frozen confection, mellorine frozen dessert, parevine,
frozen yogurt, freezer made shakes, freezer made milk shakes, lo-mel,
and dietary frozen dessert as all such products are commonly known,
together with any mix used in such frozen desserts and any products
which are similar in appearance, odor or taste to such products, or are
prepared or frozen as frozen desserts are customarily prepared or
frozen, whether made with dairy products or non-dairy products.
39. Every motor vehicle registered in this state and manufactured or
assembled after October first, nineteen hundred sixty-four shall be
equipped with a defrosting device, in good working order, for the
purpose of preventing the formation of snow or ice on the windshield
directly in front of the operator. For the purposes of this subdivision
the term "motor vehicle" shall exclude motorcycles, tractors used exclu-
sively for agricultural purposes, self-propelled combines, self-pro-
pelled harvesting machines and farm equipment and self-propelled cater-
pillar or crawler-type equipment while being operated on the contract
site.
40. Stop lamps. (a) Every motor vehicle, except a motorcycle, operated
or driven upon the public highways of the state, if manufactured prior
to January first, nineteen hundred fifty-two, shall be equipped with at
least one stop lamp which shall display a red to amber light visible at
least five hundred feet from the rear of the vehicle when the brake of
such vehicle is applied.
(b) Every motor vehicle, except a motorcycle, operated or driven upon
the public highways of the state, if manufactured on or after January
first, nineteen hundred fifty-two, shall be equipped with at least two
stop lamps, one on each side, each of which shall display a red to amber
light visible at least five hundred feet from the rear of the vehicle
when the brake of such vehicle is applied.
41. Colored and flashing lights. The provisions of this subdivision
shall govern the affixing and display of lights on vehicles, other than
those lights required by law. 1. No light, other than a white light, and
no revolving, rotating, flashing, oscillating or constantly moving white
light shall be affixed to, or displayed on any vehicle except as
prescribed herein.
2. Red lights and certain white lights. One or more red or combination
red and white lights, or one white light which must be a revolving,
rotating, flashing, oscillating or constantly moving light, may be
affixed to an authorized emergency vehicle, and such lights may be
displayed on an authorized emergency vehicle when such vehicle is
engaged in an emergency operation, and upon a fire vehicle while return-
ing from an alarm of fire or other emergency.
3. Amber lights. a. One or more amber lights may be affixed to a
hazard vehicle, and such a light or lights which display an amber light
visible to all approaching traffic under normal atmospheric conditions
from a distance of five hundred feet from such vehicle shall be
displayed on a hazard vehicle when such vehicle is engaged in a hazard-
ous operation. Such light or lights shall not be required to be
displayed during daylight hours provided at least two red flags visible
from a distance of five hundred feet are placed both in or on the front
of, and to or on the rear of the vehicle and two such flags are placed
to each side of the vehicle open to traffic. Such lights or flags need
not be displayed on the vehicle when the vehicle is operating, or
parked, within a barricaded work area and said lights or flags are
displayed on the barricade. The provisions of this subdivision shall not
prohibit the temporary affixing and display of an amber light to be used
as a warning on a disabled motor vehicle or on a motor vehicle while it
is stopped on a highway while engaged in an operation which would
restrict, impede or interfere with the normal flow of traffic.
b. In any city in this state having a population of one million or
more, one amber light may be affixed to any motor vehicle owned or oper-
ated by a volunteer member of a civilian or crime patrol provided such
volunteer civilian or crime patrol member has been authorized in writing
to so affix an amber light by the police commissioner of the munici-
pality in which he patrols, which authorization shall be subject to
revocation at any time by the police commissioner who issued the same or
his successor in office. Such amber light may be operated by such volun-
teer civilian or crime patrol member in such a vehicle only when engaged
in a patrol operation as defined and authorized by rules and regulations
promulgated by the police commissioner and only in such a manner and at
such times as may be authorized by the police commissioner pursuant to
said rules and regulations.
4. Blue light. One blue light may be affixed to any motor vehicle
owned by a volunteer member of a fire department or on a motor vehicle
owned by a member of such person`s family residing in the same household
or by a business enterprise in which such person has a proprietary
interest or by which he is employed, provided such volunteer fireman has
been authorized in writing to so affix a blue light by the chief of the
fire department or company of which he is a member, which authorization
shall be subject to revocation at any time by the chief who issued the
same or his successor in office. Such blue light may be displayed by
such volunteer fireman on such a vehicle only when engaged in an emer-
gency operation.
5. Green light. One green light may be affixed to any motor vehicle
owned by a member of a volunteer ambulance service, or on a motor vehi-
cle owned by a member of such person`s family, or by a business enter-
prise in which such person has a proprietary interest or by which he is
employed, provided such member has been authorized in writing to so
affix a green light by the chief officer of such service as designated
by the members thereof. Such green light may be displayed by such member
of a volunteer ambulance service only when engaged in an emergency oper-
ation.
As used in this paragraph volunteer ambulance service means: a. a
non-profit membership corporation (other than a fire corporation) incor-
porated under or subject to the provisions of the membership corpo-
rations law, or any other law, operating its ambulance or ambulances on
a non-profit basis for the convenience of the members thereof and their
families or of the community or under a contract with a county, city,
town or village pursuant to section one hundred twenty-two-b of the
general municipal law; or
b. an unincorporated association of persons operating its ambulance or
ambulances on a non-profit basis for the convenience of the members and
their families or of the community.
6. The commissioner is authorized to promulgate regulations with
respect to the affixing and display of colored lights and to promulgate
specifications with respect to such lights.
7. The provisions of this subdivision forty-one shall not be applica-
ble to vehicles from other states or from the Dominion of Canada which
have entered this state to render police, fire or civil defense aid, or
ambulance service, while such vehicles are here or are returning to
their home stations if the lights on such vehicles comply with the laws
of their home states or the Dominion of Canada and are displayed in this
state in the same manner permitted by their home states or the Dominion
of Canada, nor shall the provisions of this subdivision forty-one be
deemed to amend, supersede or in any manner affect the provisions of the
New York state defense emergency act as now in force or as it may be
amended from time to time.
8. The provisions of this subdivision shall not be applicable to the
driver of a vehicle from another state or foreign jurisdiction which
vehicle has colored lights affixed but not revolving, rotating, flash-
ing, oscillating or constantly moving if the lights on such vehicle
comply with the laws of the state or home foreign jurisdiction in which
the vehicle is registered.
