STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5156
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 3, 2011
___________
Introduced by Sen. YOUNG -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to airbag safe-
ty; and to repeal certain provisions of such law relating thereto
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Legislative intent. The legislature finds that airbag
2 system fraud is a public safety concern for both consumers and the auto
3 insurance industry and that efforts to address this serious risk to
4 consumers have been piecemeal, rather than coordinate, and that compre-
5 hensive coordinated legislation is necessary to protect consumers and
6 insure the integrity of vehicle restraint systems.
7 § 2. Paragraph (e) of subdivision 6 of section 398-d of the vehicle
8 and traffic law is REPEALED.
9 § 3. Section 415-c of the vehicle and traffic law is REPEALED and a
10 new section 415-c is added to read as follows:
11 § 415-c. Sale and installation of recycled inflatable restraint
12 systems; restrictions. 1. For purposes of this section the following
13 terms shall have the following meanings:
14 (a) The term "airbag" shall mean any component of an inflatable occu-
15 pant restraint system that is designed in accordance with federal safety
16 regulations for the make, model, and year of the vehicle to be
17 installed, operate, and activate in a motor vehicle as specified by the
18 vehicle manufacturer, in the event of a crash. Airbag components
19 include, but are not limited to sensors, controllers, wiring, and the
20 airbag itself.
21 (b) The term "light manipulating system" means anything that would
22 mask or cause the inaccurate indication of the airbag system status,
23 condition, or operability.
24 (c) "Person" shall mean any natural person, corporation, partnership,
25 unincorporated association, or other entity.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01855-03-1
S. 5156 2
1 (d) "Recycled airbag" shall mean an OEM non-deployed airbag that has
2 been removed from a vehicle for use in another vehicle.
3 2. (a) No person shall: (i) install or reinstall, as part of a vehicle
4 inflatable occupant restraint system, any object other than an airbag;
5 (ii) sell or offer for sale any device with the intent that such device
6 will replace an airbag in any motor vehicle if such person knows or
7 reasonably should know that such device does not meet federal safety
8 requirements; (iii) sell or offer for sale any device that when
9 installed in any motor vehicle gives the impression that a viable airbag
10 is installed in the vehicle, including any light manipulating system; or
11 (iv) intentionally misrepresent the presence of an airbag when one does
12 not exist.
13 (b) Any person found to have violated the provisions of this subdivi-
14 sion shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof,
15 shall be punished by a fine of up to two thousand five hundred dollars
16 per violation and/or by imprisonment for up to one hundred eighty days.
17 (c) Any person who violates the provisions of this subdivision whose
18 violation results in serious bodily injury or death shall be guilty of a
19 class D felony.
20 3. (a) Any person engaged in the business of purchasing, selling, or
21 installing recycled airbags shall maintain a manual or electronic record
22 of the purchase, sale, or installation, which must include the identifi-
23 cation number of the airbag; the vehicle identification number of the
24 vehicle from which the recycled airbag was removed; the name, address,
25 and driver's license number or other means of identification of the
26 person from whom the recycled airbag was purchased; and, in the event
27 that the recycled airbag is installed, the vehicle identification number
28 of the vehicle into which the airbag is installed.
29 (b) No new or recycled airbag shall be sold or installed which is or
30 has been subject to a specific manufacturer's or appropriate authority's
31 notice of recall.
32 (c) (i) In the case of a new replacement airbag, any person engaged in
33 installing any airbag shall maintain the name and tax identification
34 number of the supplier of the airbag and record the vehicle identifica-
35 tion number of the vehicle into which the airbag is installed, as well
36 as the identification number of the airbag being installed.
37 (ii) The airbag identification number of the previously deployed
38 airbag being replaced shall be recorded.
39 (iii) Upon any request of a law enforcement officer of this state or
40 other authorized representative of the agency charged with adminis-
41 tration of this section, the installer shall produce such records and
42 permit said agent or police officer to examine them.
43 (d) Any person who sells a recycled airbag or who installs a recycled
44 airbag must disclose to the purchaser or vehicle owner that the airbag
45 is recycled.
46 (e) The person who installs a new or recycled airbag shall submit an
47 affidavit to the vehicle owner or their representative stating that the
48 replacement airbag has been properly installed.
49 (f) All records required under this section must be maintained for a
50 minimum of five years following the transaction and may be inspected
51 during normal business hours by any police officer, peace officer or
52 representative of the commissioner.
53 (g) Upon request, information within a portion of such record pertain-
54 ing to a specific transaction must be provided to the insurer and the
55 vehicle owner.
S. 5156 3
1 (h) Persons engaged in the business of selling recycled airbags shall
2 comply with regulations developed by the commissioner which shall
3 include but not be limited to: (i) identification of the supplier of the
4 unit; (ii) identification of the recipient vehicle, including VIN, year,
5 make, and model; (iii) identification of the airbag module cover color
6 and color code if available; (iv) identification of the donor vehicle,
7 including VIN, year, make, and model; (v) supplier's internal stock
8 number or locator number; (vi) indication of source of interchange
9 information, interchange manual/part number, or OEM info; (vii) a
10 supplier certificate indicating that all the requirements of the
11 inspection protocol have been successfully achieved and identifying the
12 person who completed the inspection; and (viii) a document containing
13 the vehicle description including the year, make, and model for which
14 the airbag system component is required when being sold to the end-user.
15 (i) Salvage airbags conforming to such standards shall be accompanied
16 by a certificate of conformance which shall be retained by the instal-
17 ler.
18 (j) Any person who fails to maintain complete and accurate records, to
19 prepare complete and accurate documents, to provide information from
20 such record upon request of the department or any other regulatory body,
21 or to properly disclose that an airbag is recycled, as required by this
22 subdivision shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
23 4. (a) No person shall knowingly possess, sell, or install a stolen
24 airbag; an airbag from which the manufacturer's part number labeling
25 and/or VIN has been removed, altered, or defaced; or an airbag taken
26 from a stolen motor vehicle.
27 (b) Any person who violates this subdivision shall be guilty of a
28 class D felony.
29 5. Any vehicle accident report that is filed by the appropriate law
30 enforcement agency shall clearly contain a notation as to whether the
31 automobile's airbag or inflatable restraint system had been deployed in
32 the accident.
33 6. (a) Any person selling or trading a motor vehicle who has actual
34 knowledge that the motor vehicle's airbag is inoperable shall notify the
35 buyer or the person acquiring the trade, in writing, that the airbag is
36 inoperable.
37 (b) A person who knowingly violates the provisions of this subdivision
38 shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor.
39 The provisions of this section shall not apply to the sale or trade of
40 a motor vehicle: (a) visibly containing a deployed airbag; (b) sold by
41 an insurance company that acquired the vehicle in connection with a
42 claim settlement; or (c) the sale of which is handled by a company, the
43 primary business of which is the sale of vehicles from insurance compa-
44 nies and which makes no sales to end users.
45 § 4. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part of this act
46 shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid
47 and after all further judicial review, the judgment shall not affect,
48 impair or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its
49 operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part of this
50 act directly involved in the controversy in which the judgment shall
51 have been rendered.
52 § 5. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
53 it shall have become a law; provided, however, that any rule or regu-
54 lation necessary for its implementation may be immediately promulgated
55 by the commissioner of motor vehicles.
