SUMMARY

This bill, based on Arkansas law, governs the use of data from motor vehicle data recorders. This bill:

1. Specifies that the data is the private and exclusive property of the owner of the motor vehicle;

2. Specifies what type of consent is required and from whom in order to obtain access to the data;

3. Allows the data to be accessed only in certain situations, such as:

A. When necessary to facilitate emergency medical care for the owner or passenger of a vehicle involved in a motor vehicle accident;

B. When ordered by a court;

C. When a law enforcement officer has probable cause to believe that an offense of Maine law has occurred;

D. For research purposes, as long as there is no identification of the owner or operator of the motor vehicle; and

E. For the purpose of diagnosing, servicing or repairing a motor vehicle;

4. Prohibits a lienholder or insurer who obtains ownership of the vehicle after an accident from accessing the data without consent of the owner or withholding an insurance payment unless consent is given;

5. Allows the Department of Transportation to access the motor vehicle data recorder for purposes related to preclearing weigh stations, automating driver records of duty status replacing handwritten reports for mileage reporting or complying with state or federal law;

6. Requires a seller or manufacturer of a motor vehicle equipped with a motor vehicle data recorder to inform the buyer, in writing, of the presence on the vehicle of a motor vehicle data recorder and the type of data captured by the motor vehicle data recorder; and