42. Every motor vehicle registered in this state which is manufactured
or assembled on or after September first, nineteen hundred eighty and
operated or driven upon the highways of the state shall be equipped with
a speedometer device which is capable of measuring the speed of such
vehicle and displaying the same in miles per hour.
43. No dealer shall sell a motor vehicle or a trailer which is to be
registered in this state unless such motor vehicle or trailer has all
the equipment required for operation on the public highways of this
state.
44. Driver education vehicles. Any motor vehicle used for the purpose
of driving instruction for hire or for driver education by a school and
being operated by a person receiving such instruction or education shall
bear identification, visible to both oncoming and following traffic, to
indicate that the vehicle is being driven by a student driver. The
commissioner may establish standards for such identification.
45. Hydrocarbon gas powered vehicles. It shall be unlawful to operate
upon any public highway or street in this state a motor vehicle that
uses hydrocarbon gas as its primary or secondary fuel supply, unless the
motor vehicle conspicuously displays a reflective placard designed to
alert emergency personnel to the extraordinary hazards which may arise
from proximity with this fuel. The commissioner shall, in cooperation
with the state fire administrator, establish regulations as to the
location and design of this warning placard.
46. Tamper-resistant odometers or speedometers. It shall be unlawful
after July first, nineteen hundred ninety-one for any person, firm,
association or corporation to sell or offer for sale in this state a new
motor vehicle which is to be registered in this state and which was
manufactured or assembled on or after such date, and designed as a nine-
teen hundred ninety-two or later model, unless such vehicle is equipped
with a tamper-resistant odometer or speedometer designed with the intent
to reduce the likelihood of unlawful tampering with the mileage reading
thereon.
The commissioner shall promulgate such rules and regulations relative
to tamper-resistant odometers and speedometers on motor vehicles and the
approval of the same as are not inconsistent with the provisions of
federal law, if any, relating thereto. Such rules shall, at a minimum,
require odometers and speedometers which indicate mileage with a minimum
of six digits exclusive of digits indicating fractions of a mile. This
section shall not apply to motorcycles.
47. (a) It shall be unlawful for any person to operate or cause to be
operated, an audio amplification system which is operated in, installed
in or powered by a vehicle which generates an A-weighted sound level in
excess of seventy dB (A) measured at, or adjusted to, a distance of
twenty-five feet from the vehicle which is driven, standing, or parked
on a public highway, or within one hundred feet of a public highway
unless that system is being operated to request assistance or warn of a
hazardous situation. This section shall not apply to authorized emergen-
cy vehicles or vehicles operated by gas, electric, communications or
water utilities. This section shall not apply to the sound systems of
vehicles used for advertising, or in parades, political or other special
events, except that the use of sound systems on those motor vehicles may
be prohibited by a local authority by ordinance or local law.
(b) Any person convicted of a violation of this section shall for a
first conviction thereof be punished by a fine of up to one hundred
dollars; for a conviction of a second violation, both of which were
committed within a period of eighteen months, such person shall be guil-
ty of a traffic infraction and shall be punished by a fine of not less
than one hundred dollars and not more than two hundred dollars; upon
conviction of a third or subsequent violation, all of which were commit-
ted within a period of eighteen months, such person shall be guilty of a
traffic infraction and shall be punished by a fine of not less than two
hundred fifty dollars and not more than five hundred dollars.
48. Bumpers or similar devices. (a) For the purposes of this subdivi-
sion, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
(i) Bumper. A system, the primary function of which is to provide
protection against damage affecting front or rear external lamps, body
parts and vehicle occupants during low speed impacts.
(ii) Passenger car. A motor vehicle whose body style is a sedan, hard-
top, coupe, convertible, station wagon or hatchback but not a van, mini-
van, multipurpose passenger vehicle, truck, tractor, motorcycle or bus.
(b) No person shall operate a passenger car registered in New York
unless it is equipped with both a front and rear bumper, each securely
fastened and with some part of the bumper located between sixteen inches
and twenty inches above the ground. This provision shall not apply to a
vehicle registered as an historical vehicle.
(c) Except insofar as paragraph (b) of this subdivision shall apply,
no person shall operate a motor vehicle designated as a nineteen hundred
ninety or newer model year vehicle, which is registered in this state,
except a motorcycle or special purpose commercial vehicle registered
under schedule F of subdivision seven of section four hundred one of
this chapter, which is so constructed that the body has a clearance at
the front end of more than thirty inches from the ground when empty,
unless the front end of the vehicle is equipped with bumpers or devices
serving similar purposes which shall be so constructed and located that
(i) some part of the bumpers or devices must be at least sixteen but not
more than thirty inches above the ground with the vehicle empty; (ii)
the maximum distance between the closest points between bumpers or
devices, if more than one is used, shall not exceed twenty-four inches;
(iii) the maximum transverse distance from the widest part of the motor
vehicle at the front to the bumper or device shall not exceed eighteen
inches; and (iv) the bumpers or devices shall be substantially
constructed and firmly attached. A motor vehicle constructed and main-
tained so that the body, chassis, or other parts of the vehicle afford
the front end protection contemplated shall be deemed to be in compli-
ance with this section.
(d) Except insofar as paragraph (b) of this subdivision shall apply,
no person shall operate a motor vehicle or a combination of vehicles,
designated as a nineteen hundred ninety or newer model year vehicle,
except a tractor, pole trailer, vehicle engaged in saddle-mount opera-
tion, motorcycle or special purpose commercial vehicle registered under
schedule F of subdivision seven of section four hundred one of this
chapter, if the motor vehicle is registered in this state, and which is
so constructed that the body, or the chassis assembly without the body,
has a clearance at the rear end of more than thirty inches from the
ground when empty, unless the rear end of the vehicle or combination of
vehicles is equipped with bumpers or devices serving similar purposes
which shall be so constructed and located that: (i) some part of the
bumpers or devices must be at least sixteen but not more than thirty
inches above the ground with the vehicle empty; (ii) the maximum
distance between the closest points between bumpers, or devices, if more
than one is used, shall not exceed twenty-four inches; (iii) the maximum
transverse distance from the widest part of the motor vehicle at the
rear to the bumper or device shall not exceed eighteen inches; (iv) the
bumpers or devices shall be located not more than twenty-four inches
forward of the extreme rear of the vehicle; and (v) the bumpers or
devices shall be substantially constructed and firmly attached. Motor
vehicles constructed and maintained so that the body, chassis, or other
parts of the vehicle afford the rear end protection contemplated shall
be deemed to be in compliance with this section.
