Senate Bill S1248

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  1248

                       2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                             January 6, 2011
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen. ADDABBO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation

AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in  relation  to  requiring
  dates of manufacture on tires

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1.  Legislative  intent.  The  legislature  hereby  finds  and
declares  that  tires  have  a  limited service life regardless of tread
depth and use. Aged tires are  often  unsuspectingly  put  into  service
after  having  served  as  a  spare, stored in garages or warehouses, or
simply used on a vehicle that is infrequently driven. In many  instances
these  tires  show no visible signs of deterioration. Research has shown
that tread belt separations in aged tires have caused  nearly  50  acci-
dents, with at least 37 fatalities and 35 serious injuries. The legisla-
ture  also finds that the tire age can be determined through decoding of
the required department of transportation number molded into the side of
a tire; however, the department of transportation date coding is  diffi-
cult  to read and can be confusing to the consumer. The National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration is currently conducting research  on  tire
aging  and  is  studying consumer advisories. Therefore, the legislature
finds and declares that in absence of any federal regulations, it is  in
the  best  interest of the state to require manufacturers to display the
date of manufacture on both sides of any tires sold in  this  state,  as
well  as  to implement a public outreach campaign to inform consumers of
the dangers of operating a motor vehicle with aged tires.
  S 2. Subdivision 35 of section 375 of the vehicle and traffic  law  is
amended by adding a new paragraph (d) to read as follows:
  (D)(I) NO TIRE SHALL BE MANUFACTURED, DISTRIBUTED, OFFERED FOR SALE OR
SOLD IN THIS STATE FOR USE ON A PASSENGER VEHICLE, MULTI-PURPOSE PASSEN-
GER VEHICLE OR LIGHT TRUCK UNLESS A DATE OF MANUFACTURE IS CLEARLY MOLD-
ED  ON  BOTH SIDES OF THE TIRE IN A NON-CODED FASHION.  FOR THE PURPOSES

