(a) 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),” shall disclose that fact in the owner‘s manual for the vehicle.

(b) As used in this section, “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:

Terms Used In California Vehicle Code 9951

  • business: includes a proprietorship, partnership, corporation, and any other form of commercial enterprise. See California Vehicle Code 234
  • Dealer: is a person not otherwise expressly excluded by Section 286 who:

    California Vehicle Code 285

  • driver: is a person who drives or is in actual physical control of a vehicle. See California Vehicle Code 305
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • motor vehicle: includes a recreational vehicle as that term is defined in subdivision (a) of §. See California Vehicle Code 415
  • owner: is a person having all the incidents of ownership, including the legal title of a vehicle whether or not such person lends, rents, or creates a security interest in the vehicle. See California Vehicle Code 460
  • Person: includes a natural person, firm, copartnership, association, limited liability company, or corporation. See California Vehicle Code 470
  • registered owner: is a person registered by the department as the owner of a vehicle. See California Vehicle Code 505
  • subscription: includes mark when the signer or subscriber cannot write, such signer's or subscriber's name being written near the mark by a witness who writes his own name near the signer's or subscriber's name. See California Vehicle Code 17
  • vehicle: is a device by which any person or property may be propelled, moved, or drawn upon a highway, excepting a device moved exclusively by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks. See California Vehicle Code 670

(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.

(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.

(c) Data described in subdivision (b) 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 for 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 (VIN) for the purpose of improving vehicle safety, including for 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.

(4) The data is retrieved by a licensed new motor vehicle dealer, or by an automotive technician as defined in § 9880.1 of the Business and Professions Code, for the purpose of diagnosing, servicing, or repairing the motor vehicle.

(d) A person authorized to download or otherwise retrieve data from a recording device pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (c), 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.

(e) (1) If a motor vehicle is equipped with a recording device that is capable of recording or transmitting information as described in paragraph (2) or (6) of subdivision (b) 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.

(2) Subdivision (c) does not apply to subscription services meeting the requirements of paragraph (1).

(f) This section applies to all motor vehicles manufactured on or after July 1, 2004.

(Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 183, Sec. 350. Effective January 1, 2005.)

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