49. Truck warning lights. (a) Every truck registered in this state and
manufactured or assembled after September first, nineteen hundred nine-
ty-two, which has a bed capable of being tilted or lifted and which is
operated upon any public highway or street in this state shall be
equipped with a warning light in its cab that is activated whenever the
bed of the truck is elevated.
(b) Every tractor registered in this state and manufactured or assem-
bled after September first, nineteen hundred ninety-three, which is used
primarily for the towing of a trailer capable of being tilted or lifted
and which is operated upon any public highway or street in this state
shall be equipped with a warning light in its cab that is activated
whenever the trailer is elevated.
50. Taxicab partitions and shields. Every taxicab registered in this
state and registered or licensed by a city, town or village of seventy-
five thousand persons or more pursuant to section one hundred eighty-one
of the general municipal law shall be equipped with (a) partitions or
shields made of plexiglass or other shatterproof material located
between and effectively separating the front and rear seats, and (b)
amber colored distress lights, mounted on and clearly visible to
passersby from the front and rear of the taxicab; provided, however,
that the requirements of this subdivision shall not apply to taxicabs
registered or licensed by such city, town or village which elects not to
be subjected to the requirements of this subdivision pursuant to a duly
enacted or adopted local law, ordinance or regulation. Nothing contained
herein shall be construed to restrict the power of a city, town or
village which elects not to be subject to the requirements of this
subdivision to adopt or enforce a local law, ordinance or regulation
regarding the use of taxicab partitions and distress lights.
S 375-a. Prohibition against retaliatory action. 1. Definitions. For
purposes of this section:
(a) "Employee" means an individual who is a driver or operator of a
motor vehicle which has a registered maximum gross weight of eighteen
thousand pounds or more and performs services for and under the control
and direction of an employer for wages or other remuneration.
(b) "Employer" means any registered owner of a motor vehicle which has
a registered maximum gross weight of eighteen thousand pounds or more or
any person, firm, partnership, institution, corporation, or association
that employs one or more employees as herein defined.
(c) "Retaliatory personnel action" means the discharge, suspension or
demotion of an employee, or other adverse employment action taken
against an employee in the terms and conditions of employment.
2. Prohibition. An employer shall not take any retaliatory personnel
action against an employee because the employee objected to or refused
to operate a motor vehicle which the employee reasonably believes fails
to comply with the provisions of subdivision one, insofar as such subdi-
vision concerns brakes and steering mechanism, paragraph (a) of subdivi-
sion two, paragraph a of subdivision ten, subdivision eighteen, eigh-
teen-a, twenty-five, paragraph (c) of subdivision thirty-five,
thirty-nine, forty or forty-two of section three hundred seventy-five,
or section three hundred seventy-six or section three hundred eighty-a
of this chapter relating to required equipment of such vehicle or its
proper repair.
3. Application. The protection against any retaliatory personnel
action found in subdivision two of this section shall apply only to an
employee who has brought the above mentioned violations of sections
three hundred seventy-five, three hundred seventy-six and/or three
hundred eighty-a to the attention of his employer in writing and has
afforded such employer a reasonable opportunity to correct such
violation.
4. Violation; remedy. An employee who has been subjected to a retali-
atory personnel action in violation of this section may institute a
civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction for relief as set
forth in subdivision five of section seven hundred forty of the labor
law within one year after the alleged retaliatory personnel action was
taken. The commissioner or his agent may deny a registration application
of any other person for the same vehicle where he has reasonable grounds
to believe that such registration will have the effect of defeating the
purpose of this subdivision.
5. Existing rights. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to dimin-
ish the rights, privileges, or remedies of any employee under any
collective bargaining agreement or employment contract.
S 376. Lamps, signaling devices and reflectors on vehicles. 1. (a) It
shall be unlawful to operate, drive or park a vehicle, except a motorcy-
cle operated during the period from one-half hour before sunrise to
one-half hour after sunset, on any public highway or street in this
state at any time during the day or night unless such vehicle is
equipped with signaling devices and reflectors of a type approved by the
commissioner which are in good working condition; or to operate, drive
or park a vehicle, except a motorcycle, on any public highway or street
in this state, during the period from one-half hour after sunset to
one-half hour before sunrise, unless such vehicle is equipped with lamps
of a type approved by the commissioner which are lighted and in good
working condition.
(b) The commissioner of motor vehicles is hereby authorized and
empowered to promulgate rules and regulations with respect to lamps,
reflectors and signaling devices, their number, type, design,
construction, location, attachment and use on vehicles being driven,
operated or parked on any public highway or street in this state. In
promulgating such rules and regulations the commissioner shall be guided
by the requirements with regard to lights, reflectors, signaling devices
and associated equipment on vehicles of rules and regulations promulgat-
ed by the United States department of transportation.
2. Wiring used on commercial vehicles shall be of such size that when
all connections are made in an acceptable and workmanlike manner the
loss in voltage will not be sufficient to cause a lamp to produce less
than the minimum candlepower, under normal operating conditions, when
the lamp is in good working order. All wiring should be enclosed in
weather proof and abrasion proof cable or conduit except wiring which is
completely enclosed within the body of the vehicle.
3. All lights, signals and reflectors shall be of a type and design
approved by the commissioner. No light having a candlepower rating in
excess of thirty-two candle power shall be used on any vehicle, unless
it is of a type approved by the commissioner. The provisions of section
three hundred seventy-five of this chapter governing the approval of
equipment and the adjustment of headlamps shall apply to the equipment
and headlamps required by this section. The commissioner is hereby
authorized and empowered to adopt and from time to time amend such regu-
lations not inconsistent with this section, governing the size, type,
construction, location, and use of lights, signals and reflectors,
including the exemption of specific vehicles from the requirements of
this section where the construction of such vehicles makes compliance
herewith impracticable, or impossible.
4. All existing provisions of this chapter governing the use of head-
lamps, front parking lamps and license plate lamps and other lamps,
reflectors, lights and directional signals on vehicles shall continue to
apply, except to the extent irreconcilably inconsistent with the
provisions of this section or regulations promulgated thereunder.
