New York State Law
Vehicle and Traffic Law
Consolidated Laws of New York's VTL code
Article 12 - NY Vehicle and Traffic Law
OTHER PROVISIONS
| Section | Description |
|---|---|
| 390 | Inspection of motor vehicles and motorcycles. |
| 391 | Rates of toll on motor vehicles. |
| 392 | False statements, alteration of records or substitution in connection with any examination. |
| 392-a | Sale or purchase of stolen, false or fraudulent license, identification card, certificate of registration, or number plate. |
| 392-b | Powers of motor vehicle investigators. |
| 393 | Measurement and weight of vehicles; responsibility for damages. |
| 393-a | Inspection of commercial motor vehicles exceeding ten thousand pounds manufacturers' gross vehicle weight rating. |
| 394 | Drivers' schools. |
| 395 | Certain private service bureaus to be licensed. |
| 396 | Use of state and other seals and insignia on private vehicles prohibited. |
| 397 | Equipping motor vehicles with radio receiving sets capable of receiving signals on the frequencies allocated for police use. |
| 397-a | Radar detectors and laser detectors prohibited. |
| 397-b | Vehicle leases that are not sales or security interests. |
S 390. Inspection of motor vehicles and motorcycles. The superintendent of state police shall cause inspection to be made of the motor vehicles and motorcycles operating on the public highways to detect inadequacy of equipment, overloading and other violations of law governing the use of the public highways by motor vehicles and motorcycles. S 391. Rates of toll on motor vehicles. Where a different rate is not otherwise prescribed or permitted by law, any person or corporation maintaining a plank road, turnpike road or bridge and authorized, or which shall be hereafter authorized, to receive tolls for the passage of motor vehicles over the same, may charge and receive for each and every motor vehicle propelled by any power other than animal power, passing over the same, a toll rate not greater than the maximum rate allowed by law to be charged and received for the passage of a vehicle drawn over such road or bridge by two animals, provided that for such motor vehicles designed to carry only two persons the rate of toll charged or received shall not exceed the maximum rate allowed by law to be charged and received for the passage of a vehicle drawn over such road or bridge, without a load, by a single animal. S 392. False statements, alteration of records or substitution in connection with any examination. Any person knowingly making a false statement in an application for any document issued by the commissioner or in any proof or statement in writing in connection with such an application, or who shall deceive or substitute or cause another to deceive or substitute in connection with any examination hereunder, or who shall wilfully alter a number plate (except for restoration purposes pursuant to schedule G of subdivision seven of section four hundred one of this chapter), or make a material alteration on any document issued pursuant to this chapter, or unlawfully use a validating device on a certificate of registration, license or any other form, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. A person who operates a motor vehicle upon the public highway displaying or using any document that he or she knows has been obtained in violation of this section, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Nothing contained in this section shall prohibit the imposition of a charge of any other offense set forth in this chapter or any other provision of law for any acts arising out of the same incident. S 392-a. Sale or purchase of stolen, false or fraudulent license, identification card, certificate of registration, or number plate. A person who knowingly sells or offers to sell or buys or offers to buy a false, fraudulent or stolen license, identification card, certificate of registration or number plate, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor as a first offense and a class E felony as a second or subsequent offense committed within ten years of the prior offense. S 392-b. Powers of motor vehicle investigators. Investigators of the department of motor vehicles during the course of and actual performance of their official duties shall have all the powers of peace officers, as set forth in section 2.20 of the criminal procedure law. S 393. Measurement and weight of vehicles; responsibility for damages. Any peace officer in this state, acting pursuant to his special duties, police officer or employee of the department of transportation, having reason to believe that any vehicle registered under the provisions of subdivision seven or eight of section four hundred one or described in section three hundred eighty-five of this chapter or the load thereon is unlawful is authorized to stop, measure and weigh the same on any public highway by means of portable or stationary measures and scales. Any peace officer in this state, acting pursuant to his special duties, or police officer may require that such vehicle shall be driven to the nearest scales in the event such scales are within three miles, and if he finds that such vehicle is loaded in violation of the provisions of said subdivision seven or eight of section four hundred one or section three hundred eighty-five, he shall cause the excess load to be removed from such vehicle; and all material