Court case: decriminalizing sins and liabilities surrounding your car

“Holding Court” is a series by retired Rye City Court Judge Joe Latwin. Latwin retired from the court in December 2022 after thirteen years of service to the city.

What issues would you like Judge Latwin to address? Tell us.

By Joe Latwin

Things to keep in mind

It appears that the legislator is intent on removing sin from the law. Just last week, lawmakers decriminalized adultery by repealing the law that made it a crime. Even if you are safe from the police, you may still be at risk from an angry spouse.

This is the latest legalization of sin. More recently, marijuana has been decriminalized and certain types of gambling are permitted. In the last two years, draft laws to legalize prostitution have been introduced. At this rate, lawmakers may be putting the mob out of business. Soon the only option left for the mob could be murder and extortion. Fredo is probably rolling over in his watery grave.

I wasn’t there and had nothing to do with it. It may not be a defense to avoid liability for a car accident. In a recent case, the car owner took his vehicle to a car repair shop. While the car was in the care and control of the repair, an employee of the auto repair shop used or operated the owner’s vehicle. The plaintiff alleged that he was riding an electric scooter in the bike path when the employee opened the driver’s door of the owner’s parked vehicle into the plaintiff’s lane, striking the plaintiff and causing him injuries. The owner wasn’t there. He did nothing to cause the accident. He was merely a passive owner. The workshop had sole control of the car. Nevertheless, the owner was sued by the plaintiff.

According to Section 388 of the Vehicle and Traffic Act, negligence in the use or operation of the vehicle is attributable to the owner. It says,

1. Any owner of a vehicle used or operated in this state shall be liable and responsible for any death or injury to person or property resulting from any negligence in the use or operation of that vehicle, in that owner’s business, or otherwise by any person the vehicle is used or operated with the express or tacit permission of the respective owner. Whenever vehicles as defined below are to be used in combination with each other by towing or towing, for the purposes of this section the person using or operating a vehicle shall be deemed to be using or operating each vehicle in the combination. and their owners are jointly and severally liable under this Agreement.

The owner was therefore jointly and severally liable for the damage. Assuming the auto repair person was uninsured and relatively poor, the owner may have to pay for the entire damage. Hopefully the owner has adequate insurance coverage.

Are your car’s license plates covered? There’s a ticket for that!

Vehicle and Traffic Law 402(b) says

(i) License plates must be kept clean and in an easily legible condition.

(ii) License plates shall not knowingly be covered or coated with any material or substance that obscures or obscures such license plates or distorts a recorded or photographic image of such license plates.

(ii-a) License plates shall not be covered with glass or any other plastic material, nor shall they be covered with any material that appears to be a license plate issued as evidence of lawful registration but not lawfully issued by the Commissioner. the Commissioner’s representative or the corresponding official or officials from another state, territory, district, province, nation or other jurisdiction. James Bond’s Aston Martin with spinning disks would be illegal in New York!

The purpose of this law is to allow police to use radar to calculate the speed of the vehicle. The license plate is a flat surface that can properly reflect radar beams. Accordingly, police are taught to aim for the license plate. Additionally, obscuring the license plate limits the ability of license plate readers to photograph cars running red lights, speeding, or avoiding toll roads.

Now you know!