VTL 1163 (e) Failed to Use/Improper Use – 4 Way Flash.

Not to be confused with VTL § 1163(a), VTL § 1163(b), VTL § 1163(c), or VTL § 1163(d)

A ticket for failure to use your hazards when required is a 2 point violation in New York State. The maximum fine is $150 + a mandatory $93 surcharge. This violation will appear on your driving record and may impact your insurance rates.

Motorists are rarely stopped initially for this violation. The reason is obvious - because you are only required to use it when already stopped. However, this ticket is often issued as a “roadside reduction”. Meaning, the police officer pulls you over for a more serious violation but gives you a ticket for 1163(e) instead of a ticket for the more serious violation. This charge only makes sense if in fact you did not put on your hazards when pulled over, but we had cases where our clients maintained they had their hazards on but were ticketed anyway.

The wording of the statute is as follows:

The driver of a vehicle equipped with simultaneously flashing signals as provided for in subdivision eighteen-a of section three hundred seventy-five shall use such signals when the vehicle is stopped or disabled on a public highway, except when such vehicle is stopped in compliance with a traffic-control device or when legally parked. The driver of a vehicle so equipped may use such signals whenever necessary to warn the operators of following vehicles of the presence of a traffic hazard ahead of the signaling vehicle, or to warn the operators of other vehicles that the signaling vehicle may itself constitute a traffic hazard, taking into account traffic and highway conditions. No person shall use such signals for any other purpose.

Drivers often do not want to fight this charge for one reason or another. This can be a mistake. Traffic violations on your driving record will typically cause your insurance premiums to go up. This violation can often easily be reduced to a no-point ticket. The Benjamin Goldman Law Office has successfully handled many such tickets. Feel free to reach out and discuss before you take any action with your ticket.