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Article 1 - NY Vehicle and Traffic Law

• NY Laws ›
• Vehicle and Traffic Law ›
• Title I ›
• Article 1

  S 100. Definition  of  words  and  phrases.  The  following  words and
  phrases when used in  this  chapter  shall,  for  the  purpose  of  this
  chapter, have the meanings respectively ascribed to them in this article
  except  where  another definition is specifically provided in any title,
  article or section for application in such title, article or section:

  S 100-a. Access  highway.  Any  highway  providing  access  between  a
  qualifying highway, as defined in section one hundred  thirty-four-a  of
  this  article,  and  terminals,  facilities for food, fuel, repairs, and
  rest and, in addition, for points of loading and unloading for household
  goods carriers as such highways are designated by  the  commissioner  of
  transportation  pursuant to section sixteen hundred twenty-seven of this
  chapter.

  S 100-b. Ambulance.    Every  motor  vehicle  designed,  appropriately
  equipped and used for the purpose of carrying sick or injured persons by
  a person or entity registered or certified as an  ambulance  service  by
  the department of health.

  S 100-c. Articulated  bus.  A  two  unit  bus with a flexible coupling
  connection between the units.

  S 100-d.   Agricultural   equipment.   Every  agricultural  tractor,
  self-propelled  implement  of   husbandry,   and   towed,   mounted   or
  semi-mounted implement of husbandry. "Implement of husbandry" shall mean
  a   vehicle   designed   or   adapted   exclusively   for  agricultural,
  horticultural or livestock raising operations or for lifting or carrying
  an implement of husbandry.

  S 101.  Authorized emergency vehicle. Every ambulance, police vehicle
  or bicycle, correction vehicle, fire vehicle,  civil  defense  emergency
  vehicle,  emergency  ambulance  service vehicle, blood delivery vehicle,
  county  emergency  medical  services  vehicle,  environmental  emergency
  response   vehicle,   sanitation  patrol  vehicle,  hazardous  materials
  emergency vehicle and ordnance disposal vehicle of the armed  forces  of
  the United States.

  S 101-a. Automobile  transporter. Any vehicle combination designed and
  used specifically for the  transport  of  assembled  (capable  of  being
  driven) motor vehicles.

  S 101-b.  Boat transporter. Any vehicle combination designed and used
  specifically for the transport of boats.

  S 101-c.  B-train  assembly.  A rigid frame extension attached to the
  rear     frame     of     the     first      semitrailer,      in      a
  tractor-semitrailer-semitrailer  combination  of  vehicles, which allows
  for a fifth wheel connection point for the second semitrailer.

  S 102. Bicycle.  Every two or three wheeled device upon which a person
  or persons may ride, propelled by human power through a belt, a chain or
  gears, with such wheels in a tandem or tricycle, except  that  it  shall
  not  include  such a device having solid tires and intended for use only
  on a sidewalk by pre-teenage children.

  S 102-a. Bicycle  lane.  A  portion  of  the  roadway  which  has been
  designated  by  striping,  signing  and  pavement   markings   for   the
  preferential or exclusive use of bicycles.

  S 102-b. Bicycle  path.  A  path  physically  separated from motorized
  vehicle traffic by an open  space  or  barrier  and  either  within  the
  highway  right-of-way or within an independent right-of-way and which is
  intended for the use of bicycles.

  S 103. Bureau.   The department of motor vehicles of this state acting
  directly or through its duly authorized officers and agents.

  S 104. Bus.  Every  motor vehicle having a seating capacity of fifteen
  or  more  passengers  in  addition  to  the  driver  and  used  for  the
  transportation of persons.

  S 105. Business district.  The territory contiguous to and including a
  highway  when  within  any six hundred feet along such highway there are
  buildings in use for business or industrial purposes, including but  not
  limited  to  hotels,  banks, or office buildings, railroad stations, and
  public buildings, which occupy at least three hundred feet  of  frontage
  on  one  side  or  three  hundred feet collectively on both sides of the
  highway.

  S 105-a. Card carrier. A truck that is designed to carry one to three
  motor vehicles on a flat platform that slides or tilts to the ground  to
  facilitate  loading  and  unloading of such motor vehicles and to tow an
  additional motor vehicle behind it by the use of a wheel lift.  For  the
  purposes  of  this  chapter, whenever such car carrier tows or carries a
  disabled, illegally parked or abandoned motor vehicle or a motor vehicle
  involved in an accident, such car carrier shall be deemed to  be  a  tow
  truck  and  shall  comply  with  all provisions of this chapter, and any
  other law, ordinance, order, rule  and  regulation,  applicable  to  tow
  trucks.

    S 105-b. Certificate of registration. Any document or other indicia of
  registration, other than number plates or tags required to be affixed to
  such  number  plates  or  to  the  vehicle  itself,  in  a form and id
  prescribed by the commissioner, which identifies the  vehicle  described
  thereon  and  indicates  that such vehicle is registered pursuant to the
  provisions of this chapter.

  S 106. Circulatory roadway. The roadway within a circular intersection
  on which traffic travels in a counterclockwise direction around a
  central island.

  S 106-a. Civil defense emergency vehicle. Every communications vehicle
  and  rescue  vehicle owned by the state, a county, town, city or village
  and operated for civil defense purposes and equipped  and  marked  as  a
  civil  defense  emergency communications or rescue vehicle in compliance
  with the rules and regulations of the state civil defense commission.