or goods so removed shall be removed and cared for by the owner or operator of such vehicle at the risk of such owner or operator of such vehicle; provided further that the owner and operator of any vehicle unlawfully operated or moved on any highway, or over any bridge or culvert in any highway, and the carrier in the conduct of whose business such vehicle is being operated at the time of violation, if such vehicle is then being operated in the conduct of business of a motor carrier, shall be jointly and severally responsible for all damages to such highway, bridge or culvert, as the result of the movement thereover of any vehicle, the weight or size of which violates any of the provisions of said section three hundred eighty-five. The department of transportation, in the case of highways, bridges or culverts under its jurisdiction, and the authority having jurisdiction thereover, in the case of highways, bridges or culverts situated within municipalities, may bring such civil action or actions against the owner and operator of the vehicle or the motor carrier as may be necessary to recover the damages sustained; and all funds recovered by the department of transportation in behalf of the state shall be paid to the state treasurer to the credit of the fund available for the maintenance and repair of state highways, and funds recovered in behalf of a municipality shall be applied in improving the highways, bridges and culverts in such municipality. S 393-a. Inspection of commercial motor vehicles exceeding ten thousand pounds manufacturers' gross vehicle weight rating. Any police officer having lawfully stopped a commercial motor vehicle with a manufacturers' gross vehicle weight rating in excess of ten thousand pounds for the purpose of conducting a motor carrier safety inspection may, when necessary to insure the safety of the officer, the vehicle occupants and the motoring public, require that the vehicle be driven to the nearest safe inspection site designated by such officer. Such location designated by the police officer shall not exceed a distance of five miles from the place where the vehicle was stopped. S 394. Drivers' schools. 1. Definitions. As used in this section: (a) "Drivers' school" means the business of giving instruction for hire in driving motor vehicles or motorcycles. (b) "Person" includes an individual, firm, corporation, partnership, joint venture, joint adventurer or association. (c) "Place of business" means a designated location at which the business of a drivers' school is transacted and its records kept. 2. License. No person shall engage in the business of conducting a drivers' school without being the holder of a license for such purpose issued by the commissioner. An application for license under this section shall be filed with the commissioner and shall contain such information as he shall prescribe. Every such application shall be accompanied by an application fee of fifty dollars, which shall in no event be refunded. If an application is approved by the commissioner, the applicant upon the payment of an additional fee of five dollars for each month or fraction thereof from the date of issuance to the date of expiration prescribed by the commissioner, but in no event more than a total of fifty dollars, shall be granted a license which shall be valid until such date of expiration. The annual fee for renewal thereof shall be fifty dollars. Upon renewal, the commissioner may in his discretion issue a license which shall be valid for up to a two-year period. The fee for a two-year renewal shall be one hundred dollars. Fees for renewal of a license valid for a period of less than two years shall be prorated on a quarterly basis and any portion of a quarter shall be considered a quarter. The commissioner shall issue a license certificate to each licensee, which certificate shall be conspicuously displayed in the place of business of the licensee. In case of the loss, mutilation or destruction of a license certificate, the commissioner shall issue a duplicate thereof upon proof of the facts and payment of a fee of two dollars. 3. Place of business. (a) No license shall be issued, nor shall any renewal of a license be made, for conducting a drivers' school in a city having a population of two hundred fifty thousand or more according to the latest federal census, unless the place of business of such school is located in a store, office or portion of a building devoted exclusively to nonresidential use. (b) No license shall be issued, nor shall any renewal of a license be made for conducting a drivers' school in a city having a population of fifty thousand or more according to the latest federal census, if the place of business of such school or branch thereof, is within fifteen hundred feet of a building owned or leased by the state, the county or a city, in which motor vehicle registrations or licenses to drive motor vehicles are issued to the public. The said distance of fifteen hundred feet shall be measured along the public streets by the nearest route from such place of business, or branch thereof, to such building. 