§ 361 — Traffic control

New York § 361

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law PBA: Public Authorities
• Title 9: New York State Thruway Authority
• Art. 2: Park, Parkway and Highway Authorities

Text

§ 361. Traffic control. 1. (a) In addition to the powers conferred by\nthe vehicle and traffic law, the authority is hereby authorized to\npromulgate such rules and regulations for the use and occupancy of the\nthruway as may be necessary and proper for the public safety and\nconvenience, for the preservation of its property and for the collection\nof tolls and provided further that the authority, in consultation with\nthe departments of environmental conservation and transportation, is\nhereby authorized to promulgate rules and regulations necessary to\nimplement a heavy duty vehicle roadside inspection program pursuant to\nsection 19-0320 of the environmental conservation law.\n (b) Notwithstanding any inconsistent provisions of any general,\nspecial or local law, the thruway authority shall mark, with appropriate\ndirectional signs, the exits nearest to any state owned unique natural\nattraction within forty miles of the thruway which lies wholly or\npartially within the state of New York, such as, lakes more than ten\nmiles in length, excepting Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, and mountains\nmore than five thousand feet in height.\n (c) Notwithstanding any inconsistent provisions of the general\nbusiness law or of any other law, general, special or local, the landing\nand take-off of planes on the thruway system shall be governed by rules\nand regulations promulgated by the thruway authority.\n (d) The violation of any such rule or regulation promulgated pursuant\nto this section shall be an offense and a first conviction thereof shall\nbe punishable by a fine of not more than fifty dollars or by\nimprisonment for not more than fifteen days or by both such fine and\nimprisonment; a second such conviction within eighteen months thereafter\nshall be punishable by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars or by\nimprisonment for not more than forty-five days or by both such fine and\nimprisonment; and a third or subsequent conviction within eighteen\nmonths after the first conviction shall be punishable by a fine of not\nmore than two hundred fifty dollars or by imprisonment for not more than\nninety days or by both such fine and imprisonment; provided, however,\nthat the violation of any such rule or regulation relating to the\ntransportation of explosives class a or class b shall be a misdemeanor,\npunishable by a fine not exceeding twenty-five hundred dollars or by\nimprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or by both such fine and\nimprisonment.\n (e) For the purpose of conferring jurisdiction upon courts and\njudicial officers generally, violations of those rules and regulations\nof the authority which are herein defined as offenses shall nevertheless\nbe deemed misdemeanors for the sole purpose of making applicable all\nprocedural provisions of law relating to misdemeanors, and courts of\nspecial sessions outside the city of New York and in the city of New\nYork, the criminal court of the city of New York, in the first instance,\nshall have exclusive jurisdiction to hear and determine charges of such\nviolations and provided, further, that no jury trial shall be allowed\nfor such violations.\n 2. Enforcement of the rules and regulations of the thruway authority\nand of those provisions of the vehicle and traffic law applicable to the\nthruway shall be by authority forces, provided however, that at the\nrequest of the authority, such enforcement shall be the duty of the\ndivision of state police. Violators shall be apprehended and prosecuted\nin the same manner as provided for the apprehension and prosecution of\nviolators of the vehicle and traffic law who commit violations thereof\nupon the state highway system. Authority forces specifically employed\nfor the enforcement of such rules and regulations, during the term of\nsuch employment, shall be uniformed, shall have the powers of peace\nofficers, as set forth in section 2.20 of the criminal procedure law,\nand shall have, within the limits of any municipality within which any\nportion of the thruway system under the jurisdiction of the authority\nshall be located, all the powers of a peace officer in the execution of\ncriminal processes; and criminal process issued by any court or\nmagistrate of a municipality within which any portion of the thruway\nsystem under the jurisdiction of the authority shall be located, may be\ndirected to and executed by any such employee notwithstanding the\nprovisions of any local or special law, ordinance or regulation.\n