July 18, 2013—Connecticut Gov. Daniel Malloy recently signed into law a bill that will make it a crime to knowingly sell or install counterfeit or nonfunctional airbags in a vehicle.
The new law, which will go into effect on Oct. 1, will make it a felony offense for anyone to install, manufacture, import, reinstall or sell counterfeit airbags in the state.
The law also prohibits installing a device to alter the vehicle’s diagnostic system to make a counterfeit airbag appear functional.
The Association of Global Automakers, which worked closely with the original bill sponsors and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to draft the legislation, praised Gov. Malloy for signing the bill.
“This is a public safety issue that automakers take seriously, and we are pleased that Connecticut took the lead,” said David Bauer, Global Automakers’ manager of state relations.
