New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 15 - Department of Motor Vehicles › Chapter I - REGULATIONS OF THE COMMISSIONER › Subchapter A - DRIVER LICENSING AND TRAINING › Part 10 - INTERNET PRE-LICENSING COURSE › Section 10.15 - Course advertising

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
(a) Any
				  form of advertising (including verbal or written statements, promotional
				  materials, brochures, leaflets, newspaper and magazine ads, yellow page ads,
				  radio and television publicity, receipts, internet web pages, pop up ads or any
				  other medium which makes reference to the internet pre-licensing course) by a
				  sponsor must conform to the following:
(1)
				  Advertising must reflect the serious nature of the internet pre-licensing
				  course and, in no manner, either through the text of the advertisement or
				  through the name of the course, diminish the subject matter or serious nature
				  of the course. Advertising must not refer to gimmicks or enticements, such as
				  comedy or free gifts, or to any benefits other than eligibility to take a road
				  test upon completion.
(2) No
				  sponsor may make reference to the Department, other than to reference that the
				  course is approved by the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Words
				  which convey partnership, such as "in cooperation with," "supervised by,"
				  "recommended by," or "endorsed by" the Department may not be used. No sponsor
				  may advertise or imply that it is associated with or is an agent or employee of
				  the Department. No representative of the sponsor shall knowingly allow the use
				  of advertising that could lead the public to believe that they or the sponsor
				  are an employee, representative, or agent of the Department.
(3) No sponsor shall be permitted to conduct
				  business or advertise under any name that has not been approved by the
				  Department, pursuant to Articles 12-B, 12-C, and 12-D of the Vehicle and
				  Traffic Law. No sponsor may use the words "driving school," "drivers' school,"
				  or any variation thereof in its name in advertising unless it is licensed in
				  accordance with Part 76 of the Commissioner's Regulations.
(4) No sponsor may advertise approval to
				  administer an internet pre-licensing course in any manner until the course has
				  been approved by the Department. No organization shall advertise in any manner
				  that such organization can provide students with eligibility to take a road
				  test until such time as the sponsor and the course have been approved by the
				  Department.
(5) All advertising
				  must indicate that the course includes a minimum of two hundred seventy (270)
				  minutes of instruction.
(6) If a
				  language other than English is used in the course, all advertising related to
				  such course must contain this fact.
(7) Internet pre-licensing course advertising
				  shall not be combined with any other advertising, such as driving school or
				  insurance agency advertising, unless it has been approved by the Department, in
				  accordance with this section, in order to protect the public from potentially
				  confusing or misleading information.
(8) No sponsor may publish, advertise, or
				  imply that the completion of the course conducted for pre-licensing will result
				  in "erasing", "masking" or deleting any information from a motorist's driving
				  record, the reduction of points, or successful completion of a road test or
				  driver education.
(9) No sponsor or
				  employee may make false or misleading claims or statements in any of its
				  advertisements.
(10) All course
				  advertising must identify the sponsor and the internet pre-licensing
				  course.
(11) Any material contained
				  in literature produced by the Department may be quoted without attribution,
				  provided the quote retains its original meaning. Any presentation of
				  Departmental material which implies or creates a meaning other than the meaning
				  intended by the Department is prohibited.
(12) No sponsor, or employee shall falsely
				  advertise or represent itself to be an agent or employee of New York State
				  unless the sponsor is a State agency offering a Department-approved course to
				  its employees.
(13) No sponsor
				  shall conduct business or display or distribute any advertising material within
				  a building owned or leased by the State or a county in which motor vehicle
				  registrations or licenses are issued to the public.
(14) A copy, recording, or video of any
				  advertisement shall be kept on file by a sponsor for five (5) years from the
				  date it was last used or distributed to promote the internet pre-licensing
				  course, along with a record of when and where it was used or
				  distributed.
(15) Permission to
				  re-publish any content of the Department's web site shall be obtained by the
				  sponsor from the Department in writing prior to re-publishing such content. The
				  Department will provide an image to use as a link to the site. The Department's
				  web site may not be placed within any other web site frames.
(16) Comparative statistics or claims that
				  state or imply that one sponsor is more effective than another are prohibited.
				  The effectiveness of one sponsor's approved course may not be statistically
				  compared to another approved course for advertising and promotional
				  purposes.
(17) No implicit or
				  explicit claims that are not supported by documentation are permissible. Such
				  documentation and the proposed advertising must be reviewed and approved by the
				  Department in accordance with the standards of this section before they may be
				  used.
(18) The Department may
				  require a sponsor to modify or discontinue advertising that the Department
				  deems inappropriate, false, or misleading.
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