BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1942|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1942
Author: Fletcher (R)
Amended: 8/2/10 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 8-0, 6/29/10
AYES: Lowenthal, Huff, DeSaulnier, Harman, Kehoe, Pavley,
Simitian, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Ashburn
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 69-1, 5/17/10 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Windshield: video event recorder
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill authorizes the placement of video
event recorders in vehicles.
ANALYSIS : Existing state law prohibits a person from
driving any motor vehicle with any object or material
placed, displayed, installed, affixed, or applied upon the
windshield, the rear window, or side windows adjacent to
the driver. Existing law makes exceptions for the
following:
Rearview mirrors;
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Sun visors that are not mounted on the windshield glass;
Electronic toll communication devices affixed to the
center uppermost portion of the interior of the
windshield within an area that is not greater than 5
inches square (e.g., FasTrak transponders);
Transparent material applied to the top most portion of
the windshield (i.e., tinting);
Stickers and global positioning systems that are
displayed on the windshield in the seven-inch square in
the lower corner farthest removed from the driver or in
the five-inch square in the lower corner nearest the
driver (e.g., parking and oil change decals).
Existing law requires vehicle manufacturers to disclose in
the owner's manual that a vehicle is equipped with one or
more recording devices commonly referred to as "event data
recorders." Existing law defines "recording devices" as
those that:
Record how fast and in which direction the motor vehicle
is traveling;
Record a history or where the motor vehicle travels;
Record steering performance;
Record brake performance, including but not limited to,
whether brakes were applied before an accident;
Record the driver's seat belt status; and
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.
Existing law prohibits downloading or retrieving data
recorded on a recording devise by a person other than the
registered owner of the motor vehicle, except under
specific conditions.
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Existing law prohibits the audio recording of persons
without the expressed consent of all parties involved.
This bill:
1 Authorizes the placement of video event recorders on
specified areas of a vehicle windshield.
2. Defines "video event recorder" to mean a video recorder
that continuously records in a digital loop, recording
audio, video, and G-force levels, but saves video only
when triggered by an unusual motion or crash or when
operated by the driver to monitor driver performance.
3. Requires a vehicle equipped with a video event recorder
have a notice posted in a visible location which states
that a passenger's conversation may be recorded.
4. Requires video event recorders store no more than 30
seconds before or after a triggering event.
5. Provides that the registered owner or lessee of the
vehicle may disable the video event recorder, and that
the data recorded to the device is the property of the
registered owner or lessee.
6. Provides when a person is driving for hire as an
employee in a vehicle with a video event recorder, the
employer is required to provide unedited copies of the
recordings upon request. The copies shall be provided
for free and within five days of the request.
Same as GPS requirements . This bill stipulates that the
event recorder must be placed in a seven-inch square in the
lower corner of the windshield farthest removed from the
driver or in a five-inch square in the lower corner of the
windshield nearest of the driver and outside of an airbag
deployment zone. These stipulations mirror identically the
requirements currently in place for a portable GPS.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/3/10)
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California State Sheriffs' Association
DriveCam
Lloyd Pest Control
MV Transit
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/3/10)
American Civil Liberties Union
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : 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. Video event recorders for vehicles
capture high definition videos, both of the front of the
vehicle and the rear, using a dual camera device and record
when an event occurs, including accidents or aggressive
driving behavior. The videos are stored on internal memory
together with other information such as G-force values, GPS
coordinates, date, time, and more. 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.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The American Civil Liberties
Union writes: "Windshield mounted video event recorders
involves video taping the individual who is driving as well
as the area in front of the vehicle. The fundamental right
to privacy was added by voter initiative to Article I,
Section 1 of the California Constitution. While we
understand the need for driver safety, we do not believe
that there has been sufficient evidence to demonstrate the
need to allow the installation of cameras continuously
trained on employees and other drivers."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill Berryhill,
Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley,
Buchanan, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De
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La Torre, De Leon, DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer,
Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani,
Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi,
Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight,
Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Nava,
Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, Norby, V. Manuel Perez,
Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Skinner, Smyth,
Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torres, Torrico,
Tran, Villines, John A. Perez
NOES: Ammiano
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bass, Tom Berryhill, Caballero, Charles
Calderon, Furutani, Monning, Silva, Torlakson, Yamada,
Vacancy
JJA:mwk 8/10/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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