I 111th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 5169 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 28, 2010 Mr. Gene Green of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To amend title 49, United States Code, to require the Secretary of Transportation to promulgate rules to require that all motor vehicles be equipped with event data recorders by 2015, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Event Data Recorder Enhancement Act.

2.

Findings

Congress finds the following: (1)Event data recorders have the potential to greatly improve motor vehicle safety by improving occupant protection systems and improving the accuracy of crash reconstructions. (2)Event data recorder technology has potential safety applications for all classes of motor vehicles. (3)A wide range of crash-related and other data elements have been identified which can usefully be captured by event data recorders. (4)The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has incorporated event data recorder data collection in its motor vehicle research databases. (5)Open access to event data recorder data will benefit researchers, crash investigators, and manufacturers in improving motor vehicle safety. (6)Studies of event data recorder information in Europe and the United States have shown that driver and employee awareness of an on-board event data recorder reduces the number and severity of crashes. (7)Given the differing nature of cars, vans, SUVs, and other lightweight vehicles, compared to heavy trucks, school buses, and motor coaches, different event data recorder data systems may be required to meet the needs of each vehicle class. (8)The degree of benefit from an event data recorder is directly related to the number of vehicles operating with an event data recorder and the current infrastructure’s ability to use and assimilate the data. (9)Automatic crash notification systems integrate the on-board crash sensing and event data recorder technology with other electronic systems, such as global positioning systems and cellular telephones, to provide early notification of the occurrence, nature, and location of a serious collision.

3.

Event data recorders

(a)

In general

Subchapter II of chapter 301 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

30129.

Event data recorders

(a)

Required event data recorders

Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall modify the motor vehicle safety standard contained in part 563 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, to require that passenger automobiles (as defined in section 32901(a)(16)) be equipped with an event data recorder that meets the requirements for event data recorders set forth in such part. The Secretary shall require manufacturers to include such event data recorders in— (1)not less than 25 percent of their fleet beginning in model year 2013; (2)not less than 65 percent of their fleet beginning in model year 2014; and (3)100 percent of their fleet beginning in model year 2015. (b)

Compatible data retrieval tools

Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall modify the requirements in section 563.12 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, to require a standardized port for accessing and retrieving data stored in any event data recorder and that is compatible with all such event data recorders regardless of the manufacturer or model of the motor vehicle. (c)

Disclosure

The owner’s manual of each new motor vehicle sold or leased in the United States that is equipped with a recording device shall clearly indicate the presence of the event data recorder required under this section, in accordance with section 563.11 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation). (d)

Privacy protections

Information recorded or transmitted by event data recorder required under this section may not be retrieved by a person other than the owner of the motor vehicle in which the recording device is installed unless— (1)a court authorizes retrieval of such information in furtherance of a legal proceeding; (2)the owner consents to such retrieval for any purpose, including diagnosing, servicing, or repairing the motor vehicle; or (3)(A)the information is retrieved by a government motor vehicle safety agency for the purpose of improving motor vehicle safety; and (B)the personally identifiable information of the owner or driver of the vehicle or the vehicle identification number is not disclosed in connection with the retrieved information. (e)

Non-Application to trailers

The requirements promulgated under this section shall apply to all motor vehicles except trailers, as such term is defined in section 571.3 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations. (f)

Definition of model year

For purposes of this section, the term model year means the manufacturer’s annual production period that begins on September 1 of a given year which includes January 1 of the calendar year for which it is named. If the manufacturer has no annual production period, the term model year for that manufacturer means the calendar year.

. (b)

Clerical amendment

The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 30128 the following new item: 30129. Event data recorders.