  S 107. Classes  of  cities. (a) City of the first class. A city with a
  population of one hundred seventy-five thousand or more.
    (b) City of the second class.  A  city  with  a  population  of  fifty
  thousand and less than one hundred seventy-five thousand.
    (c)  City  of  the third class. Any city not included in the foregoing
  classes.
    (d) The classification herein made shall be determined by the  federal
  census  or state enumeration, whichever is the later, as last previously
  taken before the effective date of this chapter.

  S 107-b. Commercial  towing.  The  moving  or  removing  of  disabled,
  illegally parked, or abandoned motor vehicles or motor vehicles involved
  in accidents, by another motor vehicle, for which  there  is  direct  or
  indirect  compensation. Commercial towing shall also include towing by a
  person, firm, corporation, or other entity pursuant  to  a  contract  or
  other agreement with a political subdivision.

  S 108. Commissioner.    The  commissioner  of  motor  vehicles of this
  state.

  S 109. Controlled-access  highway.   Every highway, street, or roadway
  in respect to which owners or occupants  of  abutting  lands  and  other
  persons have no legal right of access to or from the same except at such
  points  only  and  in  such  manner  as  may be determined by the public
  authority having jurisdiction over such highway, street, or roadway.

  S 109-a. Correction vehicle. Every vehicle operated in the city of New
  York by the New York city department of correction or the New York state
  department  of corrections and community supervision while engaged in an
  emergency operation.

  S 109-b.  County  emergency  medical  services vehicle. Every vehicle
  operated by a county emergency medical services  coordinator  or  deputy
  county  emergency medical services coordinator appointed pursuant to the
  provisions of section two hundred twenty-three-b of the county law, when
  operated  in  an  official  capacity  while  engaged  in  an   emergency
  operation.

  S 109-c. Conviction. Any conviction as defined in subdivision thirteen
  of  section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law; provided, however, where
  a conviction or administrative finding in this state  or  another  state
  results  in  a mandatory sanction against a commercial driver's license,
  as set forth in sections five hundred ten, five  hundred  ten-a,  eleven
  hundred  ninety-two  and  eleven  hundred  ninety-four  of this chapter,
  conviction shall also mean an unvacated  adjudication  of  guilt,  or  a
  determination  that  a  person has violated or failed to comply with the
  law  in  a  court  of  original  jurisdiction  or   by   an   authorized
  administrative  tribunal,  an unvacated forfeiture of bail or collateral
  deposited to secure the person's appearance in court, a plea  of  guilty
  or nolo contendere accepted by the court, the payment of a fine or court
  cost, or violation of a condition of release without bail, regardless of
  whether or not the penalty is rebated, suspended, or probated.

  S 110. Crosswalk.    (a)  That  part  of  a roadway at an intersection
  included within the connections of the lateral lines of the sidewalks on
  opposite sides of the highway between the curbs or, in  the  absence  of
  curbs, between the edges of the traversable roadway.
    (b)  Any  portion  of  a  roadway  at  an  intersection  or  elsewhere
  distinctly indicated for pedestrian crossing by lines or other  markings
  on the surface.

  S 111. Curb.  A vertical or sloping member along the edge of a roadway
  clearly defining the pavement edge.

  S 112. Department.    The  department  of motor vehicles of this state
  acting directly or through its duly authorized officers and agents.

  S 112-a. Department    of   transportation.      The   department   of
  transportation of  this  state  acting  directly  or  through  its  duly
  authorized officers and agents.

   S 113. Driver.    Every  person who operates or drives or is in actual
  physical control of a  vehicle.    Whenever  the  terms  "chauffeur"  or
  "operator"  or "chauffeur's license" or "operator's license" are used in
  this chapter, such terms shall be deemed to  mean  driver  and  driver's
  license respectively.

  S 114. Driveway.   Every entrance or exit used by vehicular traffic to
  or from lands or buildings abutting a highway.

  S 114-a. Drug.  The  term  "drug" when used in this chapter, means and
  includes any substance listed in section thirty-three hundred six of the
  public health law.

   S  114-b.  Emergency  operation.  The  operation,  or  parking,  of an
  authorized  emergency  vehicle,  when  such  vehicle   is   engaged   in
  transporting   a   sick   or  injured  person,  transporting  prisoners,
  delivering blood or blood products in a situation involving an  imminent
  health  risk,  pursuing  an  actual or suspected violator of the law, or
  responding to, or working or assisting at  the  scene  of  an  accident,
  disaster,  police  call,  alarm  of fire, actual or potential release of
  hazardous materials or other emergency.  Emergency operation  shall  not
  include returning from such service.

   S 114-c. Escort  vehicle. A motor vehicle which operates under its own
  power and which precedes or follows a vehicle or combination of vehicles
  that has been issued a special  hauling  permit  by  the  department  of
  transportation,  a  municipality or public authority pursuant to section
  three hundred eighty-five of this chapter.

  S 114-d.   Electric   personal   assistive  mobility  device.  Every
  self-balancing, two non-tandem wheeled device designed to transport  one
  person  by means of an electric propulsion system with an average output
  of not more than seven hundred fifty watts  (one  horsepower),  and  the
  maximum  speed  of which on a paved level surface, when propelled solely
  by its electric propulsion system while ridden by an  operator  weighing
  one  hundred  seventy pounds, is less than twelve and one-half miles per
  hour.