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD02022-01-1
              

S. 1248                             2

OF THIS PARAGRAPH, THE FOLLOWING TERMS SHALL HAVE  THE  FOLLOWING  MEAN-
INGS:  (A) "LIGHT TRUCK" SHALL MEAN A MOTOR VEHICLE WITH A GROSS VEHICLE
WEIGHT RATING OF LESS THAN TWENTY-SIX THOUSAND POUNDS  WHICH  IS  EITHER
DESIGNED  FOR  OFF-HIGHWAY OPERATION OR DESIGNED TO PERFORM AT LEAST ONE
OF THE FOLLOWING FUNCTIONS: TRANSPORT MORE  THAN  TEN  PERSONS,  PROVIDE
TEMPORARY  LIVING  QUARTERS,  TRANSPORT PROPERTY IN AN OPEN BED, PROVIDE
GREATER  CARGO-CARRYING  THAN  PASSENGER-CARRYING  VOLUME,   OR   PERMIT
EXPANDED USE OF A PASSENGER VEHICLE FOR CARGO-CARRYING PURPOSES OR OTHER
NONPASSENGER-CARRYING   PURPOSES  THROUGH  THE  REMOVAL  OF  SEATS;  (B)
"MULTI-PURPOSE PASSENGER VEHICLE" SHALL MEAN A MOTOR VEHICLE DESIGNED TO
CARRY TEN PERSONS OR LESS WHICH IS CONSTRUCTED EITHER ON A TRUCK CHASSIS
OR WITH SPECIAL FEATURES FOR  OCCASIONAL  OFF-ROAD  OPERATION;  AND  (C)
"PASSENGER  VEHICLE"  SHALL MEAN ANY MOTOR VEHICLE DESIGNED FOR CARRYING
TEN PERSONS OR LESS.
  (II) WHENEVER THERE SHALL BE A VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION,  APPLICATION
MAY  BE  MADE  BY  THE ATTORNEY GENERAL IN THE NAME OF THE PEOPLE OF THE
STATE OF NEW YORK TO A COURT OR JUSTICE HAVING JURISDICTION BY A SPECIAL
PROCEEDING TO ISSUE AN INJUNCTION AND UPON NOTICE TO  THE  DEFENDANT  OF
NOT  LESS THAN FIVE DAYS, TO ENJOIN AND RESTRAIN THE CONTINUANCE OF SUCH
VIOLATION OR TO ENFORCE THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION; AND IF IT  SHALL
APPEAR  TO  THE  SATISFACTION OF THE COURT OR JUSTICE THAT THE DEFENDANT
HAS, IN FACT, VIOLATED THIS SECTION, AN INJUNCTION MAY BE ISSUED BY SUCH
COURT OR JUSTICE, ENJOINING AND RESTRAINING ANY FURTHER VIOLATION, WITH-
OUT REQUIRING PROOF THAT ANY  PERSON  HAS,  IN  FACT,  BEEN  INJURED  OR
DAMAGED  THEREBY. WHENEVER THE COURT SHALL DETERMINE THAT A VIOLATION OF
THIS SECTION HAS OCCURRED THE COURT MAY IMPOSE A CIVIL  PENALTY  OF  NOT
MORE  THAN  FIVE  HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR EACH VIOLATION. IN CONNECTION WITH
ANY SUCH PROPOSED APPLICATION, THE ATTORNEY  GENERAL  IS  AUTHORIZED  TO
TAKE  PROOF  AND  MAKE  A  DETERMINATION OF THE RELEVANT FACTS AND ISSUE
SUBPOENAS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CIVIL PRACTICE LAW AND RULES.
  S 3. 1. The governor's traffic safety committee, with the  cooperation
of  the  department of motor vehicles, the department of transportation,
the division of state police, and any other department, division, board,
bureau, commission, agency or public authority of the state or any poli-
tical subdivision thereof  deemed  necessary  by  the  committee,  shall
develop  and  implement a public outreach campaign to inform the general
public of the dangers of operating a motor vehicle with aged tires.
  Such campaign shall include, but not be limited to:
  (a) The development of radio and television public  service  announce-
ments  informing  the general public of the dangers of operating a motor
vehicle with aged tires;
  (b) Developing printed informational materials informing  the  general
public  of  the  dangers  of  operating a motor vehicle with aged tires,
including a warning to the general public stating that:
  "Testing has shown that tires have a much greater propensity  to  fail
as  they  age  and  that both vehicle and tire manufacturers have recom-
mended light trucks and passenger tires older than six  years  from  the
date  of  manufacture should not be used, particularly spares. Old tires
can fail in use, causing loss of vehicle control  and  personal  injury.
Always  reduce speed and drive cautiously if you must use an old tire in
an emergency. Replace the tire as soon as possible. All tires should  be
replaced  ten  years after the date of their manufacture." Such informa-
tional material shall be available in both English and Spanish  language
versions;

S. 1248                             3

  (c)  Distributing  informational  materials with each driver's license
application and renewal, and with each motor  vehicle  registration  and
renewal;
  (d)  Making  such  informational  materials  available  to the general
public at all department of motor vehicle offices,  all  county  offices
that provide department of motor vehicle services;
  (e)  Making such informational materials available to motorists at all
New York state automobile dealerships or any other office or agency that
the governor's traffic safety committee deems appropriate;
  (f) Coordinating educational efforts with other states and local agen-
cies and not-for-profit organizations to warn of the dangers of  operat-
ing a motor vehicle with aged tires; and
  (g)  Encouraging existing traffic safety and driver education programs
to include in their curricula information on avoiding operating a  motor
vehicle  with aged tires, the need to reduce speed and the importance of
driving cautiously if you must use an old tire in an emergency, and that
all tires should be replaced ten years after the date of their  manufac-
ture.
  2.  The department of motor vehicles, the department of transportation
and the division of state police, and any department,  division,  board,
bureau,  commission,  agency,  or  public  authority of the state or any
political subdivision thereof deemed necessary by the governor's traffic
safety committee, shall cooperate to the furthest extent possible in the
development and implementation of this campaign.
  S 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
it shall have become a law and shall only apply to tires manufactured on
or after such effective date.