Speier Introduces CASE Act of 2010

Press Release

Consumer safety groups "strongly support" Congresswoman Speier's groundbreaking legislation requiring every new car in America to have event data recorders (EDRs) that follow strict new guidelines that will make vehicles safer for all drivers and passengers

Today Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-San Mateo/San Francisco) announced the introduction of H.R. 5345, the Consumer Auto Safety Enhancement (CASE) Act of 2010. This new legislation mandates that every new car sold in the United States have event data recorders (also known as EDRs) in two years. The bill also ensures that all EDRs are readily accessible to regulators, and requires that each EDR meet a rigorous set of new guidelines that will lead to safer vehicles. The legislation is strongly supported by several consumer safety groups, including Public Citizen, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, Center for Auto Safety, KIDS AND CARS, Consumers Union, Consumer Federation of America, and the Trauma Foundation.

"To many Americans, the Toyota recall was a frightening wake-up call," said Congresswoman Speier. "This issue is a matter of life and death, and Congress needs to act as quickly as possible to remedy the situation. My legislation expands the use of EDR technology to all new cars, and establishes new guidelines for the types of information EDRs collect. In so doing, we can capture the critical data NHTSA and others need to identity problematic trends and spot manufacture defects quickly and keep the motoring public safe."

In a letter to Congresswoman Speier, Joan Claybrook, a former head of NHTSA, and representatives from several consumer safety groups voiced strong supported the new legislation:

"Consumers need to know when there are defects in their vehicles that threaten their lives. The recent rash of life-threatening incidents related to sudden acceleration of Toyota vehicles and the lengthy delay in identifying the root cause of the problem point to the need for accurate and timely vehicle performance information….We strongly support your legislation and look forward to working with you to enact it into law."

What is the Consumer Auto Safety Enhancement (CASE) Act of 2010?

* It requires all model 2012 cars have EDRs, and that all EDRs currently in cars be readable by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA);

* It mandates that all EDRs are tamperproof and meet tough crash survivability standards, including resistance to water and extreme temperatures;

* It requires that all EDRs are compatible with a one-tool, universal data retrieval method to improve the accessibility of this critical data by NHTSA, car manufacturers, insurance companies, and safety groups;

* It mandates the inclusion of critical data elements--such as vehicle speed, accelerator status, airbag deployment, performance of the anti-lock break system--by all EDRs;

* It establishes a national Event Data Recorder Database for research and analysis;

* It prohibits personally identifiable information from being publicly available;

* It instructs the Department of Transportation to research the feasibility of automatically transmitting all relevant EDR Data to the agency for analysis.

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