  S 115. Explosives.    Any chemical compound or mechanical mixture that
  is commonly used or intended for the purpose of producing  an  explosion
  and   which  contains  any  oxidizing  and  combustive  units  or  other
  ingredients in such proportions, quantities, or packing that an ignition
  by fire, by friction, by concussion, by percussion, or by  detonator  of
  any  part  of the compound or mixture may cause such a sudden generation
  of highly heated gases that the resultant gaseous pressures are  capable
  of  producing destructive effects on contiguous objects or of destroying
  life or limb.

  S 115-a. Fire   vehicle.  Every  vehicle  operated  for  fire  service
  purposes owned and identified as being owned  by  the  state,  a  public
  authority,  a  county,  town,  city, village or fire district, or a fire
  corporation subject to the provisions  of  subdivision  (e)  of  section
  fourteen  hundred  two  of  the not-for-profit corporation law or a fire
  company as defined in section one hundred of the general municipal  law.
  Any  of  the  following  vehicles  shall  be  fire vehicles only for the
  purpose of section one  hundred  one  of  this  chapter:  1.  a  vehicle
  operated by officials of the office of fire prevention and control,
    2.  a  vehicle  ordinarily operated by a chief or assistant chief of a
  fire department, or a county  or  deputy  county  fire  coordinator,  or
  county or assistant county fire marshall, or town or assistant town fire
  coordinator, or such vehicle when operated in an official capacity by or
  under the direction of such person, and
    3. a vehicle specially designed and equipped for firefighting purposes
  which is regularly used for firefighting purposes by a firefighting unit
  on  property  used  for industrial, institutional or commercial purposes
  and which vehicle is owned by the owner or lessee of such property.

  S 115-b. Flagperson.  The term "flagperson," when used in this chapter
  means and includes:
    1. Any person employed by or on behalf of the state, a  county,  city,
  town  or  village,  a  public  authority, a local authority, or a public
  utility company, or the agent or contractor of any such entity, who  has
  been  assigned  to  control  or  direct  traffic  on  public highways in
  connection with any construction, survey, and/or maintenance work  being
  performed.
    2.  Any  person employed by or on behalf of a railroad corporation who
  has been assigned to control or  direct  traffic  at  a  railroad  grade
  crossing.
    3.  Any person holding a certificate issued by the commissioner, which
  authorizes such person to operate an escort vehicle, and  who  has  been
  assigned  to  control,  warn,  or  direct traffic in connection with the
  movement of an escort vehicle on a public highway.

  S 115-c. Emergency  ambulance  service vehicle. An emergency ambulance
  service vehicle shall be defined  as  an  appropriately  equipped  motor
  vehicle  owned or operated by an ambulance service as defined in section
  three thousand one of the public health law and used for the purpose  of
  transporting  emergency  medical  personnel  and  equipment  to  sick or
  injured persons.

  S 115-d. Environmental  emergency  response  vehicle. Every designated
  vehicle operated by an agency of the state or  a  political  subdivision
  thereof,  charged  with the responsibility for environmental protection,
  while engaged in a response to a report of an emergency  resulting  from
  an  actual or potential release, spill or leak of, or other exposure to,
  hazardous substances.

  S 116. Flammable liquid.  Any liquid which has a flash point of eighty
  degrees  Fahrenheit, or less, as determined by a tagliabue or equivalent
  open-cup test device.

  S 117. Gross  weight.    The weight of a vehicle without load plus the
  weight of any load thereon.

  S 117-a. Hazard  vehicle.   Every vehicle owned and operated or leased by
  a  utility,  whether  public  or  private,  used  in  the  construction,
  maintenance and  repair  of  its  facilities,  every  vehicle  specially
  equipped  or  designed  for  the towing or pushing of disabled vehicles,
  every vehicle engaged in highway maintenance, or in ice and snow removal
  where such operation involves the use  of  a  public  highway,  vehicles
  driven  by  rural  letter  carriers  while  in  the performance of their
  official duties, and every sani-van and waste collection  vehicle  while
  engaged  in  the  collection  of refuse and/or recyclable materials on a
  public highway.

  S 117-b. Hazardous operation.  The operation, or parking, of a vehicle
  on  or  immediately  adjacent  to a public highway while such vehicle is
  actually engaged  in  an  operation  which  would  restrict,  impede  or
  interfere with the normal flow of traffic.

   S 117-c. Hazardous   materials  emergency  vehicle.  Every  designated
  vehicle operated  by  a  hazardous  materials  emergency  response  team
  created  pursuant to section two hundred nine-y of the general municipal
  law specifically equipped  for  and  used  in  response  to  reports  of
  emergencies resulting from actual or potential releases, spills or leaks
  of, or other exposure to hazardous substances.

  S  117-d. Blood delivery vehicle. Every vehicle owned, designated and
  operated by the not-for-profit corporation incorporated under  the  id
  New  York blood center specifically equipped for and used in response to
  reports of the need for transportation of blood  or  blood  products  to
  general  hospitals  or  other health care facilities.  No blood delivery
  vehicle shall be operated as an authorized emergency vehicle engaged  in
  an  emergency  operation unless the driver of such vehicle has undergone
  appropriate training for the operation of authorized emergency  vehicles
  during emergency operations.

  S 118. Highway.   The entire width between the boundary lines of every
  way publicly maintained when any part thereof is open to the use of  the
  public for purposes of vehicular travel.

   S 119. House  coach.    Any  vehicle  motivated  by  a power connected
  therewith or propelled by a power within itself, which is or can be used
  as the home or living abode or habitation of one or more persons, either
  temporarily or permanently.  In the application of this chapter to house
  coaches, a house coach propelled by  a  power  within  itself  shall  be
  deemed  a  motor  vehicle,  a house coach motivated by a power connected
  therewith shall be deemed a trailer, and  all  house  coaches  shall  be
  deemed vehicles.

