BILL NUMBER: S6243

SPONSOR: PERSAUD
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act in relation to requiring the commissioner of
motor vehicles to provide information on motor vehicle manufacturer
safety recalls

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To enhance awareness of motor vehicle recalls, which would help to make
the roads safer.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

The bill requires the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles
(DMV) to publish, on DMV's website, information to assist individuals in
determining whether a safety recall has been issued on motor vehicles
and related equipment, child safety seats, or tires.  The information
would include the provision and display of a hyperlink to the National
Transportation Safety Administration's safety issues and recall page on
DMV's website, in a conspicuous manner.
              

 
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE):

The amendment clarifies the methodology by which DMV would make recall
information available to the public.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that
more than 30 million vehicles were affected by 813 new vehicle safety
recalls in the United States in 2017. Media reports indicate that more
than 53 million vehicles were impacted by 927 separate recalls the year
before. These large numbers of recalls pose a major threat to road-way
safety and a threat to the people who drive these vehicles or those near
the vehicle in question, such as pedestrians and other drivers. By
increasing motor vehicle registrants' awareness of recalls and providing
a tool by which they can determine whether their vehicles are subject to
a recall, a greater number of vehicles can be repaired, thereby enhanc-
ing the safety of all those who use the roads.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2017-18: A.7078
2015-16: A.6102

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a law.