UPDATE: Rivian contacted InsideEVs to provide some clarifying context regarding the registration status of R1T vehicles in New York.
"It is not necessary to register an R1T or R1S as a commercial vehicle in New York, and they should be registered as passenger vehicles unless they are intended for business use. There was a period early on where this was not the case, but evolutions in the state's policy mean R1T/S owners can and should register their personal vehicles as personal vehicles."
The owner of a Rivian R1T got a $115 parking ticket in New York City because he violated NYC's special parking rules for commercial vehicles.
Because it weighs more than 7,000 pounds, the Rivian R1T is automatically classified as a commercial vehicle in New York state – if it's intended for business use – and therefore has to feature commercial plates and submit to CV regulations.
This particular owner's R1T appears to have the plates, but apparently that's not enough to dodge a parking ticket in NYC if you drive a Rivian R1T.
As the owner says in a short video, he got fined because his electric truck did not have lettering and signs on the outside as the law requires. Under NYC traffic rules – section 4-08 (K) Special rules for commercial vehicles – "parking of unaltered commercial vehicles is prohibited."
To be allowed to park in NYC, a commercial vehicle must have all rear seats and seat fittings permanently removed – except for vehicles designed with a passenger cab and a cargo area separated by a partition. Fortunately, the R1T dodges this because the truck bed is separate from the passenger compartment.
In addition, commercial vehicles must have "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."
Needless to say, the Rivian R1T owner did not have lettering or signs applied to his luxury electric pickup truck, and he got a $115 parking ticket as a result.
The owner is obviously disgruntled about this and claims that this old, outdated regulation was not in effect anymore when he registered his Rivian R1T, and registration was processed by Rivian for a passenger vehicle.
He also says that he scheduled a visit to the DMV to fix the issue and "not a single person there had any clue on how I can fix it."
While this may be a misunderstanding of the law on the owner's part, this New York state regulation is certainly strange and may need to be revisited in an era when electric pickup trucks for personal use weigh considerably more than their ICE counterparts.