S 376-a. Defective equipment. 1. If any vehicle is driven or operated
on a public highway in violation of any provision of section three
hundred seventy-five, three hundred seventy-six or three hundred eight-
y-one of this article relating to required equipment or its proper
repair and adjustment, other than a provision relating to service
brakes, any police officer shall be authorized to take such action as
may be required or permitted by the provisions of this section.
2. If the vehicle is being operated or driven in violation of the
provisions of this chapter relating to the use or proper repair or
adjustment of headlamps, and there is not in operation at least one
headlamp lighted and adjusted as required by law, such officer shall
issue a summons for such violation and shall order the operator to
remove such vehicle from the highway. In such event, such vehicle shall
not again be driven or operated until such time as the vehicle can be
driven or operated without being in violation of such provisions.
3. If the vehicle is being driven or operated in violation of any
provisions of section three hundred seventy-five, three hundred seven-
ty-six or three hundred eighty-one of this article relating to required
equipment, except a violation described in subdivision two of this
section, subdivision forty-seven of section three hundred seventy-five
of this article, and except a violation relating to service brakes, such
officer shall issue a summons, provided, however, that a summons shall
not be issued if, in the discretion and at the request of such officer,
the defect is corrected in the presence of such officer. The refusal of
a police officer to permit the repair of any defect in his presence
shall not be reviewable, and shall not be a defense to any violation
charged in a summons issued pursuant to the provisions of this subdivi-
sion.
4. Any complaint issued for any violation of section three hundred
seventy-five, three hundred seventy-six or three hundred eighty-one of
this article relative to required equipment, except a violation
described in subdivision two of this section, subdivision forty-seven of
section three hundred seventy-five of this article, and except for a
violation relating to service brakes, shall be dismissed by the court
before which the summons is returnable if the violation as set forth in
the summons is corrected not later than one-half hour after sunset on
the first full business day after the issuance of the summons and proof
of such correction as set forth in subdivision five of this section is
submitted to the court. For the purposes of this subdivision, "business
day" shall mean any calendar day except Sunday, or the following busi-
ness holidays: New Year`s Day, Washington`s Birthday, Memorial Day,
Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans` Day, Thanksgiving
Day, and Christmas Day.
5. (a) Acceptable proof of repair or adjustment shall consist of
submission to the court on or before the return date of the summons
either:
(i) a statement of correction from an officially designated state
inspection station duly executed by the person performing or making such
inspection and bearing the facility number of the state inspection
station, or
(ii) a statement of correction from an automobile repair shop on the
letterhead of such repair shop duly executed by the person who made the
correction, or
(iii) a statement of correction from any registrant having more than
twenty-five vehicles registered and having a fleet maintenance program
administered by the registrant, duly executed by the person performing
or making such correction and countersigned by the fleet maintenance
supervisor, or
(iv) a signed statement of any police officer that the necessary
corrections have been made, or
(v) evidence acceptable to the court from any person that he or she
completed the repair together with proof of purchase of the equipment
needed for the repair, or
(vi) in the discretion of the court, submission of the vehicle to the
court for inspection not later than one-half hour after the next ensuing
sunset.
(b) The statement required by this subdivision shall be directed to
the court having jurisdiction of the alleged violation, shall be
affirmed as true under penalty of perjury, and shall include:
(i) the name, occupation and position of the person making the state-
ment;
(ii) the time and date that the repairs or inspection were made; and
(iii) a statement that the defective equipment, cited in the summons
or information, on the vehicle in question, is in proper working order.
6. The provisions of this section shall not be construed to affect any
cause of action or the rights or liabilities of any person with respect
to damages or injuries caused or suffered as a result of the operation
of a motor vehicle.
S 377. Vehicles engaged in the transportation of logs and other mate-
rials. 1. No vehicle which is designed or used for the purpose of haul-
ing logs or other materials which by their very nature may shift or roll
so as to be likely to fall from such vehicle, shall be operated or moved
over any highway unless its load is securely fastened by such safety
chains, cables or other suitable devices as will effectively prevent the
shifting or falling of such load or any part thereof, from the vehicle.
2. The commissioner is authorized to make necessary rules and regu-
lations to carry into effect the provisions of this section, applying
such provisions to specific conditions and prescribing means, methods
and practices to effectuate such provisions. Before any such rule or
regulation is adopted, amended or repealed there shall be a public hear-
ing thereon, notice of which shall be published at least once, not less
than ten days prior thereto, in such newspaper as the commissioner may
prescribe.
3. A violation of any of the provisions of this section or of any rule
or regulation promulgated hereunder shall constitute a misdemeanor
punishable by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars for a first
offense, three hundred fifty dollars for a second offense, or seven
hundred fifty dollars for each subsequent offense, or by imprisonment
for not more than thirty days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
S 378. Additional safety requirements for commercial vehicles and
vehicles transporting hazardous materials. 1. Motor vehicles and trail-
ers operated pursuant to or requiring a certificate or permit for the
transportation of property or hazardous materials from the interstate
commerce commission or the commissioner of transportation and all other
motor vehicles and trailers operated for the commercial transportation
of property or hazardous materials, in addition to being subject to the
provisions of this chapter and regulations promulgated thereunder, are
also subject to the provisions of section one hundred forty of the
transportation law and safety rules and regulations promulgated there-
under.
2. Vehicles transporting hazardous materials, in addition to being
subject to the provisions of this chapter and regulations promulgated
thereunder are also subject to the provisions of section fourteen-f of
the transportation law and rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
3. Whenever a vehicle is in violation of a provision of both the vehi-
cle and traffic law and section fourteen-f or section one hundred forty
of the transportation law or safety rules and regulations promulgated
thereunder, if the offenses arise from the same incident and the
elements of both offenses are substantially the same, the alleged viola-
tor shall be charged only with the appropriate offense of the transpor-
tation law.
S 380-a. Certain vehicles engaged in the transportation of loose
cargo. 1. It shall be unlawful to operate on any public highway any
open truck or trailer being utilized for the transportation of any loose
substances, unless said truck or trailer has a cover, tarpaulin or other
device of a type and specification approved by the commissioner of
transportation which completely closes in the opening on the said truck
or trailer while said truck or trailer shall be so operated, so as to
prevent the falling of any such substances therefrom. However, if the
load is arranged so that no loose substance can fall from or blow out of
such truck, the covering is not necessary.