* S 119-a. Ignition  interlock device. Any blood alcohol concentration
  equivalence measuring device which connects to a motor vehicle  ignition
  system  and  prevents  a  motor vehicle from being started without first
  determining through a  deep  lung  breath  sample  that  the  operator's
  equivalent  breath  alcohol level does not exceed the calibrated setting
  on the device as required by section eleven hundred ninety-eight of this
  chapter.
    * NB Repealed September 1, 2019

  S 119-b. Inflatable  restraint  system.    1.  An inflatable restraint
  system means an air bag, as defined in subparagraph (b) of S 4.1.5.1  of
  standard 208 of part 571 of title 49 of the code of federal regulations,
  that is designed and installed to be activated in a crash.
    2.  Readiness  indicator  light  means  an  indicator  monitoring  the
  inflatable restraint  system's  readiness  and  such  light  is  clearly
  visible from the driver's designated seating position.

   S 120. Intersection.  (a) The area embraced within the prolongation or
  connection of the lateral curb lines, or,  if  none,  then  the  lateral
  boundary  lines  of  the roadways of two highways which join one another
  at, or approximately at, right angles, or the area within which vehicles
  traveling upon different highways joining at any other angle may come in
  conflict.
    (b) Where a highway includes two roadways thirty feet or  more  apart,
  then  every  crossing  of  each  roadway  of  such divided highway by an
  intersecting highway shall be regarded as a  separate  intersection.  In
  the  event  such  intersecting highway also includes two roadways thirty
  feet or more apart, then every crossing of two roadways of such highways
  shall be regarded as a separate intersection.
    (c) A circular intersection contains an island, generally circular  in
  design,  located  in the center of the intersection where traffic passes
  to the right of the island.

  S 121. Laned  roadway.    A  roadway which is divided into two or more
  clearly marked lanes for vehicular traffic.

  S 121-a. Limited  use  automobile. A limited use vehicle which, except
  for the provisions of article forty-eight-A and section  four  hundred-a
  of   this   chapter,  would  be  subject  to  registration  pursuant  to
  subdivision six of section four hundred one of this chapter.

  S 121-b. Limited use motorcycle. A limited use vehicle having only two
  or  three  wheels, with a seat or saddle for the operator. A limited use
  motorcycle having a maximum performance speed, of more than thirty miles
  per hour but not more than forty miles per  hour  shall  be  a  class  A
  limited  use  motorcycle.  A  limited  use  motorcycle  having a maximum
  performance speed of more than twenty miles per hour but not  more  than
  thirty  miles  per  hour,  shall  be a class B limited use motorcycle. A
  limited use motorcycle having a maximum performance speed  of  not  more
  than twenty miles per hour shall be a class C limited use motorcycle.

  S 121-c. Limited   use  vehicle.  A  motor  vehicle,  other  than  one
  registered or capable of being  registered  pursuant  to  sections  four
  hundred  one  or  four  hundred ten of this chapter, which has a maximum
  performance speed of not more than forty miles per hour, as  defined  in
  section one hundred twenty-two-b of this chapter.

  S 121-d. Leased  vehicle.  A  vehicle owned by a person engaged in the
  business of renting or  leasing  vehicles  which  is  rented  or  leased
  without  a  driver  to  a  person other than the owner and is registered
  either in the id of the lessee or renter, or in the id of the owner,
  in a format prescribed by the commissioner.

  S 121-e. Livery.  Every  motor vehicle, other than a taxicab or a bus,
  used in  the  business  of  transporting  passengers  for  compensation.
  However,  it  shall  not  include  vehicles  which  are rented or leased
  without a driver.

  S 121-f. Low  speed  vehicle.  A  limited use automobile which has a
  maximum performance speed of greater than twenty miles an hour, but  not
  greater  than  twenty-five  miles an hour or a truck which has a maximum
  performance speed of greater than twenty miles an hour, but not  greater
  than  twenty-five  miles  an  hour and whose gross vehicle weight rating
  (GVWR) is less than three  thousand  pounds.  All  such  vehicles  shall
  comply with the safety standards established in 49 C.F.R. 571.500.

  S 122. Local  authorities.    Every  county,  municipal or other local
  board, body or  officer,  county  park  commission,  parkway  authority,
  bridge  authority,  bridge and tunnel authority, the office of parks and
  recreation, the New York state thruway  authority  or  similar  body  or
  person having authority to enact laws or regulations relating to traffic
  under the constitution and laws of this state.

  S 122-a. Maximum  gross weight. The weight of the vehicle unladen plus
  the weight of the maximum load to be carried by such vehicle during  the
  registration period or the maximum gross weight for which the vehicle is
  registered, whichever is greater.

  S 122-b. Maximum  performance  speed.  For  the  purposes  of  article
  forty-eight-A of this chapter, maximum performance speed  shall  be  the
  greatest  speed  which  can  be attained and maintained by a limited use
  vehicle under conditions prescribed by the commissioner at the  time  of
  its  manufacture,  as  certified  by the manufacturer and filed with and
  accepted by the commissioner. The maximum performance speed of a limited
  use vehicle shall remain as certified  regardless  of  any  modification
  made to such vehicle after such certification.

