6/23/04-A bill that would require every motor vehicle registered in the state manufactured after Dec. 31, 2004 to be equipped with an event data recorder is once again up for consideration in the Assembly.
A5971, sponsored by Assemblyman Ivan Lafayette, D-Queens, was introduced during the 2003 legislative session but failed to move forward. The bill was reintroduced earlier this year.
The bill defines an event data recorder, or “black box,” as a device which shall be in operation at all times that the motor vehicle is being operated and which shall record and store data which will indicate at any time, while the motor vehicle is in operation, including any time the motor vehicle is involved in a collision of any kind, whether the brakes were engaged, the air bags were deployed, the seat belts were buckled and the speed at which the motor vehicle was being operated.
The bill is in the Assembly Committee on Transportation. An identical Senate bill – S5398 – is before the Senate Transportation Committee.
For bill status, call (518) 455-7545. In New York, call 1-800-342-9860.