2. The commissioner of transportation is authorized to make necessary
rules and regulations to carry into effect the provisions of this
section, applying such provisions to specific conditions and loads and
prescribing means, methods and practices to effectuate such provisions.
3. The provisions of this section shall not apply to motor vehicles,
trailers and semitrailers conveying "farm products" as defined in
section two of the agriculture and markets law.
S 381. Motorcycle equipment. 1. (a) Every motorcycle, driven upon the
public highways of this state, shall be provided with adequate brakes in
good working order and sufficient to control such motorcycle at all
times, when the same is in use, a suitable and adequate bell, horn or
other device for signaling, one red to amber stop lamp and shall, when-
ever such motorcycle is being operated upon the public highways of the
state, display one lighted lamp in front and one on the rear, or, when
such motorcycle is operated with a passenger or other truck attached to
the side or front two such lamps on the front and one on the rear; and
in all cases the lamps on a motorcycle shall include a red light visible
from the rear. The rays of such rear lamp shall shine upon the number
plate carried on the rear of such motorcycle in such manner as to render
the numerals thereon visible for at least fifty feet in the direction
from which the motorcycle is proceeding. The light of the front lamp or
lamps shall be visible at least two hundred feet in the direction in
which the motorcycle is proceeding. Every such motorcycle shall have a
suitable muffler or device to prevent unnecessary noise from exhaust
gases, and the use of so-called "cut-outs" is prohibited.
(b) Driving a motorcycle without the display of one lighted lamp in
front and one on the rear, during a period other than from one-half hour
after sunset to one-half hour before sunrise, shall not be deemed to
constitute negligence or contributory negligence in any action or
proceeding arising out of the operation of such motorcycle.
(c) The provisions of this subdivision relating to the display of one
lighted lamp in front and one on the rear during a period other than
from one-half hour after sunset to one-half hour before sunrise shall
not apply to a motorcycle, driven at a speed of less than twenty miles
per hour, owned by a municipality and used for the collection of parking
fees or the enforcement of parking regulations.
1-a. Every motorcycle registered in this state and manufactured or
assembled after January first, nineteen hundred seventy-one and desig-
nated as a nineteen hundred seventy-one or subsequent year model shall
be equipped with brakes acting on the front as well as the rear wheel.
2. No head lamp shall be used upon any motorcycle operated upon the
public highways of the state, unless such lamp is approved by the
commissioner or is equipped with a lens or other device approved by the
commissioner. Every such head lamp, lens or other device shall be
applied and adjusted in accordance with the requirements of the certif-
icate approving the use thereof. Every such head lamp shall be firmly
and substantially mounted on the motorcycle in such manner as to allow
the lamp to be properly and readily adjusted. Each reflector which is
used as a part of such head lamp shall have a polished silver or glass
reflecting surface, or a reflecting surface which gives candle power
intensity meeting the requirements of rules and regulations established
by the commissioner, and shall be substantially free from dents, rust
and other imperfections. The operator of every motorcycle shall permit
any policeman, police officer or other person exercising police powers
to inspect the equipment of such motorcycle and make such tests as may
be necessary to determine whether the provisions of this section are
being complied with. The commissioner may make reasonable rules and
regulations relative to lights on motorcycles and the approval of the
same which may be necessary to effectuate the foregoing provisions of
this section.
2-a. It shall be unlawful for any person to operate on the public
highways of the state any motorcycle manufactured or assembled after
October first, nineteen hundred sixty-eight and designated as a nineteen
hundred sixty-nine or subsequent year model unless such motorcycle is
equipped with the lamps required by this section, which lamps shall be
of a type, design and construction approved by the commissioner.
3. Except as hereinafter provided, only a white or yellow light shall
be displayed upon a motorcycle so as to be visible from a point directly
in front of the vehicle. Any color light, except blue, may be displayed,
so as to be visible from a point directly in front of the vehicle, on a
police vehicle or on a motorcycle operated by a sheriff or regular depu-
ty sheriff when engaged in the performance of duty as a police officer.
Any color light, including blue, may be displayed, so as to be visible
from a point directly in front of the vehicle, on a motorcycle operated
by a chief or assistant chief of a fire department, a county or deputy
county fire coordinator, or a county or assistant county fire marshal. A
blue light may be displayed upon a motorcycle, so as to be visible from
a point directly in front of the vehicle, when operated by an active
volunteer member of a fire department or company duly authorized as
hereinafter provided, and while such vehicle is in use for fire or other
emergency service. No volunteer fireman shall be permitted to display a
blue light upon a motorcycle as hereinbefore provided except while actu-
ally enroute to the scene of a fire or other emergency requiring his
services and unless he shall be an active volunteer member of a fire
department or company and shall have been authorized in writing to so
display a blue light by the chief of the fire department or company of
which he is a member, which authorization shall be subject to revocation
at any time by the chief who issued the same, or his successor in
office.
4. Every motorcycle shall have at least one adequate red reflector
securely attached to the rear. Such reflector may be a part of the rear
lamp. No reflector shall be deemed adequate within the meaning of this
subdivision unless it is of a size and type approved by the commission-
er, and unless it is so designed, located and maintained as to be visi-
ble for at least two hundred feet when opposed by a motor vehicle
displaying lawful undimmed headlights at night on an unlighted highway.
The provisions of this subdivision with respect to reflectors shall be
applicable, both day and night, whenever the motorcycle is on a public
highway.
5. No person shall operate on a public highway a motorcycle on which
the handle bars or grips are more than fifteen inches higher than the
seat or saddle for the operator.
6. It shall be unlawful for any person to operate or ride upon a
motorcycle unless he wears a protective helmet of a type which meets the
requirements set forth in section 571.218 of the federal motor vehicle
safety standards as may from time to time be amended. The commissioner
is hereby authorized and directed to adopt regulations for helmets which
are consistent with the requirements as specified in section 571.218 of
the federal motor vehicle safety standards as may from time to time be
amended. The police authorities of a city, town or village may issue a
permit exempting members of organizations sponsoring or conducting
parades or other public exhibitions from the provisions of this subdivi-
sion while such members are participating in such parades or other
public exhibitions.
