Senate Bill S4551

                                BILL NUMBER:S4551

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the insurance law, in relation to
providing for premium reductions for comprehensive motor vehicle
insurance coverage with respect to private passenger vehicles equipped
with hydrophobic glass treatment

PURPOSE:  To provide a comprehensive motor vehicle insurance coverage
discount for private passenger vehicles equipped with hydrophobic
glass treatment.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill adds a new subsection (i) to section 2336 of the
insurance law to provide for premium reductions to comprehensive motor
vehicle insurance coverage fox private passenger vehicles equipped
with hydrophobic glass treatment. "Hydrophobic glass treatment" shall
mean any transparent chemical coating that binds with, and changes the
surface chemistry of, laminated or tempered glazing to minimize the
level of contact between the glazing surface and water that comes into
contact with that surface. Section 2 provides the effective date.

JUSTIFICATION:

Hydrophobic glass treatment generally involves the application of
liquid polymers that bind with motor vehicle glazing. These
              

transparent coatings act as water repellents, causing rain and other
accumulated moisture to bead up, enabling the water to easily run off
the vehicle's windshield and other windows. Hydrophobic glass
treatments have been used for some time in aviation, and are widely
available as car care products.

According to research conducted by the University of Michigan
Transportation Research Institute ("The Influence of Hydrophobic
Windshield Coating on Driver Visual Performance," Report No.
UMTRI-97-31, July 1997), the application of hydrophobic glass
treatment to the windshield of an automobile, under simulated
rainy-driving conditions, resulted in significantly improved visual
acuity and decreased driver response time to recognize a simple
target. This research also demonstrated that hydrophobic glass
treatment appears to provide the greatest benefit at night, where
visual acuity through treated glass improved to approximately the
level of acuity of untreated glass in the daytime.

Providing a comprehensive motor vehicle insurance coverage discount
for private passenger vehicles equipped with hydrophobic glass
treatment will encourage greater use of these products which will have
a positive effect on improving safety on New York's roadways.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

S.7536 of 2011

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.


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.