NYS VTL Law
Vehicle and Traffic Law
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Article 1 - NY Vehicle and Traffic Law
WORDS PHRASES DEFINED
Section |
Description |
100 | Definition of words and phrases. |
100-a | Access highway. |
100-b | Ambulance. |
100-c | Articulated bus. |
100-d | Agricultural equipment. |
101 | Authorized emergency vehicle. |
101-a | Automobile transporter. |
101-b | Boat transporter. |
101-c | B-train assembly. |
102 | Bicycle. |
102-a | Bicycle lane. |
102-b | Bicycle path. |
103 | Bureau. |
104 | Bus. |
105 | Business district. |
105-a | Car carrier. |
105-b | Certificate of registration. |
106 | Circulatory roadway. |
106-a | Civil defense emergency vehicle. |
107 | Classes of cities. |
107-b | Commercial towing. |
108 | Commissioner. |
109 | Controlled-access highway. |
109-a | Correction vehicle. |
109-b | County emergency medical services vehicle. |
109-c | Conviction. |
110 | Crosswalk. |
111 | Curb. |
112 | Department. |
112-a | Department of transportation. |
113 | Driver. |
114 | Driveway. |
114-a | Drug. |
114-b | Emergency operation. |
114-c | Escort vehicle. |
114-d | Electric personal assistive mobility device. |
115 | Explosives. |
115-a | Fire vehicle. |
115-b | Flagperson. |
115-c | Emergency ambulance service vehicle. |
115-d | Environmental emergency response vehicle. |
116 | Flammable liquid. |
117 | Gross weight. |
117-a | Hazard vehicle. |
117-b | Hazardous operation. |
117-c | Hazardous materials emergency vehicle. |
117-d | Blood delivery vehicle. |
118 | Highway. |
119 | House coach. |
119-a | Ignition interlock device. |
119-b | Inflatable restraint system. |
120 | Intersection. |
121 | Laned roadway. |
121-a | Limited use automobile. |
121-b | Limited use motorcycle. |
121-c | Limited use vehicle. |
121-d | Leased vehicle. |
121-e | Livery. |
121-f | Low speed vehicle. |
122 | Local authorities. |
122-a | Maximum gross weight. |
122-b | Maximum performance speed. |
122-c | Mobile home or manufactured home. |
123 | Motorcycle. |
125 | Motor vehicles. |
125-a | Off-highway motorcycle. |
126 | Omnibus. |
127 | Overhang. |
128 | Owner. |
129 | Park or parking. |
129-a | Parking area of a shopping center. |
129-b | Parking lot. |
130 | Pedestrian. |
130-a | Wheelchair. |
131 | Person. |
131-a | Place of public assembly. |
132 | Police officer. |
132-a | Police vehicle. |
133 | Private road. |
134 | Public highway. |
134-a | Qualifying highway. |
134-b | Radar detector. |
134-c | Laser detector. |
135 | Railroad. |
136 | Railroad sign or signal. |
137 | Railroad train. |
137-a | Rental vehicle. |
138 | Residence district. |
139 | Right of way. |
140 | Roadway. |
140-a | In-line skate. |
140-b | Roller skate. |
140-c | Skate board. |
140-d | Roundabout. |
141 | Safety zone. |
141-a | Sani-vans. |
141-a*2 | Sanitation patrol vehicle. |
142 | School bus. |
143 | Semitrailer. |
143-a | Shoulder. |
144 | Sidewalk. |
144-a | Slope. |
144-b | Snow emergency. |
145 | Stand or standing. |
145-a | State expressway routes. |
145-b | State interstate routes. |
145-c | Snow emergency route. |
145-d | Definition of snow tire. |
145-e | Stinger-steered automobile transporter. |
145-f | Stinger-steered boat transporter. |
146 | Stop. |
147 | Stop or stopping. |
148 | Street. |
148-a | Taxicab. |
148-b | Tow truck. |
149 | Through highway. |
151-a | Tractor. |
152 | Traffic. |
153 | Traffic control devices. |
154 | Traffic-control signal. |
155 | Traffic infraction. |
156 | Trailer. |
157 | Trolley bus or trolley coach. |
158 | Truck. |
158-a | U turn. |
158-b | Vanpool vehicle. |
159 | Vehicle. |
160 | Wheel lift. |
161 | Work area. |
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 and vehicles
driven by rural letter carriers while in the performance of their
official duties.
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, 2017
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.
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.
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 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 id 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. 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.
* NB There are 2 S 141-a's
* 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.
* NB There are 2 S 141-a's
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 two
hundred thousand 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 two hundred thousand 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 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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Vehicle and Traffic Law - Table of Contents
N.Y.S. Laws:
YPDcrime.com,
CityofYonkers.org,
CityofYonkersPolice.com,
CityofYonkersPolice.org,
JMBwebdesigns.com,
NYScriminalLaws.com,
YonkersPD.com,
YonkersPD.org,
YonkersPolice.com,
YonkersPolice.org,
YPDcrime.info - A comprehensive on-line digest of New York's criminal code.