§ 376-A — Defective equipment

§ 376-a. Defective equipment. 1. If any vehicle is driven or operated\non a public highway in violation of any provision of section three\nhundred seventy-five, three hundred seventy-six or three hundred\neighty-one of this article relating to required equipment or its proper\nrepair and adjustment, other than a provision relating to service\nbrakes, any police officer shall be authorized to take such action as\nmay be required or permitted by the provisions of this section.\n 2. If the vehicle is being operated or driven in violation of the\nprovisions of this chapter relating to the use or proper repair or\nadjustment of headlamps, and there is not in operation at least one\nheadlamp lighted and adjusted as required by law, such officer shall\nissue a summons for such violation and shall order the operator to\nremove such vehicle from the highway. In such event, such vehicle shall\nnot again be driven or operated until such time as the vehicle can be\ndriven or operated without being in violation of such provisions.\n 3. If the vehicle is being driven or operated in violation of any\nprovisions of section three hundred seventy-five, three hundred\nseventy-six or three hundred eighty-one of this article relating to\nrequired equipment, except a violation described in subdivision two of\nthis section, subdivision forty-seven of section three hundred\nseventy-five of this article, and except a violation relating to service\nbrakes, such officer shall issue a summons, provided, however, that a\nsummons shall not be issued if, in the discretion and at the request of\nsuch officer, the defect is corrected in the presence of such officer.\nThe refusal of a police officer to permit the repair of any defect in\nhis presence shall not be reviewable, and shall not be a defense to any\nviolation charged in a summons issued pursuant to the provisions of this\nsubdivision.\n 4. Any complaint issued for any violation of section three hundred\nseventy-five, three hundred seventy-six or three hundred eighty-one of\nthis article relative to required equipment, except a violation\ndescribed in subdivision two of this section, subdivision forty-seven of\nsection three hundred seventy-five of this article, and except for a\nviolation relating to service brakes, shall be dismissed by the court\nbefore which the summons is returnable if the violation as set forth in\nthe summons is corrected not later than one-half hour after sunset on\nthe first full business day after the issuance of the summons and proof\nof such correction as set forth in subdivision five of this section is\nsubmitted to the court. For the purposes of this subdivision, "business\nday" shall mean any calendar day except Saturday and Sunday, or the\nfollowing business holidays: New Year's Day, Washington's Birthday,\nMemorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans' Day,\nThanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.\n 5. (a) Acceptable proof of repair or adjustment shall consist of\nsubmission to the court on or before the return date of the summons\neither:\n (i) a statement of correction from an officially designated state\ninspection station duly executed by the person performing or making such\ninspection and bearing the facility number of the state inspection\nstation, or\n (ii) a statement of correction from an automobile repair shop on the\nletterhead of such repair shop duly executed by the person who made the\ncorrection, or\n (iii) a statement of correction from any registrant having more than\ntwenty-five vehicles registered and having a fleet maintenance program\nadministered by the registrant, duly executed by the person performing\nor making such correction and countersigned by the fleet maintenance\nsupervisor, or\n (iv) a signed statement of any police officer that the necessary\ncorrections have been made, or\n (v) evidence acceptable to the court from any person that he or she\ncompleted the repair together with proof of purchase of the equipment\nneeded for the repair, or\n (vi) in the discretion of the court, submission of the vehicle to the\ncourt for inspection not later than one-half hour after the next ensuing\nsunset.\n (b) The statement required by this subdivision shall be directed to\nthe court having jurisdiction of the alleged violation, shall be\naffirmed as true under penalty of perjury, and shall include:\n (i) the name, occupation and position of the person making the\nstatement;\n (ii) the time and date that the repairs or inspection were made; and\n (iii) a statement that the defective equipment, cited in the summons\nor information, on the vehicle in question, is in proper working order.\n 6. The provisions of this section shall not be construed to affect any\ncause of action or the rights or liabilities of any person with respect\nto damages or injuries caused or suffered as a result of the operation\nof a motor vehicle.\n