   S 122-c. Mobile  home or manufactured home. A structure, transportable
  in one or more sections, which in the traveling mode, is eight body feet
  or more in width or forty body feet or more in length, or  when  erected
  on site, is three hundred twenty or more square feet, and which is built
  on  a  permanent  chassis  and designed to be used as a dwelling with or
  without a permanent foundation when connected to required utilities, and
  includes the plumbing, heating, air-conditioning and electrical  systems
  contained therein.

  S 123. Motorcycle.    Every  motor vehicle having a seat or saddle for
  the use of the rider and designed to  travel  on  not  more  than  three
  wheels in contact with the ground, but excluding a tractor.

   S 125. Motor  vehicles. Every vehicle operated or driven upon a public
  highway which is propelled by  any  power  other  than  muscular  power,
  except  (a)  electrically-driven mobility assistance devices operated or
  driven by a person with a disability, (a-1) electric personal  assistive
  mobility  devices  operated  outside  a  city  with  a population of one
  million or more, (b) vehicles which run only upon rails or  tracks,  (c)
  snowmobiles  as  defined in article forty-seven of this chapter, and (d)
  all terrain  vehicles  as  defined  in  article  forty-eight-B  of  this
  chapter.  For the purposes of title four of this chapter, the term motor
  vehicle shall exclude fire and police vehicles  other  than  ambulances.
  For  the purposes of titles four and five of this chapter the term motor
  vehicles shall exclude farm type tractors and all terrain type  vehicles
  used  exclusively  for agricultural purposes, or for snow plowing, other
  than for hire, farm equipment, including  self-propelled  machines  used
  exclusively  in  growing,  harvesting  or  handling  farm  produce,  and
  self-propelled  caterpillar  or  crawler-type  equipment   while   being
  operated on the contract site.

   S 125-a. Off-highway   motorcycle.   Off-highway   motorcycle   is   a
  motorcycle which is not equipped in conformity with  the  provisions  of
  section three hundred eighty-one of this chapter, would not, if properly
  equipped, qualify as a limited use motorcycle, and which is manufactured
  and sold for operation primarily on off-highway trails or in off-highway
  competitions and only incidentally operated on public highways.

   S 126. Omnibus.      Any   motor  vehicle  used  in  the  business  of
  transporting passengers for hire, except such a motor  vehicle  used  in
  the transportation of agricultural workers to and from their employment.

  S 127. Overhang.  That  portion of a transported vehicle or boat which
  extends beyond the front or rear bumper of an automobile transporter  or
  stinger-steered   automobile   transporter   or   boat   transporter  or
  stinger-steered boat transporter,  or  that  portion  of  a  transported
  vehicle that extends beyond the rear bumper of a car carrier.

  S 128. Owner.  A person, other than a lien holder, having the property
  in or title to a vehicle or vessel. The term includes a person  entitled
  to  the  use and possession of a vehicle or vessel subject to a security
  interest in another person and also includes any lessee or bailee  of  a
  motor  vehicle or vessel having the exclusive use thereof, under a lease
  or otherwise, for a period greater than thirty days.

  S 129. Park  or  parking.    Means  the standing of a vehicle, whether
  occupied or not, otherwise than temporarily for the purpose of and while
  actually engaged in loading or unloading merchandise or passengers.

  S 129-a. Parking  area  of  a  shopping  center.   An area or areas of
  private property totaling at least one acre, near or contiguous  to  and
  provided  in  connection  with  premises  having  one  or more stores or
  business establishments, and used by the public as a means of access  to
  and egress from such stores and business establishments and for the free
  parking  of  motor  vehicles of customers and patrons of such stores and
  business establishments.

  S 129-b. Parking  lot.  Any  area or areas of private property near or
  contiguous to and provided in connection with  premises  having  one  or
  more  stores  or  business  establishments,  and used by the public as a
  means  of  access  to  and  egress  from  such   stores   and   business
  establishments  and  for  the parking of motor vehicles of customers and
  patrons of such stores and business establishments.

  S 130. Pedestrian. Any person afoot or in a wheelchair.

  S 130-a. Wheelchair. A wheelchair is any manual or electrically driven
  mobility  assistance device, scooter, tricycle or similar device used by
  a person with a disability as a substitute for walking.
  An electrically driven mobility assistance device means  any  wheeled,
  electrically   powered  device  designed  to  enable  a  person  with  a
  disability to move from place to place.

  S 131. Person.      Every   natural   person,   firm,   copartnership,
  association, or corporation.

  S 131-a. Place  of  public  assembly. A place of public assembly shall
  include (1) a theatre, (2) a moving picture house, or  (3)  an  assembly
  hall  maintained  or leased for pecuniary gain where one hundred or more
  persons may assemble for amusement or recreation.

  S 132. Police  officer.  All police officers as defined in subdivision
  thirty-four of section 1.20 of the criminal  procedure  law,  and  every
  duly  designated  peace  officer as defined in section 2.20 of such law,
  when such peace officer is acting pursuant to his special duties.

  S 132-a. Police  vehicle.   Every vehicle owned by the state, a public
  authority, a county, town, city or village, and operated by  the  police
  department  or  law enforcement agency of such governmental unit or by a
  constable or police constable of a town  when  acting  pursuant  to  his
  special  duties.  Any  other  vehicle  operated  by a chief or deputy or
  assistant chief of a  police  department,  a  sheriff,  undersheriff  or
  regular  deputy  sheriff,  and  a  vehicle owned and operated by the law
  enforcement unit of a public or private corporation authorized by law to
  maintain a unit for the enforcement of  law  on  the  property  of  such
  corporation  shall  be a police vehicle only for the purposes of section
  one hundred one of this chapter.

