Access to vehicle collision data from Event Data Recorders is under consideration in a number of states this year, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is seeking to promulgate regulation regarding such data, while working with the United Nations Transport Division to research and standardize issues related to EDRs.

“Data from EDRs, commonly referred to as black boxes, can help speed up claim processing, prevent fraud, and hold down premiums,” said Rey Becker, vice president of the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America. “While insurers are sensitive to issues of consumer privacy and identity theft, EDRs only record crash-related data, such as how specific vehicle equipment or systems operated right before a collision or triggering event. As such, access to this data by insurers and law enforcement agencies would, in no way, jeopardize the privacy of protected financial and medical information.”

In 2003, California became the first state to address the issue by requiring that new vehicle manufacturers disclose the presence of EDRs to buyers, while restricting access to EDR data without consent from vehicle owners or under other limited conditions. Many proposed bills to restrict access to such data are patterned after the California law. This year, EDR legislation is being debated in Alaska, Arkansas, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. PCI supports exemptions that would allow insurer access to EDR data for claim adjusting, fraud investigation, loss control, and research.