Which Commercial Vehicles Are Legally Allowed on The Taconic State Parkway?

I was white-knuckle driving today on the Taconic State Parkway, aka the Indianapolis 500 of the Hudson Valley, when I noticed there was a box truck in my rearview mirror.

Yep, a box truck. Wait, since when could commercial vehicles be on the Taconic? Well, after looking, I discovered that they are not. I did end up seeing a pick-up truck that was pulling a trailer, with Florida plates, getting pulled over by a Trooper before I got off the Taconic.

Which cars or vehicles are allowed on the Taconic State Parkway?

According to the New York State DMV, pick-up trucks that weigh less than 6,000 pounds can have the option of having a regular plate or a commercial plate put on them. If your truck it over 6,001 pounds then you have to get a commercial plate and are not allowed on all of the roads listed as 'Parkways' in New York. Now, another thing that is a no-go is a truck with a trailer on it, trailers are 100% not allowed. This includes your Aunt driving the family station wagon with a U-Haul trailer attached.

Can the Parkway handle commercial vehicles?

The thought process behind this? A little insight was garnered from time on the DOT website. Most of these parkways, like the Taconic, just were not built width-wise or height-wise on the overpasses to accept these larger vehicles.

Which roads are these? The New York State DOT says that these are the 'Parkways' that are no-can-do for commercial vehicles in the Hudson Valley:

- Bear Mountain Parkway (Westchester County)
- Bronx River Parkway (Westchester County)
- Cross County Parkway (Westchester County)
- Hutchinson River Parkway (Westchester County)
- Long Mountain Parkway (Orange County)
- Lake Welch Parkway (Rockland County)
- Palisades Interstate Parkway (Bergen (New Jersey), Orange and Rockland counties)
- Sprain Brook Parkway (Westchester County)
- Saw Mill River Parkway (Westchester County)
- Taconic State Parkway (Columbia, Dutchess, Putnam and Westchester counties)

Which type of cars can go on the New York State Parkway System, regardless of what they are?

The other cars/vehicles that can go on the Taconic regardless of what type of a vehicle they are? New York State vehicles, regardless of their size or what they are towing.  Now, will these restrictions always be in place? There is a bill that is currently "In Committee" that, if passed, would allow for a "special-use permit for ambulatory veterinarians to use oversized or commercial vehicles on the Taconic."

So here is your rule of thumb, if you have a commercial license plate, or have something in tow or have a very tall vehicle, you shouldn't be driving it on the Taconic or any other parkway.