4. Refusal to issue a license. The commissioner may deny the application of any person for a license, if, in his discretion, he determines that: (a) Such applicant has made a material false statement or concealed a material fact in connection with his application; (b) Such applicant, any officer, director, stockholder or partner, or any other person directly or indirectly interested in the business was the former holder, or was an officer, director, stockholder or partner, in a corporation or partnership which was the former holder of a drivers' school license which was revoked or suspended by the commissioner; (c) Such applicant or any officer, director, stockholder, partner, employee, or any other person directly or indirectly interested in the business has been convicted of a felony, or of any crime involving violence, dishonesty, deceit, indecency, degeneracy or moral turpitude; (d) Such applicant has failed to furnish satisfactory evidence of good character, reputation and fitness; (e) Such applicant does not have a place of business as required by this section; (f) Such applicant is not the true owner of the drivers' school. 5. Suspension, revocation and refusal to renew a license. The commissioner, or any employee of the department of motor vehicles deputized by him, may suspend or revoke a license or refuse to issue a renewal thereof for any of the following causes: (a) the conviction of the licensee or any partner, officer, agent or employee of such licensee, of a felony, or of any crime involving violence, dishonesty, deceit, indecency, degeneracy or moral turpitude; (b) where the licensee has made a material false statement or concealed a material fact in connection with his application for a license or a renewal thereof; (c) where the licensee has failed to comply with any of the provisions of this section or any of the rules and regulations of the commissioner made pursuant thereto: (d) where the licensee or any partner, officer, agent or employee of such licensee has been guilty of fraud or fraudulent practices in relation to the business conducted under the license, or guilty of inducing another to resort to fraud or fraudulent practices in relation to securing for himself or another a license to drive a motor vehicle or motorcycle. The term "fraudulent practices" as used in this section shall include, but shall not be limited to, any conduct or representation on the part of the licensee, or any partner, officer, agent, or employee of a licensee, tending to induce another or to give the impression that a license to operate a motor vehicle or motorcycle, or any other license, registration or service granted by the commissioner, may be obtained by any means other than the ones prescribed by law, or furnishing or obtaining the same by illegal or improper means, or requesting, accepting, exacting or collecting money for such purpose. Notwithstanding the renewal of a license, the commissioner may revoke or suspend such license for causes and violations, as prescribed by this section, occurring during the two license periods immediately preceding the renewal of such license. The commissioner, or any person deputized by him, in addition to or in lieu of revoking or suspending a license to conduct a driving school in accordance with the provisions of this section, may by order require the licensee to pay to the people of this state a penalty in a sum not exceeding five hundred dollars for each violation, and upon the failure of such licensee to pay such penalty within twenty days after the mailing of such order, postage prepaid, registered or certified, and addressed to the last known place of business of such licensee, unless such order is stayed by a court of competent jurisdiction or in accordance with the provisions of article three-A of this chapter, the commissioner may revoke the license of such licensee or may suspend the same for such period as he may determine. Civil penalties assessed under this subdivision shall be paid to the commissioner for deposit into the state treasury, and unpaid civil penalties may be recovered by the commissioner in a civil action in the name of the commissioner. In addition, as an alternative to such civil action, and provided that no proceeding for judicial review shall then be pending and the time for initiation of such proceeding shall have expired, the commissioner may file with the county clerk of the county in which the licensee is located a final order of the commissioner containing the amount of the penalty assessed. The filing of such final order shall have the full force and effect of a judgment duly docketed in the office of such clerk and may be enforced in the same manner and with the same effect as that provided by law in respect to executions issued against property upon judgments of a court of record. 6. Hearing. Except where a refusal to issue a license or renewal, or revocation or suspension, is based solely on a court conviction or convictions, a licensee or applicant shall have an opportunity to be heard, such hearing to be held at such time and place as the commissioner shall prescribe. Provided, however, upon a written notice of temporary suspension delivered by certified mail to the licensee, a license may be temporarily suspended pending a hearing. Any such notice of temporary suspension shall provide that the suspension is effective seventy-two hours after mailing of such notice and shall provide that a hearing be scheduled within ten days after the effective date of the temporary suspension. A licensee or applicant entitled to a hearing shall be given due notice thereof. The sending of a notice of a hearing by registered mail to the last known address of a licensee or applicant ten days prior to the date of the hearing shall be deemed due notice. The commissioner, or the person deputized by him to conduct a hearing, shall have power to subpoena witnesses, administer oaths to witnesses and take testimony of any person or cause his deposition to be taken. A subpoena issued under this section shall be regulated by the civil practice law and rules. Officers or employees in the department of taxation and finance, making service of such subpoenas are not entitled to fees and mileage. 