BILL NUMBER:S2001

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 he 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 TravelEyes2
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
insured 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: The first of January next succeeding
the date it becomes law.