After being alerted by Councilman Lewis Fidler and a mutual constituent to an inequity in New York State’s Vehicle and Traffic Law, Assemblywoman Helene Weinstein is proposing an amendment (A5470) to exclude days of religious observance, allowing motorists who receive tickets for defective equipment to make necessary repairs, and have the ticket dismissed.

The current law encourages timely repairs by offering a full waiver of the fine if repairs to defective equipment are made within one business day. If the following day is Sunday or a federal holiday, an additional day is allowed for these repairs. The constituent, in question received a ticket late in the day on Friday and, being Shomer Shabbos, was unable to make any repairs until first thing Sunday morning. The Department of Motor Vehicles refused to dismiss the ticket.

“Sometimes we need to fix the letter of the law so that it meets the intended spirit of the law,” said Councilman Fidler. “Grace periods encourage people to make timely repairs to their vehicles, and reward them for doing so. The law already rightly makes accommodations for Sundays and other holidays, but not everyone’s holy days are the same. The Sabbath observant, and those of other sincere religious beliefs, should be treated just as fairly and recognized for making timely repairs.

“Year in and year out, hundreds of motorists are disenfranchised when not given adequate time to take advantage of this incentive to repair their vehicle because of their religious obligation to keep Shabbos or other Holy Days,” said Assemblywoman Weinstein. “By acknowledging that these days prevent motorists from making timely repairs, we will help them avoid the costly fines associated with the violation without compromising safety in the process.”

(Source – Press Release)