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 3 - Drivers' Licenses › Section 3.10 - Exemptions and miscellaneous provisions

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
(a) A fire or police vehicle other than a
				  motorcycle or a fire and police vehicle combination may be driven with any
				  class license other than a DJ, M or MJ license. A police or fire motorcycle may
				  be driven only with a class M license. For the purposes of this Part,
fire vehicle
shall mean a fire vehicle as defined in Vehicle
				  and Traffic Law, section
				  115-a and a
police
				  vehicle
shall mean a police vehicle as defined in Vehicle and Traffic
				  Law section 132-a. A fire or police vehicle shall not be considered a
				  commercial motor vehicle, as defined in Vehicle and Traffic Law, section
				  501-a(4)(a), only if such
				  fire or police vehicle is engaged in emergency operation, and defined in
				  Vehicle and Traffic Law, section
				  114-b.
(b) A vehicle or combination of vehicles
				  which is registered pursuant to Schedule F of subdivision 7 of section 401  of the Vehicle and Traffic Law commonly
				  referred to as a special purpose commercial vehicle and any vehicle which is
				  registered with governmental plates which would qualify for registration under
				  Schedule F may be driven with any class license other than a DJ, M or MJ,
				  except that any such vehicle or combination of vehicles which has a GVWR or
				  GCWR of more than 26,000 lbs. and which can be operated at normal highway
				  speeds shall be a commercial motor vehicle and may be operated only with a CDL
				  which permits the operation of that type of vehicle or combination.
(c) A motor vehicle, other than a bus, used
				  for the purpose of transporting school children on a contract or fee basis, but
				  not used in the business of transporting passengers for hire generally, is not
				  considered a taxicab or livery by reason of such operation.
(d) For the purposes of this Part, any
				  military vehicle or combination of military vehicles operated by a member of
				  the armed forces, may be operated with any license other than a DJ, M or MJ.
				  For the purposes of this subdivision, the term
member of the Armed
				  Forces
shall include active duty military personnel; members of the
				  reserve components of the Armed Forces; members of the National Guard on active
				  duty, including personnel on full time active guard duty, personnel on
				  part-time National Guard training, and National Guard military technicians
				  (civilians who are required to wear military uniforms); and active duty United
				  State Coast Guard personnel. The term shall not include United States reserve
				  technicians.
(e) For the purposes
				  of this Part, an ambulance is not regarded as a taxicab or livery and may be
				  driven with any class license other than a class DJ, M or MJ license, if such
				  ambulance is used to provide emergency medical services as defined in section 3003  of the Public Health Law.
(f) For the purposes of this Part, the
				  seating capacity of any vehicle shall be determined each time the vehicle is
				  being operated. Seating capacity shall be the greater of the number of
				  passengers, other than the driver, using either designed adult passenger
				  capacity or actual passenger usage criteria. Designed adult passenger capacity
				  shall be based on 16 seat inches per passenger for seats accommodating one or
				  two passengers and 17 seat inches per passenger on a bench-type seat
				  accommodating three or more passengers. Actual passenger usage shall be based
				  upon the greatest number of passengers being transported in the vehicle at any
				  one time during the course of a trip or run.