NY State Senate Bill 2017-S438

Senate Bill S438

2017-2018 Legislative Session

Provides for a 5% automobile insurance premium reduction for non-commercial passenger motor vehicles equipped with an operating dashboard camera

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Insurance Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 03, 2018	referred to insurance
Jan 04, 2017	referred to insurance

2017-S438 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A2629
Current Committee:: Senate Insurance
Law Section:: Insurance Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §2336, add §5110, Ins L; amd §§301 & 375, add §322, V & T L; add §4549, CPLR; add §60.80, CP L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2015-2016: S6785, A10392
2019-2020: A5132
2021-2022: A2673
2023-2024: A4341

2017-S438 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Provides for a 5% automobile insurance premium reduction for non-commercial passenger motor vehicles equipped with an operating dashboard camera; establishes means for certification of the installation of such camera; establishes civil penalties for false certification of such installation; provides for insurer review during claims settlement of the images from dashboard cameras

2017-S438 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S438

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the insurance law, the vehicle and traffic law, the
civil practice law and rules, and the criminal procedure law, in
relation to dashboard cameras

 PURPOSE :

Provides for a 5% automobile insurance premium reduction for
non-commercial vehicles equipped with an operating dashboard camera

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1 adds a new subsection (i) to Section 2236 of the Insurance
Law, for the purposes of establishing a discount of five percent off
of the base rates of automobile liability insurance. when a customer
has installed a dashboard camera in their motor vehicle. Subsection
(ii) provides for civil penalties that may be waged by the insurer in
the case of false certifications made by customers claiming this
discount.

Section 2 amends the Insurance Law by adding a new Section 5110, for
the purposes of requiring an insurer to review dashboard camera
footage following the receipt of a claim. The section makes clear that

dashboard camera images are not to be deemed dispositive of a claim,
and are to be viewed in the totality of the circumstances involved.

Section 3 amends Subdivision (c) of Section 301 of the Vehicle and
Traffic Law by adding a new paragraph 4, which sets forth new
inspection standards that allow the presence of a dashboard camera to
be reported during the course of a driver's routine emissions testing.

Section 4 amends the Vehicle and Traffic Law by adding a new Section
322 that sets forth a procedure through which an insurer may request
records pertaining to the installation of dashboard cameras from the
Department of Motor Vehicles, in order to assess the viability of an
insured's request for, or maintenance of the 5% premium discount.

Section 5 amends Section 375 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law by adding
a new Subsection 52, which allows the Commissioner of the Department
of Motor Vehicles the ability to promulgate rules and regulations
pertaining to the safe use of dashboard cameras, including the size
and location these devices within motor vehicles.

Section 6 amends the C.P.L.R. by adding a new Section 4549, which
permits the admissibility of dashboard camera images as proof of the
occurrence or event depicted in such images, in civil legal
proceedings.

Section 7 amends the Criminal Procedure Law by adding a new Section
60.80, which permits the admissibility of dashboard cameras as proof
of the occurrence or event depicted in such images, in criminal legal
proceedings.

Section 8 sets forth the effective date of the law.

 JUSTIFICATION :

New York has a long history of promoting motor vehicle safety by
offering mandatory discounts on drivers' car insurance, including
rates that take into effect automatic safety belts, airbags, and most
recently. the completion of a defensive driving course. As technology
continues to progress, growing evidence has supported the value of
dashboard cameras installed in cars, and other motor vehicles. In
fact, several European nations have already begun instituting
discounts on car insurance rates for drivers that take advantage of
this technology.

Though New York is a 'no-fault jurisdiction' for the purposes of
typical accidents involving motor vehicles, it remains the ease that
civil litigation often occurs in the Context of "serious injuries," as
well as hit-and-run collisions. Beyond damage to property, hit and run
accidents cause serious injuries and often times, result in pedestrian
fatalities. Though on the decline, 131 pedestrian deaths resulted from
traffic accidents in 2014. There is good reason to believe that
dashboard cameras could play an important role in solving these
crimes; while investigators may not be able to retrieve a suspect's
camera, it is entirely possible that these incidents could be caught
on tape by other vehicles that are nearby.

Additionally, reports indicate a rise in insurance fraud schemes that
involve reckless driving by motorists. Dashboard cameras not only
provide protection to drivers in such cases where evidence could
demonstrate their lack of liability, but these cameras may also play
an important role in enriching criminal prosecutions for

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

2015-2016-S6785A

 FISCAL IMPACT :

TBD.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the
date on which it shall have become a law and shall apply to all
policies issued, renewed, modified, altered or amended on or after
such date. Provided, however, that. effective immediately, any and all
rules and regulations and any other measures necessary to implement
the provisions of this act on its effective date are authorized and
directed to be completed on or before such date.

