Senate Bill No. 75
(By Senator Bailey)
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[Introduced January 9, 2008; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new article, designated §17A-13-1, §17A-13-2,
§17A-13-3, §17A-13-4 and §17A-13-5, all relating to regulating
the use of automobile event data recorders, commonly known as
"black boxes".
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new article, designated §17A-13-1, §17A-13-2,
§17A-13-3, §17A-13-4 and §17A-13-5, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 13. EVENT DATA RECORDERS.
§17A-13-1. Definitions.
As used in this article, "recording device" means a device
that is installed by the manufacturer of the vehicle and does one
or more of the following, for the purpose of retrieving data after
an accident:
(1) Records how fast and in which direction the motor vehicle
is traveling;
(2) Records a history of where the motor vehicle travels;
(3) Records steering performance;
(4) Records brake performance, including, but not limited to,
whether brakes were applied before an accident;
(5) Records the driver's seatbelt status; or
(6) Has the ability to transmit information concerning an
accident in which the motor vehicle has been involved to a central
communications system when an accident occurs.
§17A-13-2.
Manufacturers of motor vehicles containing recording
devices required to disclose information in owner's
manual.
A manufacturer of a new motor vehicle sold or leased in this
state that is equipped with one or more recording devices commonly
referred to as "event data recorders" or "sensing and diagnostic
modules" shall disclose that fact in the owner's manual for the
vehicle.
§17A-13-3.
Permitted uses of information recorded by recording
device.
(a) Data described in section one of this article that is
recorded on a recording device may not be downloaded or otherwise
retrieved by a person other than the registered owner of the motor
vehicle, except under one of the following circumstances:
(1) The registered owner of the motor vehicle consents to the
retrieval of the information;
(2) In response to an order of a court having jurisdiction to
issue the order;
(3) For the purpose of improving motor vehicle safety,
including medical research of the human body's reaction to motor
vehicle accidents, and the identity of the registered owner or
driver is not disclosed in connection with that retrieved data.
The disclosure of the vehicle identification number for the purpose
of improving vehicle safety, including medical research of the
human body's reaction to motor vehicle accidents, does not
constitute the disclosure of the identity of the registered owner
or driver; or
(4) The data is retrieved by a licensed new motor vehicle
dealer, or by an automotive technician, for the purpose of
diagnosing, servicing or repairing the motor vehicle.
(b) A person authorized to download or otherwise retrieve data
from a recording device pursuant to subdivision (3), subsection (a)
of this section, may not release that data, except to share the
data among the motor vehicle safety and medical research
communities to advance motor vehicle safety, and only if the
identity of the registered owner or driver is not disclosed.
§17A-13-4. Disclosure required for recording devices that are part
of a subscription plan.
(a) If a motor vehicle is equipped with a recording device
that is capable of recording or transmitting information as
described in subdivision (1) or (2), section one of this article
and that capability is part of a subscription service, the fact
that the information may be recorded or transmitted shall be
disclosed in the subscription service agreement.
(b) Subdivision (3), subsection (a), section three of this
article does not apply to subscription services meeting the
requirements of subsection (a) of this section.
§17A-13-5. Effective date of this article.
This section applies to all motor vehicles manufactured on or
after the first day of July, two thousand eight.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to
regulate the use of
automobile event data recorders, commonly known as "black boxes."
This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.
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