[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 766 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 766

 To limit the retrieval of data from vehicle event data recorders, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 17, 2015

  Mr. Hoeven (for himself and Ms. Klobuchar) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To limit the retrieval of data from vehicle event data recorders, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Driver Privacy Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. LIMITATIONS ON DATA RETRIEVAL FROM VEHICLE EVENT DATA 
              RECORDERS.

    (a) Ownership of Data.--Any data retained by an event data recorder 
(as defined in section 563.5 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations), 
regardless of when the motor vehicle in which it is installed was 
manufactured, is the property of the owner, or, in the case of a leased 
vehicle, the lessee of the motor vehicle in which the event data 
recorder is installed.
    (b) Privacy.--Data recorded or transmitted by an event data 
recorder described in subsection (a) may not be accessed by a person 
other than an owner or a lessee of the motor vehicle in which the event 
data recorder is installed unless--
            (1) a court or other judicial or administrative authority 
        having jurisdiction--
                    (A) authorizes the retrieval of the data; and
                    (B) to the extent that there is retrieved data, the 
                data is subject to the standards for admission into 
                evidence required by that court or other administrative 
                authority;
            (2) an owner or a lessee of the motor vehicle provides 
        written, electronic, or recorded audio consent to the retrieval 
        of the data for any purpose, including the purpose of 
        diagnosing, servicing, or repairing the motor vehicle, or by 
        agreeing to a subscription that describes how data will be 
        retrieved and used;
            (3) the data is retrieved pursuant to an investigation or 
        inspection authorized under section 1131(a) or 30166 of title 
        49, United States Code, and the personally identifiable 
        information of an owner or a lessee of the vehicle and the 
        vehicle identification number is not disclosed in connection 
        with the retrieved data, except that the vehicle identification 
        number may be disclosed to the certifying manufacturer;
            (4) the data is retrieved for the purpose of determining 
        the need for, or facilitating, emergency medical response in 
        response to a motor vehicle crash; or
            (5) the data is retrieved for traffic safety research, and 
        the personally identifiable information of an owner or a lessee 
        of the vehicle and the vehicle identification number is not 
        disclosed in connection with the retrieved data.

SEC. 3. VEHICLE EVENT DATA RECORDER STUDY.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration shall submit to Congress a report that 
contains the results of a study conducted by the Administrator to 
determine the amount of time event data recorders installed in 
passenger motor vehicles should capture and record for retrieval 
vehicle-related data in conjunction with an event in order to provide 
sufficient information to investigate the cause of motor vehicle 
crashes.
    (b) Rulemaking.--Not later than 2 years after submitting the report 
required under subsection (a), the Administrator shall promulgate 
regulations to establish the appropriate period during which event data 
recorders installed in passenger motor vehicles may capture and record 
for retrieval vehicle-related data to the time necessary to provide 
accident investigators with vehicle-related information pertinent to 
crashes involving such motor vehicles.
                                 <all>