•  Summary 
  •  
  •  Actions 
  •  
  •  Committee Votes 
  •  
  •  Floor Votes 
  •  
  •  Memo 
  •  
  •  Text 
  •  
  •  LFIN 
  •  
  •  Chamber Video/Transcript 

A04341 Summary:

BILL NOA04341
 
SAME ASSAME AS S05601
 
SPONSORHyndman
 
COSPNSR
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Amd §2336, add §5110, Ins L; amd §§301 & 375, add §322, V & T L; add §4550, CPLR; add §60.80, CP L
 
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; provides for the certification of the installation of operating dashboard cameras during the annual motor vehicle inspection; directs the commissioner of motor vehicles to establish standards for dashboard cameras; provides for the introduction as evidence of dashboard camera images into evidence in civil and criminal proceedings.
Go to top

A04341 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A4341
 
SPONSOR: Hyndman
  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 OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: Provides for a 5% automobile insurance premium reduction for non-commer- cial vehicles equipped with an operating dashboard camera   SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC 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 Traf- fic 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 pertain- ing 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 offer- ing 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 case that civil liti- gation 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 acci- dents 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 near- by. 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 demon- strate their lack of liability, but these cameras may also play an important role in enriching criminal prosecutions for fatal hit-and-run incidents.   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: To be determined   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.
Go to top

A04341 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          4341
 
                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                    February 14, 2023
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by M. of A. HYNDMAN -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee 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:
 
     1    Section  1.  Section  2336 of the insurance law is amended by adding a
     2  new subsection (i) to read as follows:
     3    (i) (1) Any schedule or rating plan for non-commercial private passen-
     4  ger insurance shall provide for a  five  percent  reduction  in  premium
     5  charges for bodily injury liability, property damage liability, personal
     6  injury  protection, medical payments and collision coverage with respect
     7  to automobiles equipped with an operating dashboard camera that complies
     8  with the rules and regulations of the  commissioner  of  motor  vehicles
     9  promulgated  pursuant to subdivision fifty-five of section three hundred
    10  seventy-five of the vehicle and traffic law.  Each insurer may establish
    11  such requirements as it shall deem necessary for the submission of proof
    12  and certification that such a dashboard camera has been installed in the
    13  insured automobile and that such camera is in operating  condition.  The
    14  superintendent  shall,  in  consultation  with the commissioner of motor
    15  vehicles, promulgate rules and regulations.
    16    (2) In any instance in which  an  insured  is  receiving  the  premium
    17  reduction  provided  in paragraph one of this subsection and the insured
    18  has falsely certified that his or her automobile  is  equipped  with  an
    19  operating dashboard camera or the dashboard camera is no longer in oper-
    20  ating  condition while the automobile is being operated, the insurer may
    21  impose a civil penalty upon such insured equal to the premium  reduction
    22  granted  for  the  dashboard  camera for one year or for the period such
    23  reduction was wrongfully granted, whichever shall be  shorter.  Further-
    24  more,  an  insurer  may  thereafter  deny  the provision of such premium
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04052-01-3

        A. 4341                             2
 
     1  reduction regardless of whether a suitable dashboard camera is installed
     2  in the automobile in the future.
     3    (3)  Every insurer shall include in each certification completed by an
     4  insured pursuant to this subsection, a statement of  the  imposition  of
     5  the  civil penalty authorized by paragraph two of this subsection in the
     6  event such certification is false. In addition each  such  certification
     7  shall  inform  the  insured of his or her duty to maintain the dashboard
     8  camera in working condition at all times.
     9    § 2. The insurance law is amended by adding a new section 5110 to read
    10  as follows:
    11    § 5110. Review of dashboard camera images. (a) Every  insurer  in  the
    12  settlement  of  any  claim  involving a motor vehicle or motor vehicles,
    13  shall review any available images from a dashboard camera  or  dashboard
    14  cameras  installed  in  any of the vehicles to which such claim relates.
    15  Thereafter, each such insurer shall submit certification of such  review
    16  to the superintendent.
    17    (b)  The  images  from a dashboard camera shall be considered based on
    18  the totality of the circumstances of a claim, and such images shall  not
    19  be  deemed  to  be  dispositive,  but  shall  be considered as any other
    20  evidence relating to a claim.
    21    § 3. Subdivision (c) of section 301 of the vehicle and traffic law  is
    22  amended by adding a new paragraph 4 to read as follows:
    23    (4)(i)  During  the  course  of  each  safety  inspection, a certified
    24  inspector shall determine whether a dashboard camera is installed in the
    25  motor vehicle. In the event that such a camera is installed in  a  motor
    26  vehicle, he or she shall determine whether the dashboard camera complies
    27  with  the rules and regulations of the commissioner promulgated pursuant
    28  to subdivision fifty-five of section three hundred seventy-five of  this
    29  title  and whether such camera is in operating condition while the motor
    30  vehicle is being operated.
    31    (ii) In the event a motor vehicle does not have  a  dashboard  camera,
    32  has  a  camera which does not comply with the rules of the commissioner,
    33  or such camera is not in operating condition,  the  certified  inspector
    34  shall  include a notation, that the motor vehicle does not have an oper-
    35  ating dashboard camera, upon the certificate of inspection  provided  to
    36  the owner and the department.
    37    (iii)  In the event a motor vehicle has an operating dashboard camera,
    38  which complies with the rules and regulations of the  commissioner,  the
    39  certified inspector shall issue a certification thereof to the owner and
    40  the department.
    41    §  4.  The  vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new section
    42  322 to read as follows:
    43    § 322. Dashboard camera records. Upon the request of any insurer issu-
    44  ing owner's policies of  liability  insurance,  the  commissioner  shall
    45  forward  to  such  insurer a copy of any report, relating to a dashboard
    46  camera installed in a motor vehicle insured by the  insurer,  which  the
    47  commissioner  possesses pursuant to paragraph four of subdivision (c) of
    48  section three hundred one of this title.
    49    § 5. Section 375 of the vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a
    50  new subdivision 55 to read as follows:
    51    55. Dashboard cameras. The commissioner  shall,  by  rules  and  regu-
    52  lations, establish standards for the size, location and use of dashboard
    53  cameras  installed  in  motor  vehicles. The commissioner may maintain a
    54  list of those dashboard cameras approved by him or her as conforming  to
    55  the specifications and requirements established for such cameras.

        A. 4341                             3
 
     1    §  6.  The  civil  practice  law  and rules is amended by adding a new
     2  section 4550 to read as follows:
     3    §  4550.  Dashboard  camera  images. Any image or images produced by a
     4  dashboard camera shall be admissible as proof of the occurrence or event
     5  depicted in such image or images.
     6    § 7. The criminal procedure law is amended by  adding  a  new  section
     7  60.80 to read as follows:
     8  § 60.80 Dashboard camera images.
     9    Any image or images produced by a dashboard camera shall be admissible
    10  as proof of the occurrence or event depicted in such image or images.
    11    §  8. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
    12  ing the date on which it shall have become a law and section one of this
    13  act shall apply to all policies issued, renewed,  modified,  altered  or
    14  amended  on or after such date. Effective immediately, any and all rules
    15  and regulations and  any  other  measures  necessary  to  implement  the
    16  provisions  of  this  act  on  its  effective  date are authorized to be
    17  completed on or before such date.
Go to top