7. It shall be unlawful, on and after January first, nineteen hundred
sixty-seven, for any person to operate a motorcycle unless he wears
goggles or a face shield of a type approved by the commissioner. The
commissioner is hereby authorized and empowered to adopt and amend regu-
lations covering types of goggles and face shields and the specifica-
tions therefor and to establish and maintain a list of approved goggles
and face shields which meet the specifications as established hereunder.
8. It shall be unlawful to operate on any public highway in this state
any motorcycle registered in this state which is equipped with a wind
screen, unless such wind screen meets the specifications established
therefor by the commissioner. The commissioner is hereby authorized to
adopt and amend regulations covering types of wind screens and specifi-
cations therefor.
9. It shall be unlawful to sell, offer for sale or distribute any
goggles or face shields for use by the operators of motorcycles unless
they are of a type and specification approved by the commissioner and
appear on the list of approved devices maintained by the commissioner.
9-a. It shall be unlawful to sell, offer for sale or distribute any
protective helmets for use by the operators or passengers of motorcycles
unless they are consistent with the regulations of the commissioner as
provided in subdivision six of this section and within the requirements
specified in section 571.218 of the federal motor vehicle safety stand-
ards as may from time to time be amended.
10. It shall be unlawful after July first, nineteen hundred sixty-sev-
en to operate on any public highway in this state any motorcycle regis-
tered in this state, unless such motorcycle is equipped with a rear view
mirror which shall be adjusted so that the operator of such motorcycle
shall have a clear view of the road and condition of traffic behind such
motorcycle.
11. No person shall operate a motorcycle on any highway which is: (1)
not equipped with a muffler to prevent excessive or unusual noise; (2)
equipped with a muffler from which the baffle plates, screens or other
original internal parts have been removed or altered; (3) equipped with
an exhaust device without internal baffles, known as "straight pipes";
or (4) equipped with an exhaust system that has been modified in a
manner that will amplify or increase the noise emitted by the motor of
such vehicle above that emitted by the exhaust system originally
installed on the vehicle.
12. No person shall operate a motorcycle on any highway which is
equipped with an exhaust device that is intentionally designed to allow
for the internal baffling to be fully or partially removed or inter-
changeable. This subdivision shall not apply to a motorcycle manufac-
tured or assembled prior to nineteen hundred seventy-nine or a motorcy-
cle registered as a limited use vehicle or an all terrain vehicle
pursuant to article forty-eight-A or forty-eight-B of this chapter.
13. A violation of any of the provisions of this section shall be
punishable by a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars or by imprison-
ment for not exceeding thirty days, or by both such fine and imprison-
ment.
S 382. Hydraulic brake fluid. 1. On and after January first, nineteen
hundred sixty no hydraulic brake fluid shall be sold in this state for
use in motor vehicles if such brake fluid shall be below the minimum
standard of specifications established by the commissioner for heavy
duty type brake fluid.
2. On and after January first, nineteen hundred sixty every package,
can or other container of brake fluid sold or distributed or kept for
sale in this state must meet such specifications; furthermore the label
thereof must indicate compliance with the specifications.
3. Any person who sells, distributes or keeps brake fluid in violation
of any of the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemea-
nor.
S 382-a. Brake linings. 1. It shall be unlawful on and after January
first, nineteen hundred sixty-six to sell, offer for sale or distribute
brake linings for use on motor vehicles unless they are of a type and
specification approved by the commissioner. The commissioner is hereby
authorized and empowered to adopt and amend regulations governing types
and specifications of brake linings that comply with approved standards
and shall establish and maintain an approved list of brake linings
fulfilling the specifications as established herein.
2. Any person who sells, offers for sale, distributes or keeps brake
linings in violation of any of the provisions of this section shall be
guilty of a misdemeanor.
S 382-b. Service brake system. Every motor vehicle of a passenger car
or station wagon type, registered in this state and manufactured or
assembled after June thirtieth, nineteen hundred sixty-seven, and desig-
nated as a nineteen hundred sixty-eight or later model, shall be
equipped with a service brake system of such design that rupture or
failure of an actuating force component of any single brake shall not
result in complete loss of braking function. The braking function may
be obtained by hydraulic or other means through the normal service brake
mechanism.
"Actuating force component" as used in this section shall mean the
brake master cylinder, brake actuating cylinder, brake line, brake hose,
or similar components performing like functions if the brake systems are
other than hydraulic.
In the event of rupture or failure of an actuating force component,
the unaffected brakes shall be capable of applying an adequate braking
force to the vehicle.
S 382-c. Occupant compartments. The commissioner may prescribe, by
regulation, standards consistent with federal motor vehicle safety stan-
dards specifying requirements for instrument panels, seat backs, protru-
sions (including knobs, switches, levers, handles, bezels, and panel
contours), sun visors, arm rests, steering control systems and other
similar components of the interior of the occupant`s compartment of
motor vehicles to afford impact protection for occupants. The commis-
sioner may limit the application of such regulations to specified class-
es of vehicles; provided, however, that such regulations shall not apply
to any motor vehicle manufactured prior to June thirtieth, nineteen
hundred sixty-seven. No motor vehicle shall be registered or driven on
the public highways of the state unless it is constructed, equipped or
maintained as required by the regulations promulgated pursuant to this
section.
S 383. Safety belts and anchorage assemblies. 1. Safety belts
required. No motor vehicle shall be sold or registered in this state and
no motor vehicle registered in this state shall be operated in this
state unless such vehicle is equipped with safety belts approved by and
conforming to standards established by the commissioner as follows:
(a) A motor vehicle manufactured or assembled after June thirtieth,
nineteen hundred sixty-four and designated as a 1965 or later model, at
least two safety belts for the front seat;
(b) A motor vehicle manufactured or assembled after June thirtieth,
nineteen hundred sixty-six and designated as a 1967 or later model, at
least one safety belt for the rear seat for each passenger for which the
rear seat of such vehicle was designed;
(c) A motor vehicle manufactured or assembled on or after January
first, nineteen hundred sixty-eight, at least one safety belt for each
passenger seat position.
2. Anchorage assemblies. No motor vehicle shall be sold or registered
in this state unless such motor vehicle is equipped with safety belt
assembly anchorages conforming to standards established by the commis-
sioner for each safety belt required in such motor vehicle. In addition,
no motor vehicle manufactured or assembled after June thirtieth, nine-
teen hundred sixty-two shall be sold or registered in this state unless
such motor vehicle is equipped with safety belt assembly anchorages
conforming to standards established by the commissioner for two safety
belts for the front seat of such vehicle.
