Motorcycle and Scooter Related Laws and Regulations in New York State and NYC
This page is a work in progress… As people ask us questions about laws – which usually happens when someone is stopped by police or receives a parking ticket for no apparent reason – we are putting our resulting research, information and opinions here. Disclaimer: We are not attorneys. Use any advice here at your own risk. Legal advice is worth what you pay for it. That being said, we also believe it is everyone’s civic duty to fight unjust tickets and challenge unfair treatment at every possible level.
CASE: A motorcycle owner covers his motorcycle when parked for bad weather and receives a New York City parking summons with the violation code VC 74 – Improperly Displayed Plate. The owner shows a picture revealing that his license plate was on its stock mount and in conformance with all laws and regulations. Apparently some ill-informed person with a badge and a quota to meet thinks it is illegal to cover a parked motorcycle.
In short: Motorcycles are allowed to be covered as long as they are otherwise legally parked. Let’s have a look at this…
If you look at the language for VC 74 in the NYC Parking Rules, it applies (only) to violations of NYC Parking Rules, 34 RCNY §4-08(j)(2). That piece of law is not meant to address vehicle covers, but plate covers and plate visibility. The fun part for us is just six paragraphs later in the same code.
NYC Parking Rules 34 RCNY §4-08(j)(8) reads:
“(8) Vehicle covers prohibited. No person shall stand or park a vehicle having a cover on it that obscures the make, color, vehicle identification number (VIN), license plates and/or registration and inspection stickers, and/or restricts entry to the vehicle, if such vehicle is standing or parked in violation of posted rules.”
Boiled down, the paragraph above says vehicle covers are prohibited ONLY if the vehicle is otherwise not parked legally.
The owner in his defense needs to state that VC 74 applies explicitly to 34 RCNY §4-08(j)(2), that the motorcycle was in compliance with that code (with one or more pictures of the back of the motorcycle as proof) and that legally parked vehicles are permitted to be covered per 34 RCNY §4-08(j)(8).
The owner then needs to submit a complaint to the CCRB so that the officer can be given a refresher on the laws he or she is enforcing, and be reprimanded accordingly.
What is a properly mounted and displayed plate according to New York State? Like anything else, you can find out by reading the laws. Specifically, New York Vehicle & Traffic Law § 402 describes how your license plate is to be mounted and § 381 describes how it must be lit.
Some general thoughts I’m sticking in here to be addressed more completely later:
We saw the spring 2016 video of the NYC rider pulled over in Manhattan and told that it was illegal to have a GoPro camera mounted on his helmet. Predictably, this was an outright lie used to justify the NYPD officer’s repugnant behavior. There is no such law anywhere in the United States.
The wind screen on a motorcycle does not have to conform to the same laws as an automobile windshield. They are two different things by legal definition. A motorcycle’s wind screen does not by law or regulation have to be unobstructed or clear. Stickers, vinyl wrap, tinting and hanging decorations (haha) are all not prohibited on a motorcycle’s wind screen.
This legally distinct definition is why, for example, you don’t see windshield wipers or safety laminated glass on the fronts of motorcycles.
Motorcycle related eye protection requirements in New York are such that only the operator, not the passenger, must conform to regulations pertaining to eyewear.
Motorcycle operators must use ANSI Z87 rated protective eyewear. ANSI Z87 is a specification governing high-impact protective eyewear. A helmet face shield is such protection but must be positioned over the operator’s eyes. Z87 eyewear may be spectacles or goggles. It does not have to be goggles. New York states that spectacles are acceptable – goggles not required. Note that the language of the VTL and the DMV regulations conflicts somewhat.
The ANSI Z87 specification required by New York does not specify or imply any kind of ability to protect the wearer from airborne dust, dirt, etc. It is an impact protection specification only.
If challenged for having a helmet face shield lifted at a stop light or in very slow moving urban traffic, consider using the legislative intent behind the regulation. Why do you need high-impact eye protection when you are not moving?
If you have eyewear that was advertised as being ANSI Z87 rated or compliant but it is not marked as such, then it is not compliant and will not be legal in New York.
A rider was stopped during a daytime motorcycle -only checkpoint and was issued a summons for violation of VTL 381(a) because the license plate lamp on his stock 2003 Victory V92 motorcycle faced upward through a clear lens atop the unusual low-mounted taillight unit onto the license plate instead of facing down onto the plate. The police officer claimed this was unacceptable and that the motorcycle had to have a separate license plate lamp above the plate. That is a false allegation.
The law states: “the lamps on a motorcycle shall include a red light visible from the rear. The rays of such rear lamp shall shine upon the number plate carried on the rear of such motorcycle in such manner as to render the numerals thereon visible for at least fifty feet in the direction from which the motorcycle is proceeding.” Nowhere does the law specify the direction from which the light rays must emanate.
The FMVSS Standard 108 (“49 CFR 571.108 – Standard No. 108; Lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment”) is the federal law governing all motor vehicle equipment and states:
S7.7.15.2 Each license plate lamp installed on a motorcycle or motor driven cycle must be of such size and design as to provide illumination on all parts of a 100 mm by 175 mm test plate.
S7.7.15.3 The light rays must reach all portions of an imaginary plate of the same size at least 25 mm ahead of the actual plate measured perpendicular to the plane of the plate.
S7.7 License plate lamps.
S7.7.1 Number. See Tables I-a, I-b, and I-c and S6.1.1.
S7.7.2 Color of light. See Tables I-a, I-b, and I-c.
