N.Y. Vehicle & Traffic Law § 416-a: Bumper quality label requirements

§ 416-a. Bumper quality label requirements. 1. It shall be unlawful

after January first, nineteen hundred ninety-three for any manufacturer

to sell or lease or to offer to sell or lease in this state for the

purpose of registration in this state any new passenger type motor

vehicle manufactured or assembled after said date designated as a

nineteen hundred ninety-three or subsequent model, except omnibus and

multipurpose passenger vehicles, unless such vehicle has affixed thereto

a bumper quality label, placed conspicuously upon that window or

windshield where the manufacturer's suggested retail price sticker has

been posted. The commissioner shall determine the size, type legibility

and placement of such label. Such label shall include the following

information: "This vehicle is equipped with a front bumper that has been

tested at an impact speed of (specified by vehicle manufacturer) _____

miles per hour and a rear bumper that has been tested at an impact speed

of (specified by the vehicle manufacturer) _______ miles per hour, and

has sustained no damage to the vehicle's body and minimal damage to the

bumper and attachment hardware. Minimal damage to the bumper means

damage that can be repaired with the use of a common repair materials

and without replacing any parts. The stronger the bumper, the less

likely the car will require repair after a low-speed collision."

2. The impact speed required to be specified in the notice pursuant to

subdivision one of this section is the maximum speed of impact upon the

bumper of the vehicle at which the vehicle sustains no damage to the

body and safety systems and only minimal damage to the bumper when

subjected to the fixed barrier and pendulum impact tests, and when

subjected to the corner impact test at not less than sixty percent of

that maximum speed, conducted pursuant to the practices, procedures and

regulations promulgated under the concurrent authority of the Federal

Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act (Cost Savings Act)(15

U.S.C. 1901 et seq.) and the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety

Act (15 U.S.C. 1381, et seq.)

3. For purposes of this section, "no damage" means that, when a

passenger vehicle is subjected to applicable impact testing practices

and procedures, the exterior surfaces shall have no separations of

surface materials, paint, polymeric coatings or other covering materials

from the surface to which they are bonded, and no permanent deviations

from their original contours thirty minutes after completion of each

pendulum and barrier impact test, except where such damage occurs to the

bumper face bar and the components and associated fasteners that

directly attach the bumper face bar to the chassis frame. There shall be

no breakage or release of fasteners or joints except as described above.

4. Any manufacturer who violates subdivision one of this section,

without just cause, shall be subject to a civil fine of not more than

fifty dollars per vehicle with respect to which there has been a

violation of this section. Civil penalties so assessed may not be

deducted as an expense from any tax liability due to any local or state

tax jurisdiction.