BILL ANALYSIS AB 1942 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 1942 (Fletcher) As Amended August 2, 2010 Majority vote ----------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |69-1 |(May 17, 2010) |SENATE: |29-4 |(August 26, | | | | | | |2010) | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Original Committee Reference: TRANS . SUMMARY : Authorizes the placement of video event recorders in vehicles. The Senate amendments impose the following conditions on the use of video event recorders in vehicles: 1)A vehicle equipped with a video event recorder must have a visible, posted notice stating that a passenger's conversation may be recorded. 2)No more than 30 seconds of recording before and after a triggering event may be stored. 3)The registered owner or lessee of a vehicle owns recorded data and may disable the video event recorder. 4)When a person is driving for hire as an employee, the person's employer must provide unedited copies of the recordings on request of the employee for free and within 5 days of the request. EXISTING LAW : 1)Generally prohibits any person from driving a motor vehicle with any object or material placed, displayed, installed, affixed, or applied on the windshield or side or rear windows that obstructs or reduces the driver's clear view, with exceptions. These exceptions include global positioning system devices and electronic toll transponders. 2)Requires vehicle manufacturers to disclose in the owner's manual whenever a vehicle sold or leased in California is equipped with one or more recording devices commonly referred AB 1942 Page 2 to as "event data recorders" or "sensing and diagnostic modules." Defines "recording devices" as those that: a) Record how fast and in which direction the motor vehicle is traveling; b) Record a history of where the motor vehicle travels; c) Record steering performance; d) Record brake performance, including, but not limited to, whether brakes were applied before an accident; e) Record the driver's seat belt status; and, f) Have the ability to transmit information concerning an accident in which the motor vehicle has been involved to a central communications system at the moment the accident occurs. 3)Provides that data 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 specific conditions. AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill was substantially similar to the version passed by the Senate. FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown COMMENTS : The author introduced this bill to reduce motor vehicle deaths by allowing the use of video event recorders that can lead to safe driving habits and reduced accidents. Studies of both teens and commercial drivers found that the use of video event recorders, paired with behavioral coaching, improved driver safety and reduced accidents. Video event recorders typically are operated on a loop and only save recordings in events such as quick stops or accidents. The records are used to analyze a driver's actions during the events to coach positive driving behavior. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), while not opposed to this bill, expressed concern that an employee driver should be given the opportunity to consent or refuse to consent to the use of the event data recorder in the vehicle he or she AB 1942 Page 3 drives. Other concerns expressed by the ACLU appear to have been resolved with amendments. Previous legislation: AB 213 (Leslie) Chapter 427, Statutes of 2003, requires 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 (EDR)'' or ''sensing and diagnostic modules (SDM),'' to disclose that fact in the owner's manual for the vehicle. Analysis Prepared by : Janet Dawson / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093 FN: 0005509