II 

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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Driver Privacy Act 

5 of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. LIMITATIONS ON DATA RETRIEVAL FROM VEHICLE 

7 EVENT DATA RECORDERS. 

8 (a) OWNERSHIP OF DATA.—Any data retained by an 

9 event data recorder (as defined in section 563.5 of title 

10 49, Code of Federal Regulations), regardless of when the 


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1 motor vehicle in which it is installed was manufactured, 

2 is the property of the owner, or, in the case of a leased 

3 vehicle, the lessee of the motor vehicle in which the event 

4 data recorder is installed. 

5 (b) PRIVACY.—Data recorded or transmitted by an 

6 event data recorder described in subsection (a) may not 

7 be accessed by a person other than an owner or a lessee 

8 of the motor vehicle in which the event data recorder is 

9 installed unless— 

10 (1) a court or other judicial or administrative 

11 authority having jurisdiction— 

12 (A) authorizes the retrieval of the data; 

13 and 

14 (B) to the extent that there is retrieved 

15 data, the data is subject to the standards for 

16 admission into evidence required by that court 

17 or other administrative authority; 

18 (2) an owner or a lessee of the motor vehicle 

19 provides written, electronic, or recorded audio con20 sent to the retrieval of the data for any purpose, in21 cluding the purpose of diagnosing, servicing, or re22 pairing the motor vehicle, or by agreeing to a sub23 scription that describes how data will be retrieved 

24 and used; 


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1 (3) the data is retrieved pursuant to an inves2 tigation or inspection authorized under section 

3 1131(a) or 30166 of title 49, United States Code, 

4 and the personally identifiable information of an 

5 owner or a lessee of the vehicle and the vehicle iden6 tification number is not disclosed in connection with 

7 the retrieved data, except that the vehicle identifica8 tion number may be disclosed to the certifying man9 ufacturer; 

10 (4) the data is retrieved for the purpose of de11 termining the need for, or facilitating, emergency 

12 medical response in response to a motor vehicle 

13 crash; or 

14 (5) the data is retrieved for traffic safety re15 search, and the personally identifiable information of 

16 an owner or a lessee of the vehicle and the vehicle 

17 identification number is not disclosed in connection 

18 with the retrieved data. 

19 SEC. 3. VEHICLE EVENT DATA RECORDER STUDY. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

21 date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of 

22 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shall 

23 submit to Congress a report that contains the results of 

24 a study conducted by the Administrator to determine the 

25 amount of time event data recorders installed in passenger 


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1 motor vehicles should capture and record for retrieval ve2 hicle-related data in conjunction with an event in order 

3 to provide sufficient information to investigate the cause 

4 of motor vehicle crashes. 

5 (b) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 2 years after sub6 mitting the report required under subsection (a), the Ad7 ministrator shall promulgate regulations to establish the 

8 appropriate period during which event data recorders in9 stalled in passenger motor vehicles may capture and 

10 record for retrieval vehicle-related data to the time nec11 essary to provide accident investigators with vehicle-re12 lated information pertinent to crashes involving such 

13 motor vehicles. 

Æ 


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