1.This Act may be cited as
the Vehicle Event History Information
Capturing Leads to Engineering Safety Improvements Act of
2010
or the VEHICLE Safety Improvements Act of
2010
.
2.Congress makes the following
findings:
(1)In August 2001,
the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Research and Development
Event Data Recorder Working Group published the following findings:
(A)EDRs
[event data recorders] have the potential to greatly improve highway safety,
for example, by improving occupant protection systems and improving the
accuracy of crash reconstructions.
.
(B)EDR
technology has potential safety applications for all classes of motor
vehicles.
.
(C)A wide
range of crash related and other data elements have been identified which might
usefully be captured by future EDR systems.
.
(D)NHTSA has
incorporated EDR data collection in its motor vehicle research
databases.
.
(E)Open
access to EDR data (minus personal identifiers) will benefit researchers, crash
investigators, and manufacturers in improving safety on the
highways.
.
(F)Studies of
EDRs in Europe and the U.S. have shown that driver and employee awareness of an
on-board EDR reduces the number and severity of drivers’
crashes.
.
(G)Given the
differing nature of cars, vans, SUVs, and other lightweight vehicles, compared
to heavy trucks, school buses, and motorcoaches, different EDR systems may be
required to meet the needs of each vehicle class.
.
(H)Most
systems utilize proprietary technology and require the manufacturer to download
and analyze the data.
.
(2)The National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued an event data recorder
rule on August 28, 2006 (71 Fed. Reg. 50998), that—
(A)included a number
of technical requirements for event data recorders if they were provided in the
motor vehicle, including standardized data required to be collected, the data
format, and requirements for the event data recorder to be readable following
severe crashes; and
(B)did not require
the installation of event data recorders in any motor vehicle.
(3)Recent NHTSA
investigations have highlighted the importance of event data recorders in
determining the nature and cause of motor vehicle crashes and
malfunctions.
3.Section 30166 of
title 49, United States Code, is amended—
(1)by amending subsection (a) to read as
follows:
(a)In
this section:
(1)The term model year means—
(A)the annual
production period of a manufacturer that begins on September 1 of the year
preceding the calendar year for which the model year is named; and
(B)the calendar year
for which the model year is named, if the manufacturer has no annual production
period.
(2)The term motor vehicle crash means an
occurrence associated with the maintenance or operation of a motor vehicle or
motor vehicle equipment resulting in personal injury, death, or property
damage.
(3)The
term owner means a person who—
(A)has all the
incidents of ownership of a motor vehicle, including legal title, regardless of
whether the person lends, rents, or creates a security interest in the vehicle;
or
(B)is entitled to
possession of a motor vehicle as—
(i)a
purchaser under a security agreement; or
(ii)a lessee under a
written lease agreement for a period of at least 3 months.
(4)The term recording device means a feature
that—
(A)is installed by
the manufacturer in a motor vehicle; and
(B)complies with
part 563 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, for the purpose of
retrieving information from the motor vehicle after an event involving the
motor vehicle.
;
and
(2)in subsection
(b)(1)(B), by striking accident
and inserting
crash
;
(3)in subsection
(c)(3), by striking accident
each place it appears and inserting
crash
; and
(4)by adding at the
end the following:
(o)
(1)
(A)Light-duty
motor vehiclesBeginning not later than the September 1 that is
between 1 and 2 years after the date on which regulations are promulgated under
section 4(a) of the VEHICLE Safety
Improvements Act of 2010—
(i)each new motor
vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of not more than 8,500 pounds that
manufactured for sale or lease in the United States shall be equipped with a
recording device that complies with part 563 of title 49, Code of Federal
Regulations (or any successor regulation); and
(ii)the data stored
on any recording device installed in any such new motor vehicle shall be
accessible and retrievable by a commercially available universal data
reader.
(B)Medium- and
heavy-duty motor vehiclesBeginning not later than the September
1 that is between 3 and 4 years after the date on which regulations are
promulgated under section 4(b) of the VEHICLE
Safety Improvements Act of 2010—
(i)each new motor
vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 8,500 pounds that is
manufactured for sale or lease in the United States shall be equipped with a
recording device that complies with part 563 of title 49, Code of Federal
Regulations (or any successor regulation); and
(ii)the data stored
on any recording device installed in any such new motor vehicle shall be
accessible and retrievable by a commercially available universal data
reader.
(2)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
such a recording device, in accordance with section 563.11 of title 49, Code of
Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation).
(3)Information recorded or transmitted by a recording
device may not be retrieved by a person other than the owner of the motor
vehicle in which the recording device is installed unless—
(A)a court
authorizes retrieval of such information in furtherance of a legal
proceeding;
(B)the owner
consents to such retrieval for any purpose, including diagnosing, servicing, or
repairing the motor vehicle; or
(C)(i)the information is
retrieved by a government motor vehicle safety agency for the purpose of
improving motor vehicle safety; and
(ii)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.
.
4.
(a)Light-Duty
motor vehiclesNot later than
18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
Transportation shall promulgate regulations to carry out the provisions of
section 30166(o) of title 49, United States Code, relating to light-duty motor
vehicles.
(b)Medium- and
heavy-Duty motor vehiclesNot
later than 3 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary
of Transportation shall promulgate regulations to carry out the provisions of
section 30166(o) of title 49, United States Code, relating to medium- and
heavy-duty motor vehicles.