7. Supervision; records. The commissioner shall approve the form of contract used by all licensees, and may prescribe reasonable rules governing the terms which may be included in such contracts. Every licensee shall keep such records as the commissioner may by regulation require. The records of the licensee shall be open to the inspection of the commissioner or his representatives at all times during reasonable business hours. The commissioner shall prescribe such reasonable rules and regulations as he may deem necessary to carry out the provisions of this section. 7-a. Certification of driving time. The commissioner shall establish by regulation a certification process by drivers' schools of the amount of time a holder of a learner's permit has spent operating a motor vehicle or motorcycle while under the immediate supervision of a driving instructor holding an instructor's certificate issued pursuant to subdivision eight of this section. A certificate issued pursuant to this section shall be deemed to be proof of all or a portion of the supervised driving experience required under certification pursuant to paragraph (d) of subdivision two of section five hundred two of this chapter. 8. Instructors. (a) No person shall be employed by a licensee as a driving instructor, nor shall any person give instructions for hire in the operation of motor vehicles or motorcycles unless such person is the holder of a driver's license valid for operation in this state and an instructor's certificate issued by the commissioner. Such certificates shall be issued only to persons of good reputation and moral character, whose driving records, as determined by the commissioner, qualify them as instructors in the operation of motor vehicles or motorcycles. An application for an instructor's certificate must identify the driving school or schools in which the applicant is to act as an instructor and shall contain such other information as the commissioner shall prescribe. Each such application shall be accompanied by a fee of ten dollars which shall in no event be refunded. Such certificate shall be issued without payment of any additional fee and shall be limited to use in connection with the business of the specified driving school or schools. Such certificate shall be valid until the date of expiration prescribed by the commissioner and may be validated for use in connection with the business of other driving schools without payment of any additional fee. The fee for annual renewal thereof shall be ten dollars. Upon renewal, the commissioner may, in his discretion, issue a renewal which shall be valid for up to a two-year period. The fee for a two-year renewal shall be twenty dollars. Fees for renewal of a certificate valid for a period of less than two years shall be prorated on a quarterly basis and any portion of a quarter shall be considered a quarter. (b) The commissioner or any employee of the department of motor vehicles deputized by him, may suspend or revoke an instructor's certificate for any of the following causes: (1) expiration, suspension or revocation of the required license of such instructor; (2) the commissioner has determined that the driving record of such instructor indicates that such instructor does not possess the qualities or competence necessary or desirable for a driving instructor; (3) such instructor has failed to comply with the rules and regulations prescribed by the commissioner; (4) conviction of such instructor of a felony or any crime involving violence, dishonesty, deceit, indecency, degeneracy or moral turpitude; and (5) such instructor has been guilty of fraud or fraudulent practices. 8-a. Fees; deposited. Fees assessed under this section shall be paid to the commissioner for deposit to the general fund. 9. Employees. No licensee shall knowingly employ, in connection with a driving school in any capacity whatsoever, any person who has been convicted of a felony, or of any crime involving violence, dishonesty, deceit, indecency, degeneracy or moral turpitude. 10. Judicial review. The action of the commissioner in refusing to issue or renew, or revoking or suspending a license or instructor's certificate may be reviewed in a proceeding under article seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules. 11. Penalties. (a) A violation of any of the provisions of this section shall constitute a misdemeanor. (b) During the pendency of any criminal prosecution based upon a violation of this section or if any such prosecution has been terminated and the defendant has been sentenced to pay a fine as provided in this chapter, no proceeding to recover civil penalties under this section shall be commenced and any such pending proceeding shall be stayed. 