  S 133. Private road.  Every way or place in private ownership and used
  for  vehicular  travel  by the owner and those having express or implied
  permission from the owner, but not by other persons.

  S 134. Public  highway.    Any  highway,  road, street, avenue, alley,
  public place, public driveway or any other public way.

  S 134-a. Qualifying  highway.  The  highways on the national system of
  interstate and defense highways and federal-aid primary system  highways
  that  are  designated  by the commissioner of transportation pursuant to
  section sixteen hundred twenty-seven of this chapter.

  S 134-b. Radar   detector.  Any  instrument  designed  to  detect  the
  presence of microwaves  at  frequencies  specifically  assigned  by  the
  federal   communications  commission  for  the  purpose  of  maintaining
  vehicular speed.

  S 134-c.  Laser  detector.  Any  instrument  designed  to  detect the
  presence of laser speed detection devices.

  S 135. Railroad.    A  carrier of persons or property upon cars, other
  than streetcars, operated upon stationary rails.

  S 135-a. Railroad grade crossing.    A location where a public highway or
  private  road,  including  associated  sidewalks,  crosses  one  or more
  railroad tracks at grade.

  S 136. Railroad  sign  or signal.  Any sign, signal, or device erected
  by authority of a public body or official by a railroad and intended  to
  give  notice  of  the  presence  of railroad tracks or the approach of a
  railroad train.

  S 137. Railroad  train.    A  steam  engine,  electric  or other motor
  locomotive or car, with or without cars coupled thereto,  operated  upon
  rails, except streetcars.

  S 137-a. Rental  vehicle.  A  vehicle owned by a person engaged in the
  business of renting or  leasing  vehicles  which  is  rented  or  leased
  without  a  driver to a person other than the owner and is registered in
  the name of such owner.

  S 138. Residence  district.  The territory contiguous to and including
  a highway not comprising a business district when the property  on  such
  highway  for  a  distance  of  three hundred feet or more is in the main
  improved  with  residences  or  residences  and  buildings  in  use  for
  business.

  S 139. Right  of  way.    The  right  of  one vehicle or pedestrian to
  proceed  in  a  lawful  manner  in  preference  to  another  vehicle  or
  pedestrian  approaching under such circumstances of direction, speed and
  proximity as to give rise to  danger  of  collision  unless  one  grants
  precedence to the other.

  S 140. Roadway.  That portion of a highway improved, designed, marked,
  or  ordinarily  used for vehicular travel, exclusive of the shoulder and
  slope. In the event a highway includes two or more separate roadways the
  term "roadway" as used herein shall refer to any such roadway separately
  but not to all such roadways collectively.

  S 140-a. In-line skate. A manufactured or assembled device consisting
  of an upper portion that is intended to be secured to a human foot, with
  a frame or chassis attached along the length of the bottom of such upper
  portion, with such frame or chassis holding two or more wheels that  are
  longitudinally  aligned  and  used  to skate or glide, by means of human
  foot and leg power while having such device attached to each  such  foot
  or leg.
    "Brake"  shall  mean  a  part which is secured to an in-line skate, as
  defined in paragraph (b) of subdivision one  of  section  three  hundred
  ninety-one-m of the general business law and intended to enable the user
  to control his or her speed and/or come to a stop.
    "Warning  instruction"  shall  mean a label, hang-tag, shield or plate
  with substantially the following notice printed in clear and conspicuous
  type: "WARNING! REDUCE THE RISK OF SERIOUS INJURY, AND  ONLY  USE  THESE
  SKATES  WHILE WEARING FULL PROTECTIVE GEAR - HELMET, WRIST GUARDS, ELBOW
  PADS, AND KNEE PADS."

  S 140-b. Roller skate. A manufactured or assembled device consisting
  of a frame or shoe having clamps or straps or both for fastening, with a
  pair of small wheels near the toe and another pair at the  heel  mounted
  or  permanently  attached  thereto,  for  skating or gliding by means of
  human foot and leg power.

  S 140-c. Skate board. A manufactured or assembled device consisting of
  a platform having a pair of small wheels near the front and another pair
  at  the  rear  mounted  or  permanently attached thereto, for skating or
  gliding by means of human foot and leg power.

  S 140-d. Roundabout. A circular intersection which is characterized by
  a   circulatory  roadway  with  counterclockwise  movement,  channelized
  approaches, low  speeds,  and  yield  control  of  entering  traffic.  A
  roundabout  encompasses  the area bounded by the outermost curb line or,
  if there is no curb, the edge of the pavement, and  includes  crosswalks
  on any entering or exiting roadway.

  S 141. Safety  zone.   The area or space officially set apart within a
  roadway for the exclusive use of pedestrians and which is  protected  or
  is  so marked or indicated by adequate signs as to be plainly visible at
  all times while set apart as a safety zone.

  S 141-a. Sanitation  patrol  vehicle.  Every  vehicle operated by an
  officer or  member  of  the  sanitation  police  of  the  department  of
  sanitation  of  the city of New York, duly appointed and designated as a
  peace officer by such department, when such officer or member is  acting
  pursuant to his special duties.

  S 141-b. Sani-vans.  Any  motor  vehicle  which is so designed that it
  contains a  rear  compaction  unit  and  is  intended  for  use  in  the
  collection of refuse. For the purpose of section one hundred seventeen-a
  of  this chapter, the term "sani-van" shall mean any motor vehicle which
  is so designed that it contains a rear compaction unit and  is  intended
  for and is used in the collection of refuse and/or recyclable materials.

