2019 New York Laws
VAT - Vehicle and Traffic
Title 3 - Safety Responsibility; Financial Security; Equipment; Inspection; Size and Weight; and Other Provisions
Article 9 - Equipment of Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles
376-A - Defective Equipment.

§ 376-a. Defective  equipment. 1. If any vehicle is driven or operated
on a public highway in violation  of  any  provision  of  section  three
hundred   seventy-five,  three  hundred  seventy-six  or  three  hundred
eighty-one of this article relating to required equipment or its  proper
repair  and  adjustment,  other  than  a  provision  relating to service
brakes, any police officer shall be authorized to take  such  action  as
may be required or permitted by the provisions of this section.
  2.  If  the  vehicle  is  being operated or driven in violation of the
provisions of this chapter relating to  the  use  or  proper  repair  or
adjustment  of  headlamps,  and  there  is not in operation at least one
headlamp lighted and adjusted as required by  law,  such  officer  shall
issue  a  summons  for  such  violation  and shall order the operator to
remove such vehicle from the highway. In such event, such vehicle  shall
not  again  be  driven or operated until such time as the vehicle can be
driven or operated without being in violation of such provisions.
  3. If the vehicle is being driven or  operated  in  violation  of  any
provisions   of   section  three  hundred  seventy-five,  three  hundred
seventy-six or three hundred eighty-one  of  this  article  relating  to
required  equipment,  except a violation described in subdivision two of
this  section,  subdivision  forty-seven  of   section   three   hundred
seventy-five of this article, and except a violation relating to service
brakes,  such  officer  shall issue a summons, provided, however, that a
summons shall not be issued if, in the discretion and at the request  of
such  officer,  the defect is corrected in the presence of such officer.
The refusal of a police officer to permit the repair of  any  defect  in
his  presence shall not be reviewable, and shall not be a defense to any
violation charged in a summons issued pursuant to the provisions of this
subdivision.
  4. Any complaint issued for any violation  of  section  three  hundred
seventy-five,  three  hundred seventy-six or three hundred eighty-one of
this  article  relative  to  required  equipment,  except  a   violation
described in subdivision two of this section, subdivision forty-seven of
section  three  hundred  seventy-five  of this article, and except for a
violation relating to service brakes, shall be dismissed  by  the  court
before  which the summons is returnable if the violation as set forth in
the summons is corrected not later than one-half hour  after  sunset  on
the  first full business day after the issuance of the summons and proof
of such correction as set forth in subdivision five of this  section  is
submitted  to the court. For the purposes of this subdivision, "business
day" shall mean any calendar day except  Saturday  and  Sunday,  or  the
following  business  holidays:  New  Year's  Day, Washington's Birthday,
Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans'  Day,
Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.
  5.  (a)  Acceptable  proof  of  repair  or adjustment shall consist of
submission to the court on or before the  return  date  of  the  summons
either:
  (i)  a  statement  of  correction  from an officially designated state
inspection station duly executed by the person performing or making such
inspection and bearing the  facility  number  of  the  state  inspection
station, or
  (ii)  a  statement of correction from an automobile repair shop on the
letterhead of such repair shop duly executed by the person who made  the
correction, or
  (iii)  a  statement of correction from any registrant having more than
twenty-five vehicles registered and having a fleet  maintenance  program
administered  by  the registrant, duly executed by the person performing
or making such correction and countersigned  by  the  fleet  maintenance
supervisor, or
  (iv)  a  signed  statement  of  any  police officer that the necessary
corrections have been made, or
  (v)  evidence  acceptable  to the court from any person that he or she
completed the repair together with proof of purchase  of  the  equipment
needed for the repair, or
  (vi)  in the discretion of the court, submission of the vehicle to the
court for inspection not later than one-half hour after the next ensuing
sunset.
  (b) The statement required by this subdivision shall  be  directed  to
the  court  having  jurisdiction  of  the  alleged  violation,  shall be
affirmed as true under penalty of perjury, and shall include:
  (i) the name,  occupation  and  position  of  the  person  making  the
statement;
  (ii) the time and date that the repairs or inspection were made; and
  (iii)  a  statement that the defective equipment, cited in the summons
or information, on the vehicle in question, is in proper working order.
  6. The provisions of this section shall not be construed to affect any
cause of action or the rights or liabilities of any person with  respect
to  damages  or injuries caused or suffered as a result of the operation
of a motor vehicle.