TITLE 49

MOTOR VEHICLES

CHAPTER 9

VEHICLE EQUIPMENT

49-967.  Air bags and air bag systems — prohibited acts — penalty. (1) It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly or intentionally:

(a)  Manufacture, import, distribute, offer for sale, sell, or lease, or install or reinstall into any motor vehicle, a counterfeit automobile supplemental restraint system, a nonfunctional air bag, or other object that replaces an automobile supplemental restraining component that fails to meet the federal motor vehicle safety standards as provided in 49 CFR 571.208, for the make, model, and year of the motor vehicle;

(b)  Offer for sale, sell, lease, or otherwise transfer ownership of a motor vehicle with a counterfeit automobile supplemental restraint system, a nonfunctional air bag, or other object that replaces an automobile supplemental restraining component that fails to meet the federal motor vehicle safety standards as provided in 49 CFR 571.208, for the make, model, and year of the motor vehicle; or

(c)  Install or reinstall any object, component, part, or device as part of an automobile supplemental restraint system that causes a motor vehicle’s diagnostic system to fail to warn the motor vehicle operator that an air bag is not installed, a nonfunctional air bag is installed, or a counterfeit automobile supplemental restraint system component is installed that does not comply with 49 CFR 571.208, for the make, model, and year of the motor vehicle. A violation of this paragraph shall not occur until the installation work is complete and one of the following conditions occurs:

(i)   The motor vehicle is returned to the operator; or

(ii)  The title to the motor vehicle is transferred.

(2)  Any person convicted of a violation of the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

(3)  As used in this section:

(a)  "Air bag" means an inflatable restraint device for occupants of a motor vehicle that is part of an automobile supplemental restraint system.

(b)  "Automobile supplemental restraint system" means a passive inflatable crash protection system that a vehicle manufacturer designs to protect occupants of a motor vehicle in conjunction with a seat belt assembly, as defined in 49 CFR 571.209, that has one (1) or more air bags and all components required to ensure that each air bag:

(i)   Operates as designed in a motor vehicle crash; and

(ii)  Meets federal motor vehicle safety standards for the specific make, model, and year of manufacture of the vehicle in which the air bag is installed.

(c)  "Counterfeit automobile supplemental restraint system component" means a replacement component, including an air bag, that displays a trademark that is identical to or substantially similar to the manufacturer’s or supplier’s trademark without authorization from a manufacturer or a person that supplies parts to the manufacturer.

(d)(i)  "Nonfunctional air bag" means a replacement air bag that:

1.  Was previously deployed or damaged;

2.  Has a fault that a motor vehicle’s diagnostic system detects once the air bag is installed;

3.  May not be sold or leased pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30120(j); or

4.  Includes a counterfeit automobile supplemental restraint system component or other part or object that is installed for the purpose of misleading a motor vehicle owner or operator into believing that a functional air bag is installed.

(ii)  "Nonfunctional air bag" does not include a deployed air bag that has not been repaired or an air bag that is installed in a motor vehicle when:

1.  Such vehicle has been declared a total loss or is otherwise a totaled vehicle;

2.  The owner was issued a salvage title certificate in Idaho or a similar title from another state; or

3.  The air bag is visible in its deployed condition.

History:

[49-967, added 2026, ch. 95, sec. 2, p. 522.]