3. Sale of safety belts. No safety belt shall be sold for use in a
motor vehicle, or installed in a motor vehicle unless such safety belt
is approved by, and conforms to standards established by the commission-
er.
4. Safety belts required in certain used motor vehicles. No person,
firm, association or corporation engaged in the business of selling or
leasing used motor vehicles, shall sell or lease any used motor vehicle
manufactured or assembled after June thirtieth, nineteen hundred sixty-
two and designated as a 1963 or subsequent year model unless such motor
vehicle is equipped with two safety belts for the front seat of such
motor vehicle. This provision shall not apply to motor vehicles sold at
wholesale or for junk.
4-a. Driver seat safety belts for certain motor vehicles. Notwith-
standing any other provisions of this chapter, it shall be unlawful for
the owner of a bus as defined in section one hundred four of this chap-
ter and manufactured on or after January first, nineteen hundred sixty-
five or a motor vehicle used for the purpose of transporting children to
and from public or private schools to permit such vehicle to be used for
such purpose unless the driver`s seat on such vehicle is equipped with a
seat safety belt of a type and specifications as approved by the commis-
sioner of motor vehicles. Any owner who permits a motor vehicle to be
operated without such safety belt or any person who operates a motor
vehicle and fails to use such safety belt shall be in violation of the
provisions of this subdivision and shall be guilty of an infraction,
punishable by a fine not exceeding fifty dollars.
5. (a) Passenger seat safety belts for school buses. Every school bus,
as defined in section one hundred forty-two of this chapter, manufac-
tured for use in this state on and after July first, nineteen hundred
eighty-seven, shall be designed so that all passenger seats on such
vehicle are equipped with seat safety belts and increased seat back
padding on passenger seats of a type and specification as approved by
the commissioner of transportation through the adoption of rules and
regulations. Such rules and regulations shall provide that when any
contactable surface of the school bus, as specified in the Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standard, 49 CFR Section 571.222, is impacted from any
direction at twenty-two feet per second by the head form, the axial
acceleration at the center of gravity of the head form shall be such
that the head form impact requirement shall not exceed eight hundred.
(b) Passenger seat safety belts for existing school buses. Any school
bus as defined in section one hundred forty-two of this chapter, which
is scheduled for retrofitting pursuant to action by a board of education
or board of trustees under section thirty-six hundred thirty-five-a of
the education law shall be retrofitted so that all passenger seats on
such vehicles are equipped with seat safety belts and additional padding
of a type and specification as approved by the commissioner of transpor-
tation through the adoption of rules and regulations. Such rules and
regulations shall provide that when any contactable surface of the
school bus as specified in the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard,
49CFR Section 571.222 is impacted from any direction at twenty-two feet
per second by the head form, the axial acceleration at the center of
gravity of the head form shall be such that the head form impact
requirement shall not exceed eight hundred. Furthermore, the commission-
er shall have the power through rules and regulations to exempt certain
design school buses from retrofitting. In granting such exemptions, the
commissioner shall consider safety factors, structural integrity of the
school buses and any other items deemed necessary to preserve the safety
and welfare of the school bus passengers. Provided further however that
the commissioner of transportation shall not authorize retrofitting of
any school bus manufactured prior to April first, nineteen hundred
seventy-seven.
6. Regulations. The Commissioner shall establish by regulation stand-
ards for safety belts, safety belt anchorage assemblies, and the instal-
lation of safety belts in motor vehicles. The commissioner may also by
regulation exclude certain motor vehicles or types of motor vehicles
from the requirements of this section. The commissioner may prescribe
the method of securing approval of safety belts.
S 384. Vehicle equipment safety compact. 1. The vehicle equipment
safety compact is hereby enacted into law and entered into with all
other jurisdictions legally joining therein in the form substantially as
follows:
VEHICLE EQUIPMENT SAFETY COMPACT
ARTICLE I
FINDINGS AND PURPOSES
(a) The party states find that:
(1) Accidents and deaths on their streets and highways present a very
serious human and economic problem with a major deleterious effect on
the public welfare.
(2) There is a vital need for the development of greater interjuris-
dictional cooperation to achieve the necessary uniformity in the laws,
rules, regulations and codes relating to vehicle equipment, and to
accomplish this by such means as will minimize the time between the
development of demonstrably and scientifically sound safety features and
their incorporation into vehicles.
(b) The purposes of this compact are to:
(1) Promote uniformity in regulation of and standards for equipment.
(2) Secure uniformity of law and administrative practice in vehicular
regulation and related safety standards to permit incorporation of
desirable equipment changes in vehicles in the interest of greater traf-
fic safety.
(3) To provide means for the encouragement and utilization of research
which will facilitate the achievement of the foregoing purposes, with
due regard for the findings set forth in subdivision (a) of this arti-
cle.
(c) It is the intent of this compact to emphasize performance require-
ments and not to determine the specific detail of engineering in the
manufacture of vehicles or equipment, except to the extent necessary for
the meeting of such performance requirements.
ARTICLE II
DEFINITIONS
As used in this compact: (a) "Vehicle" means every device in, upon or
by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a
highway, excepting devices moved by human power or used exclusively upon
stationary rails or tracks.
(b) "State" means a state, territory or possession of the United
States, the district of Columbia, or the commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(c) "Equipment" means any part of a vehicle or any accessory for use
thereon which affects the safety of operation of such vehicle or the
safety of the occupants.
ARTICLE III
THE COMMISSION
(a) There is hereby created an agency of the party states to be known
as the "vehicle equipment safety commission," hereinafter called the
commission. The commission shall be composed of one commissioner from
each party state who shall be appointed, serve and be subject to removal
in accordance with the laws of the state which he represents. If author-
ized by the laws of his party state, a commissioner may provide for the
discharge of his duties and the performance of his functions on the
commission, either for the duration of his membership or for any lesser
period of time, by an alternate. No such alternate shall be entitled to
serve unless notification of his identity and appointment shall have
been given to the commission in such form as the commission may require.
Each commissioner, and each alternate, when serving in the place and
stead of a commissioner, shall be entitled to be reimbursed by the
commission for expenses actually incurred in attending commission meet-
ings or while engaged in the business of the commission.
