Relates to requiring vehicle identification numbers on the wheels of all motor vehicles sold in this state

BILL NUMBER:S5414

Title of bill

An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to requiring vehicle identification numbers on the wheels of all motor vehicles sold in this state; and to amend the penal law, in relation to forgery of a vehicle identification number

Purpose or general idea of bill

This bill would require auto manufacturers who sell vehicles in New York State to place a clearly visible vehicle identification number (VIN) on all four wheels sold with a vehicle. This will deter theft and assist law enforcement in proving that wheels are stolen property when they are recovered.

Summary of specific provisions

Section 1 amends the vehicle and traffic law by adding a new section 431-a. This section requires auto manufacturers or assemblers who sell vehicles in this state to engrave on each of the four wheels of such vehicles, not including any spare wheel, the VIN of the vehicle they were sold with. This section also explains where the VIN shall be located on the wheel and also offers an exemption to the requirement if the manufacturer or assembler agrees to replace the stolen wheel at a cost of $150 or less.

Section 2 amends subdivision I of section 170.65 of the penal law. This section included the vehicles wheels to the list of parts of a vehicle that it is a crime to remove a VIN from.

Section 3 amends the vehicle and traffic law by adding a new section 1223-b. This section states that no person shall operate a vehicle when the VIN numbers that have been engraved in accordance to section 431-a of this law are covered or obscured.

Justification

Alloy wheels are standard equipment on even modestly priced vehicles. These rims are easily stolen; wheels by their nature mat remain easy to take off and interchange. Once removed, these wheels are impossible to trace and enter a thriving black market. Ranging in value from $1,000 to $3,000 on average as a set, they are the most expensive things that can be stolen from the exterior of a car. Similar measures to prevent airbags and car stereos have worked, leaving wheels as the last frontier of highly profitable accessory theft. In New York City alloy wheels account for over 20% of all felony theft, the sight of ears left on cinder blocks or milk crates with two or four wheels missing is becoming a common sight in some neighborhoods.

If vehicles wheels were engraved with their corresponding VIN, when a wheel or entire car was stolen law enforcement can report them stolen and provide the VIN. Currently law enforcement has no method to investigate wheel theft. The VIN could be engraved so it would be visible but with minimal impact on the aesthetic appearance of the wheel. With the VIN in plain sight, officers could ascertain if the wheels on any given car observed in a public place have been reported

stolen, this would take the ease out of stealing and using stolen wheels by given all New York State law enforcement agencies a single, simple measure, by which they can investigate suspicions of wheel and vehicle theft.

Prior legislative history

This is a new Bill.

Fiscal implications

None to the State.

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the first January next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law and shall apply to all motor vehicles manufactured and sold on or after such date.