S7.7.3 Mounting location. See Tables I-a, I-b, and I-c.
S7.7.4 Mounting height. No requirement.
S7.7.5 Activation. See Tables I-a, I-b, and I-c.
S7.7.6 Effective projected luminous lens area. No requirement.
S7.7.7 Visibility. No requirement.
S7.7.8 Indicator. No requirement.
S7.7.9 Markings. See. S6.5.1.2.
S7.7.10 Spacing to other lamps. No requirement.
S7.7.11 Multiple compartments and multiple lamps. No requirement.
S7.7.12 Ratio. No requirement.
S7.7.13 Photometry.
S7.7.13.1 Each license plate lamp must be designed to conform to the photometry requirements of this section when tested according to the procedure of S14.2.2.
S7.7.13.2 An illumination value of no less than 8 lx [0.75 fc] must be met at each test station target location shown in Figure 19.
S7.7.13.4 The ratio of the highest illumination value divided by the average of the two lowest illumination values must not exceed 15:1 for motorcycles and motor driven cycles.
S7.7.15.2 Each license plate lamp installed on a motorcycle or motor driven cycle must be of such size and design as to provide illumination on all parts of a 100 mm by 175 mm test plate.
S7.7.15.3 The light rays must reach all portions of an imaginary plate of the same size at least 25 mm ahead of the actual plate measured perpendicular to the plane of the plate.
S7.7.15.4 Incident light from single lamp. When a single lamp as shown in Figure 20 is used to illuminate the license plate, the lamp and license plate holder must bear such relation to each other that at no point on the plate must the incident light make an angle of less than 8° to the plane of the plate, this angle being measured from the edge of the light emitting surface of the lamp farthest from the surface of the plate.
Note that the 8° specified is relative to the plane of the plate but is not required to be relative to any other plane. The figure also does not make clear the orientation of the plate in Figure 20 so the light could be from any edge of the plate. There is also no distance or proximity requirement between the lamp and the plate. The only requirement would be illumination quality according to the regulation.
Table I-C pertinent to motorcycles:
License Plate Lamp
1 White – additional lamps permitted to meet requirements
Mounting location: On the rear to illuminate license plate
Mounting height: No requirement
Activation: Steady burning. Must be activated when the headlamps are activated in a steady burning state.
It appears that by apparently insisting on a license plate lamp that is integral to the red rear lamp unit, New York State’s law is illegal. The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act contains an express preemption provision: “When a motor vehicle safety standard is in effect under this chapter, a State or a political subdivision of a State may prescribe or continue in effect a standard applicable to the same aspect of performance of a motor vehicle or motor vehicle equipment only if the standard is identical to the standard prescribed under this chapter.” (49 U.S.C. § 30103)
New York Vehicle and Traffic Law § 381. Motorcycle equipment
2-a. It shall be unlawful for any person to operate on the public highways of the state any motorcycle manufactured or assembled after October first, nineteen hundred sixty-eight and designated as a nineteen hundred sixty-nine or subsequent year model unless such motorcycle is equipped with the lamps required by this section, which lamps shall be of a type, design and construction approved by the commissioner.
N.B.: The Commissioner specifies does lighting equipment regulations in NYCRR Title 15 Subchapter D (Equipment) but 15 CRR-NY Part 43 (Motor Vehicle Lighting) does not apply to motorcycles. (15 CRR-NY 43.1) Read: NYCRR Title 15 makes no further definition of approved motorcycle lighting equipment. It’s all in VTL § 381.
The subject of license plate angle comes up on occasion. FMVSS Standard 108 initially prescribed a maximum deviation of 15 degrees from vertical. As of June 14 2016 this has been amended to a maximum of 15 degrees down, or a maximum of 30 degrees up from vertical as long as the upper edge of the plate is no more than 1.2 meters from the ground.
Again we need to remember with respect to local laws the Executive Order on Preemption, EO 13132 as it pertains to the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act.
Inspection stickers by law must be mounted on a permanent part of the front half of the motorcycle and visible when approaching the left side of the motorcycle. The lower left fork leg is not the only place a sticker may be placed! A registration sticker plate mounted on the motorcycle is considered a permanent part of the motorcycle.
The NYMSTF received an inquiry about the legality of a vintage 1960’s Shoei DS-D3 (ANSI Z90.1-1966) helmet. We believe the short answer is no, that helmet is not legal because it is not DOT (FMVSS 218) compliant.
It was interesting find in our research that New York State up until a few years ago actually specified ANSI Z90.1-1966 as their standard of compliance. But NYS now requires FMVSS 218 compliance, which is based on the slightly more recent Z90.1-1971 ANSI standard. Note well, all states with mandatory helmet laws do require FMVSS 218 (“DOT”) compliance.
Similarly, helmets which comply with current non-US standards such as ECE 22.05, which most believe to be a superior standard (good enough for around 50 countries) that gets frequent updates and requires strict quality control versus FMVSS 218 which hasn’t seen significant safety improvements since 1974 and is subject to only occasional random sample testing, are not legal either unless they also are DOT compliant.
That the US is virtually the only country not to incorporate acceptance of ECE vehicle standards and refuses to join the World Forum For Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations might explain a great deal about some of this.
Fun reading list:
- New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law
- New York City Administrative Code
- Rules and Codes of New York City
- Regulations of the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles
- Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS, aka 49 CFR 571)
- Code of Federal Regulations – Title 40, Part 205 (Noise – Transportation Equipment)