Driver Privacy Act

Bill: 113-s-1925
Sponsor: Sen. Hoeven, John [R-ND]
Introduced: 2014-01-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Congressional oversight
Department of Transportation
Government studies and investigations
Motor vehicles
Right of privacy
Transportation safety and security

Summary:
action_date: 2014-01-14
text: 
Driver Privacy Act - Declares that any data in an event data recorder required to be installed in a passenger motor vehicle (as provided for under Department of Transportation [DOT] regulations concerning the collection, storage, and retrievability of onboard motor vehicle crash event data) is the property of the owner or lessee of the vehicle in which the recorder is installed, regardless of when the vehicle was manufactured.
 
Prohibits a person, other than the owner or lessee of the motor vehicle, from accessing data recorded or transmitted by such a recorder unless: (1) a court or other judicial or administrative authority authorizes the retrieval of such data subject to admissibility of evidence standards; (2) all owners or lessees consent in writing to such retrieval for any purpose, including vehicle diagnosis, service, or repair; (3) the data is retrieved pursuant to certain authorized investigations or inspections of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) or DOT; (4) the data is retrieved to determine the appropriate emergency medical response to a motor vehicle crash; or (5) the data is retrieved for traffic safety research.
 
Prohibits, when data is retrieved in connection with traffic safety research or an NTSB or DOT investigation or inspection, the disclosure of: (1) personally identifiable information of the vehicle owner or lessee, and (2) the vehicle identification number.
 
Directs the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), after completing a study and submitting a report to Congress, to promulgate regulations concerning the amount of time event data recorders installed in passenger motor vehicles should capture and record vehicle-related data in conjunction with an event in order to provide sufficient information to investigate the cause of crashes.

action_date: 2014-09-15
text: 
Driver Privacy Act - Declares that any data retained by a motor vehicle's event data recorder (as defined in Department of Transportation [DOT] regulations) is the property of the owner or lessee of the motor vehicle in which the recorder is installed, regardless of when the vehicle was manufactured.
 
Prohibits a person, other than the owner or lessee of the motor vehicle, from accessing data recorded or transmitted by such a recorder unless: (1) a court or other judicial or administrative authority authorizes the retrieval of such data subject to admissibility of evidence standards; (2) an owner or lessee provides written or electronic consent to such retrieval for any purpose, including vehicle diagnosis, service, or repair; (3) the data is retrieved pursuant to certain authorized investigations or inspections of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) or DOT; (4) the data is retrieved to determine the appropriate emergency medical response to a motor vehicle crash; or (5) the data is retrieved for traffic safety research.
 
Prohibits, when data is retrieved in connection with traffic safety research or an NTSB or DOT investigation or inspection, the disclosure of: (1) personally identifiable information of the vehicle owner or lessee, and (2) the vehicle identification number (VIN). Provides an exemption from such prohibition to allow disclosure of VINs to certifying manufacturers. 
 
Directs the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), after completing a study and submitting a report to Congress, to promulgate regulations concerning the amount of time event data recorders installed in passenger motor vehicles should capture and record vehicle-related data in conjunction with an event in order to provide sufficient information to investigate the cause of crashes.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-09-15
text: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 563.
action_date: 2014-09-15
text: Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Rockefeller with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 113-255.
action_date: 2014-09-15
text: Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Rockefeller with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 113-255.
action_date: 2014-04-09
text: Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
action_date: 2014-01-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2014-01-14
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S327-328, S329)
action_date: 2014-01-14
text: Introduced in Senate