  S 142. School  bus.    Every  motor  vehicle  owned  by  a  public  or
  governmental  agency  or   private   school   and   operated   for   the
  transportation of pupils, children of pupils, teachers and other persons
  acting in a supervisory capacity, to or from school or school activities
  or  privately owned and operated for compensation for the transportation
  of pupils, children of pupils, teachers and other persons  acting  in  a
  supervisory capacity to or from school or school activities.

  S 143. Semitrailer.    Any  trailer  which  is  so  designed that when
  operated the forward end of its body or chassis rests upon the  body  or
  chassis of the towing vehicle.

  S 143-a. Shoulder.  That improved portion of a highway contiguous with
  the roadway.

  S 144. Sidewalk.   That portion of a street between the curb lines, or
  the lateral lines  of  a  roadway,  and  the  adjacent  property  lines,
  intended for the use of pedestrians.

  S 144-a. Slope. That portion of a highway exclusive of the roadway and
  shoulder.

  S 144-b. Snow  emergency.  A determination made by the official having
  jurisdiction of a  highway  that,  because  of  existing  or  forecasted
  weather  conditions,  pursuant  to  section  sixteen hundred twenty-one,
  sixteen hundred forty, sixteen hundred fifty or sixteen hundred sixty of
  this chapter, traffic shall be regulated in accordance with section  one
  hundred forty-five-c of this article.

  S 145. Stand  or  standing.   Means the stopping of a vehicle, whether
  occupied or not, otherwise than temporarily for the purpose of and while
  actually engaged in receiving or discharging passengers.

  S 145-a. State  expressway  routes.    Those  highways  specified  and
  described as such pursuant to  section  three  hundred  forty-c  of  the
  highway law.

  S 145-b. State  interstate  routes.    Those  highways  specified  and
  described as such pursuant to  section  three  hundred  forty-a  of  the
  highway law.

  S 145-c. Snow  emergency  route.  A  street or highway designated as a
  snow emergency route by the state or  municipality  having  jurisdiction
  over  such street or highway upon which no vehicle shall operate without
  snow tires and/or tire chains when a snow emergency has been declared by
  the  state  or  municipality  having  jurisdiction  thereof.  Each  snow
  emergency  route  shall  be  posted in accordance with the provisions of
  article forty-four of this chapter. The provisions of this section shall
  not apply to signs installed and operative prior to the  date  on  which
  this  section  takes  effect,  provided, however, that the provisions of
  this section shall apply to signs replaced on and after such date.

  S 145-d. Definition  of  snow  tire. Snow tires shall include tires in
  which the ply cords extending to the beads are nearly at right angles to
  the center line of the tread commonly referred to as  radial  tires  and
  the  commissioner  shall  promulgate  rules and regulations defining the
  term snow tire with respect to non-radial tires. No person  whose  motor
  vehicle  is  equipped  with  radial  tires or tires which conform to the
  definition promulgated by the commissioner shall  be  prosecuted  for  a
  violation  of  any  local  law or ordinance requiring the equipping of a
  motor vehicle with  snow  tires  during  any  period  of  declared  snow
  emergency.

  S 145-e. Stinger-steered   automobile   transporter.   An   automobile
  transporter configured as a semitrailer combination  wherein  the  fifth
  wheel  is located on a drop frame located behind and below the rear-most
  axle of the power unit.

  S 145-f. Stinger-steered  boat  transporter.  A  boat  transporter
  configured as a semitrailer  combination  wherein  the  fifth  wheel  is
  located  on  a drop frame located behind and below the rear-most axle of
  the power unit.

  S 146. Stop.  When required means complete cessation from movement.

  S 147. Stop or stopping.  When  prohibited  means any halting even
  momentarily of a vehicle, whether occupied or not, except when necessary
  to  avoid  conflict  with  other  traffic  or  in  compliance  with  the
  directions of a police officer or traffic-control sign or signal.

  S 148. Street.    The entire width between the boundary lines of every
  way publicly maintained when any part thereof is open to the use of  the
  public for purposes of vehicular travel.

  S 148-a. Taxicab.  Every  motor vehicle, other than a bus, used in the
  business of transporting passengers for compensation,  and  operated  in
  such  business  under  a  license or permit issued by a local authority.
  However, it shall not  include  vehicles  which  are  rented  or  leased
  without a driver.

  S 148-b. Tow  truck.  A motor vehicle that tows or carries a disabled,
  illegally parked or abandoned motor vehicle or a motor vehicle  involved
  in an accident.

  S 149. Through  highway.    Every  highway or portion thereof on which
  vehicular traffic is  given  preferential  right  of  way,  and  at  the
  entrances  to  which  vehicular  traffic  from  intersecting highways is
  controlled by traffic-control signals or is required by law to yield the
  right of way to vehicles on such  through  highway  in  obedience  to  a
  flashing  red  signal, a stop sign or a yield sign, when such signals or
  signs are erected as provided in this chapter.

  S 151-a.  Tractor.  A motor vehicle designed and used as the power unit
  in combination with a semitrailer or trailer, or two  such  trailers  in
  tandem.  Any  such  motor  vehicle  shall  not carry cargo except that a
  tractor and semitrailer engaged in the transportation of automobiles may
  transport motor vehicles on part of the power unit.

  S 152. Traffic.    Pedestrians,  ridden  or  herded animals, vehicles,
  bicycles, and other conveyances either singly or  together  while  using
  any highway for purposes of travel.

