In People v. Quackenbush (88 N.Y. 2d 534 [1996]) the defendant was involved in a fatal pedestrian accident involving a bicyclist. The police impounded his car, and, two days later, conducted a safety inspection of the equipment of the vehicle, including brakes. The brakes were found to be deficient and defendant was charged with the misdemeanor of operating with defective brakes in violation of Vehicle and Traffic Law 375 (1). The defendant moved to suppress the results of the inspection upon the same grounds as urged here. The Court of Appeals concluded that (at 537) "the police possessed the authority to impound the vehicle in order to comply with the investigatory and reporting duties imposed Vehicle and Traffic Law 603". The Court stated (at 537) that because a vehicle's safety equipment was subject to "extensive government regulations," including mandatory annual inspection, that a safety inspection after a fatal accident "did not offend the constitutional prohibitions against unreasonable searches and seizures."