Vehicle & Traffic Law § 1101 “Required Obedience to Traffic Laws”

Not to be confused with VTL 1110(A) - Disobeying a Traffic Control Device

The exact wording of VTL § 1101 is as follows:

1101. Required obedience to traffic laws. It is unlawful and, unless otherwise declared in this title with respect to particular offenses, it is a traffic infraction for any person to do any act forbidden or fail to perform any act required in this title.

This is a strange section of Vehicle & Traffic Law and is rarely charged on a traffic ticket. As of January of 2020, the position of the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is that this “definitional in nature -- that is, it describes what constitutes a violation of the rules of the road but is not in and of itself a violation of those rules.”

The DMV does not record this “violation” on a driving record and does not associate any points to this violation. The position of the DMV is that this is not appropriate for a police officer to issue a ticket for this violation or for a court to reduce an offense to this violation. Nevertheless, on the rare occasion, this violation is cited in a traffic ticket. If you receive a ticket charging this violation it is not worth fighting it as it is for all practical purposes a parking ticket. It does not have points and does not go on a driving record. If the prosecutor offers to reduce a speeding ticket or another violation to VTL 1101 it is a good deal, and you should probably take it. Yonkers City Court is one such court that still uses this as a plea offer to a ticket with points.

Sometimes this gets confused with VTL 1110a – “Disobeying a Traffic Control Device. This is a violation that is often ticketed by police officers and likewise is often a plea offer from a prosecutor. This violation appears on your driving record and carries two points.

For any further queries please feel free to contact the Benjamin Goldman Law Office. Our firm offers a free ten-minute consultation. We are a traffic ticket defense firm that operates across the entire New York State. We help motorists in all regions including Central New York, Upstate New York, Western New York, North County, Catskills, Finger Lakes, New York City, Long Island, Hudson Valley, Mohawk Valley, and the Capital District. Our team is diligent and aggressive in obtaining the most optimal disposition for each case and we do not shy away from complicated or serious cases. Contact us at your convenience.

Fight a VTL § 1101 Ticket