Senate Bill S1680

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S1680

SPONSOR: MAY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to requiring an
official inspection station to post a sign or poster informing customers
that it is not authorized to inspect certain vehicles

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To require Department of Motor Vehicle inspection stations to display a
sign providing notice that the station is prohibited from inspecting
altered motor vehicles.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill adds a new subdivision c-1 to section 303 of the
Vehicle and Traffic Law to require Department of Motor Vehicles official
inspection stations to prominently display in an area of the station
where the orderly transaction of business of occurs a notice that the
inspection station is not authorized to inspect altered motor vehicles,
              

unless the registrant presents a DOT exemption letter.

Section 2 provides the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The 2018 Schoharie crash tragically highlighted failings in the limou-
sine industry. The legislature swiftly responded after the accident with
the enactment of laws to prevent future tragedies; however, there are
still gaps that need to be addressed.

A 2020 report on the crash by the National Transportation Safety Board
(NTSB) found that in 2016 and 2018, Prestige Limousine, the operator of
the limousine, brought the vehicle in for inspection to a Department of
Motor Vehicles (DMV) inspection station. On both occasions, inspections
were conducted by the DMV stations, in violation of state regulations
which require limousines to instead be inspected by the Department of
Transportation (DOT). DMV inspections are required annually, while vehi-
cles falling under the purview of the DOT must be inspected every six
months.

This legislation will require all DMV inspection stations to post a
notice in their establishments stating that they are not authorized to
inspect any altered motor vehicles, unless the registrant presents a DOT
- - exemption letter. Otherwise, such vehicles shall report to a DOT
site for inspection.

Requiring this notice will prevent oversights by inspection stations and
will help to ensure that a tragedy like the Schoharie crash does not
happen ever again.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

A.8460 of 2022, passed Assembly. Same as S.7555 of 2022, referred to
transportation.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have
become a law.