Does Joe have to Cap His Pick-Up Truck to Park Safely in NYC?

Does our friend Joe have to cap pick-up truck?

To cap or not to cap a pick-up truck? Our great friend Joe parks his passenger pick-up truck with an unladen weight of fewer than 5,500 pounds in Queens. His bed is not enclosed by a cap. Upon his return, Joe is greeted by not one, but two NYC parking tickets:

Improper registration [4-08 (j)(1)], and;
Parking of unaltered commercial vehicle [4-08(k)(1)]

Does this off-Broadway show sound familiar?

New York City parking rules

4-08 (j)(1) provides:

“No person shall stand or park a vehicle bearing an NY license plate of plates unless it is properly registered in accordance with the laws and rules of the state of NY.”

4-08(k)(1) provides:

“No person shall stand or park a vehicle with commercial plates in any location unless it has been permanently altered with all seats and rear seat fittings, except the front seats, removed except that for vehicles designed with a passenger cab and a cargo area separated by a partition, the seating capacity within the cab shall not be considered in determining whether the vehicle is properly altered, and has the name and address of the owner as shown on the registration certificate plainly marked on both sides of the vehicle in letters and numerals not less than three inches in height, in compliance with section 10-127 of the Administrative code and is also in compliance with paragraph (i) of the definition of commercial vehicle as set forth in Section 4-01 of these rules”

The parking ticket conundrum

If I register my pick-up truck with an unladen weight of 5,500 pounds or less as a passenger vehicle, do I have to cap the bed to avoid an NYC parking ticket?

In my humble opinion, NO. You do not have to cap the bed of a pickup truck:

With an unladen weight of 5,500 pounds or less
Used exclusively for non-commercial purposes
With no advertisement on the sides of the vehicle.

Here are the source and authority for my opinion.

Pick up truck-official compilation of codes of the State of New York

View more documents from lawrence berezin

Commentary

There is absolutely nothing, nada, zilch, zippo in the rules stating you must cap the bed of a passenger pick-up truck with an unladen weight of 5,500 pounds or less…to legally stop, stand or park your vehicle in NYC.

On the other hand, if your pick-up truck is registered in NYC and bears commercial plates, you are not required to cap the bed.

If your pick-up truck is registered out-of-state and bears commercial or equivalent registration plates, your vehicle will NOT be deemed a truck or commercial vehicle unless it is permanently altered and marked as required in 4-08(1) “Definitions of Commercial vehicles.”