BILL NUMBER:S6628

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the insurance law, in relation to providing premium reductions
for non-commercial motor vehicles equipped with automotive safety
monitoring
devices

PURPOSE:
To provide for an actuarially appropriate reduction in
automobile insurance rates for those vehicles that have installed an
automotive safety monitoring device. The intent of using such devices
is to provide parents and guardians of new drivers under the age of
22 with the ability to monitor the driving habits of such young and
inexperienced drivers.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Amends Insurance Law section 2336 to provide for an
actuarially appropriate reduction in premiums for vehicles that are
equipped with automotive safety monitoring devices. Such devices
would be capable of alerting the parent or guardian if a minor child
who is operating a vehicle that the car is being driven in an unsafe
manner or outside of time or location curfew restrictions.

Such devices should help to monitor vehicular speed, location of the
              

vehicle, distance and direction traveled, acceleration and braking
patterns, the number of passengers in the vehicle and other safety
indicia that indicates that the car is being driven in a safe or
unsafe manner. The Superintendent of Financial Services, in
consultation with the Department of Motor Vehicles shall promulgate
standards for the approval, utilization and installation of such
safety devices.

EXISTING LAW:
Under current law, there is no statutorily approved
program in New York to reduce auto insurance rates for those persons
that install automotive safety monitoring devices to help monitor the
driving habits of new drivers. While some auto insurers are beginning
to offer programs to better monitor the driving habits of young
drivers, this bill put this program in statute to help promote this
concept to save the lives of our young drivers.

JUSTIFICATION:
Drivers under the age of 21 are almost five times more
likely to be involved in a fatal auto accident than persons between
the ages of 30 and 69. In 2002, 41 percent of all teen deaths were
caused by motor vehicle accidents. That statistic far surpasses other
causes of teen deaths, i.e. 14% homicide, 11% suicide, 5% malignant
tumors, and 3% heart disease. In 2009,
approximately 3,000 teen drivers between the age of 15 and 19 died as

the result of a motor vehicle accident. Further, per mile driven,
teen drivers were more than four times more likely than older drivers
to crash.

There are several reasons for the high teen death rate in automobiles.
Among the reasons are teen inexperience behind a wheel, higher levels
of alcohol consumption, the tendency for such drivers to be more
aggressive and reckless in traffic conditions, the non-use of seat
belts, and because teens tend to drive smaller cars that offer less
protection and which are more susceptible to rollovers.

Automotive safety monitoring devices such as CarChip, DriveSafe,
Real-Time Tracking, RS-1000 Teen Driving System, SmartDriver, and
TravelEyes 2 do exist. Further, these systems, and others have
demonstrated their effectiveness to enable parents and guardians of
minor drivers to monitor a youth's driving habits. Promoting the
ability of parents to know the driving habits of their children
should have a cooling effect on a teen's desire to drive recklessly
or to travel to destinations far from home. This is because the above
systems allow the parent to communicate directly with their children
about unsafe driving practices near the time when such unsafe
practices are occurring. In addition, teens may have a heightened
desire to drive safer if they know that their parents or guardians
are monitoring their driving habits and take away driving privileges
if curfews are not followed.

Instituting an actuarially appropriate rate reduction for those
insureds that install proven safety monitoring systems could reduce
insurance rates for targeted populations by up to 25 percent. More
importantly, it could save lives. The cost for installing these
safety monitoring devices range from $ 160 up to $ 500, plus a
monthly service fee.
Encouraging parents to install these devices is a sound public policy
to reduce teen deaths & injuries and the injury or death of other
drivers.

A few such driver safety monitoring programs have been operating in
New York, however, there is no statutory program to authorize their
use. By enacting this law, it is hoped that more auto insurers will
make such programs available to New York parents and guardians.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act is effective on January 1st next succeeding
the date upon which it has been signed into law.