12. Unlicensed operation; procedures and penalties. (a) The commissioner or any person deputized by him shall hear and determine any allegation that a person has operated a drivers' school without being licensed as required by subdivision two of this section. Upon a determination that a person has so operated, the commissioner or person deputized by him shall assess civil penalties as provided in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this subdivision. (b) Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this subdivision, any person who operates a drivers' school without being licensed shall be required to pay to the people of this state a civil penalty in the sum of one thousand dollars. However, any such person against whom such penalty has been assessed may avoid all but five hundred dollars of such penalty by obtaining a license as required by this section, provided that application for such license is made not more than ten days after the imposition of such penalty. (c) (i) Any person who operates a drivers' school while his drivers' school license is revoked or suspended, shall pay to the people of this state a civil penalty in the sum of one thousand dollars. Such civil penalty may not be avoided. (ii) Any person who operates a drivers' school without being licensed as required by subdivision two of this section who has previously had a civil penalty assessed for unlicensed operation shall pay to the people of this state a civil penalty in the sum of one thousand dollars. Such civil penalty may not be avoided. (d) Civil penalties assessed under this section shall be paid to the commissioner for deposit into the state treasury, and unpaid civil penalties may be recovered by the commissioner in a civil action in the name of the commissioner. In addition, as an alternative to such civil action, and provided that no proceeding for judicial review shall then be pending and the time for initiation of such proceeding shall have expired, the commissioner may file with the county clerk of the county in which the licensee is located a final order of the commissioner containing the amount of the penalty assessed. The filing of such final order shall have the full force and effect of a judgment duly docketed in the office of such clerk and may be enforced in the same manner and with the same effect as that provided by law in respect to executions issued against property upon judgments of a court of record. S 395. Certain private service bureaus to be licensed. Except as otherwise provided herein, no person, firm, association or corporation shall, engage in the business of assisting for hire in securing licenses to drive motor vehicles or registrations or titles of motor vehicles, nor shall any person, firm, association or corporation for compensation give instructions as to procuring licenses to drive motor vehicles or registrations or titles of motor vehicles, without being the holder of a license for such purpose issued by the commissioner of motor vehicles. An applicant for a license shall furnish the commissioner with such information and such references as to moral character as he may reasonably require. Every application shall be accompanied by a fee of twenty-five dollars, which shall be regarded as an application fee and shall in no event be refunded. If an application be approved by the commissioner, the applicant upon the payment of an additional fee of twenty-five dollars shall be granted a license which shall expire on the thirtieth day of June following the date of its issuance. The commissioner shall issue a license certificate to each licensee which certificate shall be conspicuously displayed in the place of business of the licensee, or, if the licensee has no place of business, such certificates shall be exhibited at the request of any person. In case of the loss, mutilation or destruction of a certificate, the commissioner shall issue a duplicate upon proof of the facts and the payment of a fee of one dollar. The refusal to issue a license may be reviewed by a proceeding under article seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules. Such license shall be renewed annually upon the payment of a fee of twenty-five dollars, such renewal to take effect on the first day of July in each year. Upon renewal, the commissioner may, in his discretion, issue a license which shall be valid for a two year period. The fee for any such two year renewal shall be fifty dollars. No license shall be issued under this section nor shall any renewal of a license issued under this section be made for conducting business in a city having a population of fifty thousand or more, according to the latest federal census if the place of business of the licensee, or branch thereof, is within fifteen hundred feet of a building, owned or leased by the state, a county or a city, in which motor vehicle registrations or licenses to drive motor vehicles are issued to the public. The said distance of fifteen hundred feet shall be measured along the public streets by the nearest route from such place of business, or branch thereof, to such building. The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to a holder of a certificate of registration issued pursuant to section four hundred fifteen of this chapter. A licensee shall be subject to such reasonable regulations concerning the business conducted under his license as the commissioner may prescribe and he shall permit the commissioner, or his representatives, to inspect his place of business on any business day and shall furnish to