2017-S438 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    438
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 4, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. PERALTA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Insurance
 
 AN ACT to amend the insurance law, the  vehicle  and  traffic  law,  the
   civil  practice  law  and  rules,  and  the criminal procedure law, in
   relation to dashboard cameras
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Section  2336 of the insurance law is amended by adding a
 new subsection (i) to read as follows:
   (I) (1) ANY SCHEDULE OR RATING PLAN FOR NON-COMMERCIAL PRIVATE PASSEN-
 GER INSURANCE SHALL PROVIDE FOR A  FIVE  PERCENT  REDUCTION  IN  PREMIUM
 CHARGES FOR BODILY INJURY LIABILITY, PROPERTY DAMAGE LIABILITY, PERSONAL
 INJURY  PROTECTION, MEDICAL PAYMENTS AND COLLISION COVERAGE WITH RESPECT
 TO AUTOMOBILES EQUIPPED WITH AN OPERATING DASHBOARD CAMERA THAT COMPLIES
 WITH THE RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  MOTOR  VEHICLES
 PROMULGATED  PURSUANT  TO SUBDIVISION FIFTY-TWO OF SECTION THREE HUNDRED
 SEVENTY-FIVE OF THE VEHICLE AND TRAFFIC LAW.  EACH INSURER MAY ESTABLISH
 SUCH REQUIREMENTS AS IT SHALL DEEM NECESSARY FOR THE SUBMISSION OF PROOF
 AND CERTIFICATION THAT SUCH A DASHBOARD CAMERA HAS BEEN INSTALLED IN THE
 INSURED AUTOMOBILE AND THAT SUCH CAMERA IS IN OPERATING  CONDITION.  THE
 SUPERINTENDENT  SHALL,  IN  CONSULTATION  WITH THE COMMISSIONER OF MOTOR
 VEHICLES, PROMULGATE RULES AND REGULATIONS.
   (2) IN ANY INSTANCE IN WHICH  AN  INSURED  IS  RECEIVING  THE  PREMIUM
 REDUCTION  PROVIDED  IN PARAGRAPH ONE OF THIS SUBSECTION AND THE INSURED
 HAS FALSELY CERTIFIED THAT HIS OR HER AUTOMOBILE  IS  EQUIPPED  WITH  AN
 OPERATING DASHBOARD CAMERA OR THE DASHBOARD CAMERA IS NO LONGER IN OPER-
 ATING  CONDITION WHILE THE AUTOMOBILE IS BEING OPERATED, THE INSURER MAY
 IMPOSE A CIVIL PENALTY UPON SUCH INSURED EQUAL TO THE PREMIUM  REDUCTION
 GRANTED  FOR  THE  DASHBOARD  CAMERA FOR ONE YEAR OR FOR THE PERIOD SUCH
 REDUCTION WAS WRONGFULLY GRANTED, WHICHEVER SHALL BE  SHORTER.  FURTHER-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD00141-01-7

