(a) As used in this section:

Terms Used In Connecticut General Statutes 14-106d

  • Felony: means any offense, as defined in §. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
  • Manufacturer: means (A) a person, whether a resident or nonresident, engaged in the business of constructing or assembling new motor vehicles of a type required to be registered by the commissioner, for operation upon any highway, except a utility trailer, which are offered for sale in this state, or (B) a person who distributes new motor vehicles to new car dealers licensed in this state. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
  • Motor vehicle: means any vehicle propelled or drawn by any nonmuscular power, except aircraft, motor boats, road rollers, baggage trucks used about railroad stations or other mass transit facilities, electric battery-operated wheel chairs when operated by persons with physical disabilities at speeds not exceeding fifteen miles per hour, golf carts operated on highways solely for the purpose of crossing from one part of the golf course to another, golf-cart-type vehicles operated on roads or highways on the grounds of state institutions by state employees, agricultural tractors, farm implements, such vehicles as run only on rails or tracks, self-propelled snow plows, snow blowers and lawn mowers, when used for the purposes for which they were designed and operated at speeds not exceeding four miles per hour, whether or not the operator rides on or walks behind such equipment, motor-driven cycles, as defined in §. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
  • Operator: means any person who operates a motor vehicle or who steers or directs the course of a motor vehicle being towed by another motor vehicle and includes a driver. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
  • Owner: means any person holding title to a motor vehicle, or having the legal right to register the same, including purchasers under conditional bills of sale. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
  • Person: includes any individual, corporation, limited liability company, association, copartnership, company, firm, business trust or other aggregation of individuals but does not include the state or any political subdivision thereof, unless the context clearly states or requires. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
  • Vehicle: includes any device suitable for the conveyance, drawing or other transportation of persons or property, whether operated on wheels, runners, a cushion of air or by any other means. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1

(1) “Air bag” means a motor vehicle inflatable occupant restraint system, including all component parts, such as the cover, sensors, controllers, inflators and wiring, that (A) operates in the event of a crash, and (B) is designed in accordance with federal motor vehicle safety standards for the specific make, model and year of the motor vehicle in which it is or will be installed.

(2) “Counterfeit air bag” means a motor vehicle inflatable occupant restraint system, including all component parts, such as the cover, sensors, controllers, inflators and wiring, displaying a mark identical or similar to the genuine mark of a motor vehicle manufacturer without authorization from such manufacturer.

(3) “Nonfunctional airbag” means a replacement motor vehicle inflatable occupant restraint system, including all component parts, such as the cover, sensors, controllers, inflators and wiring, that (A) was previously deployed or damaged, (B) has an electric fault that is detected by the vehicle airbag diagnostic system after the installation procedure is completed, or (C) includes any part or object, including, but not limited to, a counterfeit or repaired airbag cover, installed in a motor vehicle to mislead the owner or operator of such motor vehicle into believing that a functional airbag has been installed.

(b) No person shall manufacture, import, install, reinstall, sell or offer for sale any device with the intent that such device replace an air bag in any motor vehicle if such person knows or reasonably should know that such device is a counterfeit air bag, a nonfunctional air bag or does not meet federal safety requirements as provided in 49 C.F.R. § 571.208.

(c) No person shall sell or install or reinstall in any vehicle any device that causes such vehicle’s diagnostic system to inaccurately indicate that such vehicle is equipped with a functional air bag when a counterfeit air bag, a nonfunctional air bag or no air bag is installed.

(d) A violation of subsection (b) or (c) of this section shall be deemed an unfair or deceptive trade practice under subsection (a) of § 42-110b. Each manufacture, importation, installation, reinstallation, sale or offer for sale shall constitute a separate and distinct violation.

(e) Any person who violates subsection (b) or (c) of this section shall be guilty of a class D felony.