Criminal possession of a taximeter accelerating device · as in force on May 31, 2026
§ 145.70 Criminal possession of a taximeter accelerating device.
1. For purposes of this section, a "taximeter" means an instrument or device that automatically calculates and displays the charge to a passenger in a vehicle that is licensed to transport members of the public for hire pursuant to local law.
2. For purposes of this section, a "taximeter accelerating device" means an instrument or device that causes a taximeter to increase the charge displayed by such taximeter to an amount greater than the maximum amount permitted by local law.
3. A person is guilty of criminal possession of a taximeter accelerating device when he knowingly possesses, with intent to use unlawfully, a taximeter accelerating device. If such a device is knowingly possessed there is a rebuttable presumption that it is intended to be used unlawfully.
Criminal possession of a taximeter accelerating device is a class A misdemeanor.
A “taximeter” automatically calculates and displays the passenger charge in a locally licensed for-hire vehicle, while a “taximeter accelerating device” makes it display more than local law permits. A person commits this offense by knowingly possessing such a device intending unlawful use; knowing possession creates a rebuttable presumption of that intent. ★ It is a class A misdemeanor.
Marked in the text: penalties, time limits, sums of money. Editorial emphasis added by this edition; it does not appear in the statute as enacted.
This provision appears in Volume 4 — The Court Clerk: Penal Law; Volume 1 — The Court Officer in Plain English; Volume 3 — The Court Officer: Penal Law; Volume 3 — Your Career: Penal Law in Plain English.