Railway Express Agency, Inc. v. New York

Background

A nationwide express company that operates about 1,900 trucks in New York City sold space on the sides of its moving trucks for third‑party advertising. New York’s Traffic Regulations, §124, banned “advertising vehicles” on city streets but allowed business notices on delivery vehicles engaged in the owner’s regular work. The company was convicted after carrying large posters for cigarettes, a circus, and a radio station; lower courts upheld the conviction and the state’s high court affirmed by a divided vote, and the case reached the Supreme Court.

Reasoning

The Court asked whether the restriction related to traffic safety and whether it improperly treated similar parties unequally or burdened interstate commerce. The majority said it would not substitute its judgment for local authorities and accepted that distracting vehicle ads could affect safety. The Court held the distinction—between trucks advertising the owner’s own business and trucks selling space to others—was a permissible classification tied to the traffic goal. The Court also rejected the commerce challenge, citing precedent that gives cities leeway in traffic control when federal law does not conflict.

Real world impact

The decision lets New York continue to prohibit carriers from selling and displaying third‑party ads on moving trucks while still allowing businesses to put notices on their own delivery vehicles. Trucking companies that rent out ad space face fines and enforcement; cities retain broad power to regulate roadside and vehicular displays for safety. The ruling affirms that local traffic rules can stand even if they incidentally affect interstate carriers.

Dissents or concurrances

Justice Jackson concurred but warned about equal protection, arguing courts should be wary of classifications that treat similar dangers differently; he emphasized that a city could instead forbid all vehicular advertising or adopt broad, general limits.