Driver Privacy Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-766
Sponsor: Sen. Hoeven, John [R-ND]
Introduced: 2015-03-17 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: 2015-03-17
text: 

Driver Privacy Act of 2015

 
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: 
 
 
a court or other judicial or administrative authority authorizes the retrieval of such data subject to admissibility of evidence standards; 
 
an owner or lessee consents to such retrieval for any purpose, including vehicle diagnosis, service, or repair; 
 
the data is retrieved pursuant to certain authorized investigations or inspections of the National Transportation Safety Board or DOT; 
 
the data is retrieved to determine the appropriate emergency medical response to a motor vehicle crash; or 
 
the data is retrieved for traffic safety research, and the owner's or lessee's personally identifiable information and the vehicle identification number are not disclosed. 
 
 
Directs the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 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 may capture and record vehicle-related data to provide accident investigators with pertinent crash-related information.

action_date: 2015-09-28
text: 
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)
 

Driver Privacy Act of 2015

 
(Sec. 2) 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: 
 
 
a court or other judicial or administrative authority authorizes the retrieval of such data subject to admissibility of evidence standards; 
 
an owner or lessee consents to such retrieval for any purpose, including vehicle diagnosis, service, or repair; 
 
the data is retrieved pursuant to certain authorized investigations or inspections of the National Transportation Safety Board or DOT; 
 
the data is retrieved to determine the appropriate emergency medical response to a motor vehicle crash; or 
 
the data is retrieved for traffic safety research, and the owner's or lessee's personally identifiable information and the vehicle identification number are not disclosed. 
 
 
(Sec. 3) Directs the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 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 may capture and record vehicle-related data to provide accident investigators with pertinent crash-related information.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-09-28
text: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 239.
action_date: 2015-09-28
text: Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Thune without amendment. With written report No. 114-147.
action_date: 2015-09-28
text: Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Thune without amendment. With written report No. 114-147.
action_date: 2015-03-25
text: Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.
action_date: 2015-03-17
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2015-03-17
text: Introduced in Senate