the commissioner, or his representative, such information concerning the conduct of the business as may be reasonably required. The provisions of subdivisions five and six of section three hundred ninety-four of this chapter shall be applicable with respect to this section. The holder of a license issued pursuant to section three hundred ninety-four of this chapter or the holder of a certificate of registration issued pursuant to section four hundred fifteen of this chapter shall not be required to secure a license under this section in order to conduct a business for which a license is required by this section but any such licensee, or registrant, who shall conduct such business, shall be subject to the same visitation and regulation by the commissioner with reference to such business as provided in this section with respect to a licensee under this section. As used in this section the phrase "licenses to drive motor vehicles" includes the term "learners' permits". A violation of any of the provisions of this section shall constitute a misdemeanor. S 396. Use of state and other seals and insignia on private vehicles prohibited. 1. A person who shall use any seal, device of arms, sign, lettering or insignia of the United States, or of this state or political subdivision thereof, on any vehicle not owned or used by the United States, this state or by such political subdivision thereof, which such seal, device of arms, sign, lettering or insignia represents, is guilty of a traffic infraction. 2. A person who shall use or display the words "Police Department," "Police" or any sign, lettering or device with the letters "P.D.," or any other matter indicating ownership, possession or use by a police department, on any motor vehicle or motor cycle not used by a duly organized police department within this state and not actually operated or used by a member or an employee of a duly organized police department on any public highway, is guilty of a traffic infraction. 3. A person who shall use or display the words "Fire Department," "Fire" or any sign, lettering or device with the letters "F.D.N.Y.," or any other matter indicating ownership, possession or use by a fire department, on any motor vehicle or motor cycle not used by a duly organized fire department within this state and not actually operated or used by a member or an employee of a duly organized fire department on any public highway, is guilty of a traffic infraction. S 397. Equipping motor vehicles with radio receiving sets capable of receiving signals on the frequencies allocated for police use. A person, not a police officer or peace officer, acting pursuant to his special duties, who equips a motor vehicle with a radio receiving set capable of receiving signals on the frequencies allocated for police use or knowingly uses a motor vehicle so equipped or who in any way knowingly interferes with the transmission of radio messages by the police without having first secured a permit so to do from the person authorized to issue such a permit by the local governing body or board of the city, town or village in which such person resides, or where such person resides outside of a city or village in a county having a county police department by the board of supervisors of such county, is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, or imprisonment not exceeding six months, or both. Nothing in this section contained shall be construed to apply to any person who holds a valid amateur radio operator's license issued by the federal communications commission and who operates a duly licensed portable mobile transmitter and in connection therewith a receiver or receiving set on frequencies exclusively allocated by the federal communications commission to duly licensed radio amateurs. S 397-a. Radar detectors and laser detectors prohibited. 1. No radar detector or laser detector shall be used in any motor vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than eighteen thousand pounds or in any commercial vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than ten thousand pounds. The presence in such vehicle of a radar detector or laser detector connected to a power source and in an operable condition is presumptive evidence of its use by any person operating such vehicle. Such presumption shall be rebutted by any credible and reliable evidence which tends to show that such radar detector or laser detector was not in use. 2. The provisions of this section shall not be construed as authorizing the seizure or forfeiture of a radar detector or laser detector, unless otherwise provided by law. 3. A violation of the provisions of this section shall constitute a traffic infraction punishable by a fine of not less than twenty-five nor more than one hundred dollars. S 397-b. Vehicle leases that are not sales or security interests. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in the case of motor vehicles or trailers which are not vehicles or trailers leased or used primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, a transaction does not create a conditional sale or security interest merely because it provides that the rental price is permitted or required to be adjusted under the agreement either upward or downward by reference to the amount realized upon sale or other disposition of the motor vehicle or trailer. Top of Page
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