(b) The commissioners shall be entitled to one vote each on the
commission. No action of the commission shall be binding unless taken at
a meeting at which a majority of the total number of votes on the
commission are cast in favor thereof. Action of the commisison shall be
only at a meeting at which a majority of the commissioners, or their
alternates, are present.
(c) The commission shall have a seal.
(d) The commission shall elect annually, from among its members, a
chairman, a vice chairman and a treasurer. The commission may appoint an
executive director and fix his duties and compensation. Such executive
director shall serve at the pleasure of the commission, and together
with the treasurer shall be bonded in such amount as the commission
shall determine. The executive director also shall serve as secretary.
If there be no executive director, the commission shall elect a secre-
tary in addition to the other officers provided by this subdivision.
(e) Irrespective of the civil service, personnel or other merit system
laws of any of the party states, the executive director with the
approval of the commission, or the commission if there be no executive
director, shall appoint, remove or discharge such personnel as may be
necessary for the performance of the commission`s functions, and shall
fix the duties and compensation of such personnel.
(f) The commission may establish and maintain independently or in
conjunction with any one or more of the party states, a suitable retire-
ment system for its full time employees. Employees of the commission
shall be eligible for social security coverage in respect of old age and
survivor`s insurance provided that the commission takes such steps as
may be necessary pursuant to the laws of the United States, to partic-
ipate in such program of insurance as a governmental agency or unit. The
commission may establish and maintain or participate in such additional
programs of employee benefits as may be appropriate.
(g) The commission may borrow, accept, or contract for the services of
personnel from any party state, the United States, or any subdivision or
agency of the aforementioned governments, or from any agency of two or
more of the party states or their subdivisions.
(h) The commission may accept for any of its purposes and functions
under this compact any and all donations, and grants of money, equip-
ment, supplies, materials, and services, conditional or otherwise, from
any state, the United States, or any other governmental agency and may
receive, utilize and dispose of the same.
(i) The commission may establish and maintain such facilities as may
be necessary for the transacting of its business. The commission may
acquire, hold, and convey real and personal property and any interest
therein.
(j) The commission shall adopt bylaws for the conduct of its business
and shall have the power to amend and rescind these bylaws. The commis-
sion shall publish its bylaws in convenient form and shall file a copy
thereof and a copy of any amendment thereto, with the appropriate agency
or officer in each of the party states. The bylaws shall provide for
appropriate notice to the commissioners of all commission meetings and
hearings and the business to be transacted at such meetings or hearings.
Such notice shall also be given to such agencies or officers of each
party state as the laws of such party state may provide.
(k) The commission annually shall make to the governor and legislature
of each party state a report covering the activities of the commission
for the preceding year, and embodying such recommendations as may have
been issued by the commission. The commission may make such additional
reports as it may deem desirable.
ARTICLE IV
RESEARCH AND TESTING
The commission shall have power to:
(a) Collect, correlate, analyze and evaluate information resulting or
derivable from research and testing activities in equipment and related
fields.
(b) Recommend and encourage the undertaking of research and testing in
any aspect of equipment or related matters when, in its judgment, appro-
priate or sufficient research or testing has not been undertaken.
(c) Contract for such equipment research and testing as one or more
governmental agencies may agree to have contracted for by the commis-
sion, provided that such governmental agency or agencies shall make
available the funds necessary for such research and testing.
(d) Recommend to the party states changes in law or policy with empha-
sis on uniformity of laws and administrative rules, regulations or codes
which would promote effective governmental action or coordination in the
prevention of equipment-related highway accidents or the mitigation of
equipment-related highway safety problems.
ARTICLE V
VEHICULAR EQUIPMENT
(a) In the interest of vehicular and public safety, the commission may
study the need for or desirability of the establishment of or changes in
performance requirements or restrictions for any item of equipment. As
a result of such study, the commission may publish a report relating to
any item or items of equipment, and the issuance of such a report shall
be a condition precedent to any proceedings or other action provided or
authorized by this article. No less than sixty days after the publica-
tion of a report containing the results of such study, the commission
upon due notice shall hold a hearing or hearings at such place or places
as it may determine.
(b) Following the hearing or hearings provided for in subdivision (a)
of this article, and with due regard for standards recommended by appro-
priate professional and technical associations and agencies, the commis-
sion may issue rules, regulations, or codes embodying performance
requirements or restrictions for any item or items of equipment covered
in the report, which in the opinion of the commission will be fair and
equitable and effectuate the purposes of this compact.
(c) Each party state obligates itself to give due consideration to any
and all rules, regulations and codes issued by the commission and hereby
declares its policy and intent to be the promotion of uniformity in the
laws of the several party states relating to equipment.
(d) The commission shall send prompt notice of its action in issuing
any rule, regulation or code pursuant to this article to the appropriate
motor vehicle agency of each party state and such notice shall contain
the complete text of the rule, regulation or code.
(e) If the constitution of a party state requires, or if its statutes
provide, the approval of the legislature by appropriate resolution or
act may be made a condition precedent to the taking effect in such party
state of any rule, regulation or code. In such event, the commissioner
of such party state shall submit any commission rule, regulation or code
to the legislature as promptly as may be in lieu of administrative
acceptance or rejection thereof by the party states.
(f) Except as otherwise specifically provided in or pursuant to subdi-
visions (e) and (g) of this article, the appropriate motor vehicle agen-
cy of a party state shall in accordance with its constitution or proce-
dural laws adopt the rule, regulation or code within six months of the
sending of the notice, and, upon such adoption, the rule, regulation or
code shall have the force and effect of law therein.
(g) The appropriate motor vehicle agency of a party state may decline
to adopt a rule, regulation or code issued by the commission pursuant to
this article if such agency specifically finds, after public hearing on
due notice, that a variation from the commission`s rule, regulation or
code is necessary to the public safety, and incorporates in such find-
ings the reasons upon which it is based. Any such finding shall be
subject to review by such procedure for review of administrative deter-
minations as may be applicable pursuant to the laws of the party state.
Upon request, the commission shall be furnished with a copy of the tran-
script of any hearings held pursuant to this subdivision.
ARTICLE VI
FINANCE
(a) The commission shall submit to the executive head or designated
officer or officers of each party state a budget of its estimated
expenditures for such period as may be required by the laws of that
party state