 S. 438                              2
 
 MORE,  AN  INSURER  MAY  THEREAFTER  DENY  THE PROVISION OF SUCH PREMIUM
 REDUCTION REGARDLESS OF WHETHER A SUITABLE DASHBOARD CAMERA IS INSTALLED
 IN THE AUTOMOBILE IN THE FUTURE.
   (3)  EVERY INSURER SHALL INCLUDE IN EACH CERTIFICATION COMPLETED BY AN
 INSURED PURSUANT TO THIS SUBSECTION, A STATEMENT OF  THE  IMPOSITION  OF
 THE  CIVIL PENALTY AUTHORIZED BY PARAGRAPH TWO OF THIS SUBSECTION IN THE
 EVENT SUCH CERTIFICATION IS FALSE. IN ADDITION EACH  SUCH  CERTIFICATION
 SHALL  INFORM  THE  INSURED OF HIS OR HER DUTY TO MAINTAIN THE DASHBOARD
 CAMERA IN WORKING CONDITION AT ALL TIMES.
   § 2. The insurance law is amended by adding a new section 5110 to read
 as follows:
   § 5110. REVIEW OF DASHBOARD CAMERA IMAGES. (A) EVERY  INSURER  IN  THE
 SETTLEMENT  OF  ANY  CLAIM  INVOLVING A MOTOR VEHICLE OR MOTOR VEHICLES,
 SHALL REVIEW ANY AVAILABLE IMAGES FROM A DASHBOARD CAMERA  OR  DASHBOARD
 CAMERAS  INSTALLED  IN  ANY OF THE VEHICLES TO WHICH SUCH CLAIM RELATES.
 THEREAFTER, EACH SUCH INSURER SHALL SUBMIT CERTIFICATION OF SUCH  REVIEW
 TO THE SUPERINTENDENT.
   (B)  THE  IMAGES  FROM A DASHBOARD CAMERA SHALL BE CONSIDERED BASED ON
 THE TOTALITY OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF A CLAIM, AND SUCH IMAGES SHALL  NOT
 BE  DEEMED  TO  BE  DISPOSITIVE,  BUT  SHALL  BE CONSIDERED AS ANY OTHER
 EVIDENCE RELATING TO A CLAIM.
   § 3. Subdivision (c) of section 301 of the vehicle and traffic law  is
 amended by adding a new paragraph 4 to read as follows:
   (4)(I)  DURING  THE  COURSE  OF  EACH  SAFETY  INSPECTION, A CERTIFIED
 INSPECTOR SHALL DETERMINE WHETHER A DASHBOARD CAMERA IS INSTALLED IN THE
 MOTOR VEHICLE. IN THE EVENT THAT SUCH A CAMERA IS INSTALLED IN  A  MOTOR
 VEHICLE, HE OR SHE SHALL DETERMINE WHETHER THE DASHBOARD CAMERA COMPLIES
 WITH  THE RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE COMMISSIONER PROMULGATED PURSUANT
 TO SUBDIVISION FIFTY-TWO OF SECTION THREE HUNDRED SEVENTY-FIVE  OF  THIS
 TITLE  AND WHETHER SUCH CAMERA IS IN OPERATING CONDITION WHILE THE MOTOR
 VEHICLE IS BEING OPERATED.
   (II) IN THE EVENT A MOTOR VEHICLE DOES NOT HAVE  A  DASHBOARD  CAMERA,
 HAS  A  CAMERA WHICH DOES NOT COMPLY WITH THE RULES OF THE COMMISSIONER,
 OR SUCH CAMERA IS NOT IN OPERATING CONDITION,  THE  CERTIFIED  INSPECTOR
 SHALL  INCLUDE A NOTATION, THAT THE MOTOR VEHICLE DOES NOT HAVE AN OPER-
 ATING DASHBOARD CAMERA, UPON THE CERTIFICATE OF INSPECTION  PROVIDED  TO
 THE OWNER AND THE DEPARTMENT.
   (III)  IN THE EVENT A MOTOR VEHICLE HAS AN OPERATING DASHBOARD CAMERA,
 WHICH COMPLIES WITH THE RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE  COMMISSIONER,  THE
 CERTIFIED INSPECTOR SHALL ISSUE A CERTIFICATION THEREOF TO THE OWNER AND
 THE DEPARTMENT.
   §  4.  The  vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new section
 322 to read as follows:
   § 322. DASHBOARD CAMERA RECORDS. UPON THE REQUEST OF ANY INSURER ISSU-
 ING OWNER'S POLICIES OF  LIABILITY  INSURANCE,  THE  COMMISSIONER  SHALL
 FORWARD  TO  SUCH  INSURER A COPY OF ANY REPORT, RELATING TO A DASHBOARD
 CAMERA INSTALLED IN A MOTOR VEHICLE INSURED BY THE  INSURER,  WHICH  THE
 COMMISSIONER  POSSESSES PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH FOUR OF SUBDIVISION (C) OF
 SECTION THREE HUNDRED ONE OF THIS TITLE.
   § 5. Section 375 of the vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a
 new subdivision 52 to read as follows:
   52. DASHBOARD CAMERAS. THE COMMISSIONER  SHALL,  BY  RULES  AND  REGU-
 LATIONS, ESTABLISH STANDARDS FOR THE SIZE, LOCATION AND USE OF DASHBOARD
 CAMERAS  INSTALLED  IN  MOTOR  VEHICLES. THE COMMISSIONER MAY MAINTAIN A
 LIST OF THOSE DASHBOARD CAMERAS APPROVED BY HIM OR HER AS CONFORMING  TO
 THE SPECIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS ESTABLISHED FOR SUCH CAMERAS.

 S. 438                              3
 
   §  6.  The  civil  practice  law  and rules is amended by adding a new
 section 4549 to read as follows:
   §  4549.  DASHBOARD  CAMERA  IMAGES. ANY IMAGE OR IMAGES PRODUCED BY A
 DASHBOARD CAMERA SHALL BE ADMISSIBLE AS PROOF OF THE OCCURRENCE OR EVENT
 DEPICTED IN SUCH IMAGE OR IMAGES.
   § 7. The criminal procedure law is amended by  adding  a  new  section
 60.80 to read as follows:
 § 60.80 DASHBOARD CAMERA IMAGES.
   ANY IMAGE OR IMAGES PRODUCED BY A DASHBOARD CAMERA SHALL BE ADMISSIBLE
 AS PROOF OF THE OCCURRENCE OR EVENT DEPICTED IN SUCH IMAGE OR IMAGES.
   §  8. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
 ing the date on which it shall have become a law and section one of this
 act shall apply to all policies issued, renewed,  modified,  altered  or
 amended  on or after such date. Provided, however, that, effective imme-
 diately, any and all rules and regulations and any other measures neces-
 sary to implement the provisions of this act on its effective  date  are
 authorized and directed to be completed on or before such date.

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