  S 153. Traffic  control  devices.    All signs, signals, markings, and
  devices  not  inconsistent  with  this  chapter  placed  or  erected  by
  authority  of  a  public  body  or  official having jurisdiction for the
  purpose of regulating, warning or guiding traffic.

  S 154. Traffic-control   signal.      Any  device,  whether  manually,
  electrically, or mechanically operated, by which traffic is  alternately
  directed to stop and permitted to proceed.

   S 155. Traffic  infraction.  The  violation of any provision of this
  chapter, except articles forty-seven and forty-eight,  or  of  any  law,
  ordinance,  order,  rule  or  regulation regulating traffic which is not
  declared by this chapter or other law of this state to be a  misdemeanor
  or  a  felony.  A  traffic  infraction is not a crime and the punishment
  imposed therefor shall not be deemed for any purpose a penal or criminal
  punishment and shall not affect or impair the credibility as  a  witness
  or  otherwise  of any person convicted thereof. This definition shall be
  retroactive and shall  apply  to  all  acts  and  violations  heretofore
  committed  where such acts and violations would, if committed subsequent
  to the taking effect of this section, be included within the meaning  of
  the  term  "traffic  infraction"  as  herein  defined.  Except  in those
  portions  of  Suffolk  county  for  which  a  district  court  has  been
  established,  outside  of  cities  having  a population in excess of one
  million  in  which  administrative  tribunals   have   heretofore   been
  established, courts and judicial officers heretofore having jurisdiction
  over  such  violations shall continue to do so and for such purpose such
  violations shall be  deemed  misdemeanors  and  all  provisions  of  law
  relating  to misdemeanors except as provided in section eighteen hundred
  five of this chapter and except as herein otherwise  expressly  provided
  shall  apply  except  that  no  jury  trial shall be allowed for traffic
  infractions. In those portions of Suffolk county for  which  a  district
  court  has  been established and in cities having a population in excess
  of one million in which administrative tribunals  have  heretofore  been
  established,  the  criminal courts of such cities or portions of Suffolk
  county in which  a  district  court  has  been  established  shall  have
  jurisdiction  to  hear  and determine any complaint alleging a violation
  constituting a traffic infraction, except that administrative  tribunals
  heretofore  established  in such cities or portions of Suffolk county in
  which a district court has been established shall have  jurisdiction  to
  hear  and  determine  any  charge  of  an  offense  which  is  a traffic
  infraction, except parking, standing or stopping.  In  cities  having  a
  population  in  excess  of  two hundred thousand in which administrative
  tribunals have heretofore been established, and any such  administrative
  tribunal  established  by the city of Yonkers, the city of Peekskill, or
  the city of Syracuse, such tribunals shall have jurisdiction to hear and
  determine any charge of an offense  which  is  a  parking,  standing  or
  stopping violation. Any fine imposed by an administrative tribunal shall
  be  a  civil penalty. For purposes of arrest without a warrant, pursuant
  to article one hundred forty of the criminal procedure  law,  a  traffic
  infraction shall be deemed an offense.

  S 156. Trailer.    Any vehicle not propelled by its own power drawn on
  the public highways by a motor vehicle as defined in section one hundred
  twenty-five operated thereon,  except  motorcycle  side  cars,  vehicles
  being  towed  by a non-rigid support and vehicles designed and primarily
  used for other purposes and only occasionally  drawn  by  such  a  motor
  vehicle.

  S 157. Trolley  bus  or trolley coach.  Any motor vehicle not operated
  on rails or tracks which is propelled by electric  power  received  from
  overhead  trolley wires and which is operated by a person or corporation
  subject to the jurisdiction of the public service  commission,  pursuant
  to  local  consent  and  a  certificate,  permission  and  approval,  or
  authority granted by the commission.

  S 158. Truck.    Every  motor  vehicle  designed,  used, or maintained
  primarily for the transportation of property.

  S 158-a. U  turn.  Any  turn executed so as to proceed in the opposite
  direction.

  S 158-b. Vanpool  vehicle. Any motor vehicle which is manufactured and
  equipped in such manner as to provide a seating  capacity  of  not  less
  than  six  and  not  more  than  fifteen  passengers, in addition to the
  driver,  and  which  is  owned  by,  or  leased  to,  a  person,   firm,
  corporation, association, municipality or public authority in this state
  to  be  used  for  the  purpose  of  vanpooling,  which  shall  mean the
  prearranged transport of persons to and from their places of  employment
  or  other destinations on a regular daily basis provided that any moneys
  paid by the passengers to the vanpool vehicle owner, lessee or  operator
  are  solely for the recovery of some or all expenses related directly to
  the transport of the passengers, including tolls,  fuel,  insurance  and
  depreciation, on a non-profit basis.

  S 159. Vehicle. Every device in, upon, or by which any person or
  property is or may be  transported  or  drawn  upon  a  highway,  except
  devices  moved  by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails
  or tracks.

  S 159-a. Waste collection vehicle. Any motor vehicle which is commonly
  classified  as  a  garbage truck that is designed for and is used in the
  collection of refuse and/or recyclable materials.

  S 160. Wheel lift. Any device that may be extended beyond the rear
  bumper of a tow truck or car carrier for the purpose of  towing  another
  vehicle. Such device may also be referred to as an "under lift".

    S 161. Work  area. That part of a highway being used or occupied for
  the conduct of highway work, within which workers, vehicles,  equipment,
  materials, supplies, excavations, or other obstructions are present.

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