2023 New York Laws › PBA - Public Authorities › Article 2 - Park, Parkway and Highway Authorities › Title 9 - New York State Thruway Authority › 361 - Traffic Control.

§  361. Traffic control. 1. (a) In addition to the powers conferred by
the vehicle and traffic law,  the  authority  is  hereby  authorized  to
promulgate  such  rules and regulations for the use and occupancy of the
thruway as may be  necessary  and  proper  for  the  public  safety  and
convenience, for the preservation of its property and for the collection
of  tolls  and provided further that the authority, in consultation with
the departments of environmental  conservation  and  transportation,  is
hereby  authorized  to  promulgate  rules  and  regulations necessary to
implement a heavy duty vehicle roadside inspection program  pursuant  to
section 19-0320 of the environmental conservation law.
(b)  Notwithstanding  any  inconsistent  provisions  of  any  general,
special or local law, the thruway authority shall mark, with appropriate
directional signs, the exits nearest to any state owned  unique  natural
attraction  within  forty  miles  of  the  thruway  which lies wholly or
partially within the state of New York, such as,  lakes  more  than  ten
miles  in  length,  excepting  Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, and mountains
more than five thousand feet in height.
(c)  Notwithstanding  any  inconsistent  provisions  of  the   general
business law or of any other law, general, special or local, the landing
and  take-off of planes on the thruway system shall be governed by rules
and regulations promulgated by the thruway authority.
(d) The violation of any such rule or regulation promulgated  pursuant
to this section shall be an offense and a first conviction thereof shall
be  punishable  by  a  fine  of  not  more  than  fifty  dollars  or  by
imprisonment for not more than fifteen days or by  both  such  fine  and
imprisonment; a second such conviction within eighteen months thereafter
shall be punishable by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars or by
imprisonment  for not more than forty-five days or by both such fine and
imprisonment; and a  third  or  subsequent  conviction  within  eighteen
months  after  the first conviction shall be punishable by a fine of not
more than two hundred fifty dollars or by imprisonment for not more than
ninety days or by both such fine and  imprisonment;  provided,  however,
that  the  violation  of  any  such  rule  or regulation relating to the
transportation of explosives class a or class b shall be a  misdemeanor,
punishable  by  a  fine  not exceeding twenty-five hundred dollars or by
imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or by both such fine  and
imprisonment.
(e)  For  the  purpose  of  conferring  jurisdiction  upon  courts and
judicial officers generally, violations of those rules  and  regulations
of the authority which are herein defined as offenses shall nevertheless
be  deemed  misdemeanors  for  the sole purpose of making applicable all
procedural provisions of law relating to  misdemeanors,  and  courts  of
special  sessions  outside  the  city of New York and in the city of New
York, the criminal court of the city of New York, in the first instance,
shall have exclusive jurisdiction to hear and determine charges of  such
violations  and  provided,  further, that no jury trial shall be allowed
for such violations.
2. Enforcement of the rules and regulations of the  thruway  authority
and of those provisions of the vehicle and traffic law applicable to the
thruway  shall  be  by  authority  forces, provided however, that at the
request of the authority, such enforcement shall  be  the  duty  of  the
division  of state police. Violators shall be apprehended and prosecuted
in the same manner as provided for the apprehension and  prosecution  of
violators  of  the vehicle and traffic law who commit violations thereof
upon the state highway system. Authority  forces  specifically  employed
for  the  enforcement  of such rules and regulations, during the term of
such employment, shall be uniformed, shall  have  the  powers  of  peace
officers,  as  set  forth in section 2.20 of the criminal procedure law,

and shall have, within the limits of any municipality within  which  any
portion  of  the  thruway system under the jurisdiction of the authority
shall be located, all the powers of a peace officer in the execution  of
criminal  processes;  and  criminal  process  issued  by  any  court  or
magistrate of a municipality within which any  portion  of  the  thruway
system  under the jurisdiction of the authority shall be located, may be
directed to and  executed  by  any  such  employee  notwithstanding  the
provisions of any local or special law, ordinance or regulation.