Legislation Introduced Giving Vehicle Owners Control Over Black Box Data

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Massachusetts Congressman Michael Capuano has introduced legislation giving vehicle owners control over the data collected through their car’s event data recorder or “black box,” according to the NAFA Fleet Focus e-mail newsletter. It also requires automobile dealers to provide consumers with the option of enabling and disabling event data recorders in their automobiles. Under Congressman Capuano’s legislation, all data recorded on the event data recorder is the property of the vehicle’s owner. The data collected may not be downloaded without the consent of the vehicle owner, unless a court order is in place. The legislation also requires that an event data recorder include a disabling function. Once disabled, the recording function can not resume functioning until the consumer chooses to reinstate it, according to Fleet Focus.