H.R. 5305: To require automobile dealers to disclose to consumers the presence of Event Data Recorders, or "black boxes" on new automobiles, and to require manufacturers to provide the consumer with the option to enable and disable such devices on future automobiles.

Before you vote › Federal bills

H.R. 5305: To require automobile dealers to disclose to consumers the presence of Event Data Recorders, or "black boxes" on new automobiles, and to require manufacturers to provide the consumer with the option to enable and disable such devices on future automobiles.

108th Congress · introduced 2004-10-08 · Transportation and Public Works · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection.

federal

Save to my notebook What does this mean? Print

Official title

To require automobile dealers to disclose to consumers the presence of Event Data Recorders, or "black boxes" on new automobiles, and to require manufacturers to provide the consumer with the option to enable and disable such devices on future automobiles.

Plain summary

Requires automobile dealers to disclose to consumers the presence of Event Data Recorders (EDRs) on new automobiles at the time of purchase in a clear and conspicuous format that communicates: (1) the presence and location of the EDR; (2) the type of information recorded by the EDR and how such information is recorded; and (3) that information recorded by the EDR also may be used in law enforcement proceedings. Requires automobile manufacturers to include the same information in the owner's manual of any new automobile containing an EDR. Prohibits persons from manufacturing for sale, selling, offering for sale, introducing or delivering into interstate commerce, or importing automobiles manufactured after 2006 (and bearing a model year of 2007 or later) that are equipped with EDRs, unless those EDRs can be disabled by the consumer. Treats a violation of EDR requirements of this Act as an unfair or deceptive act or practice under the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTCA) and requires the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to enforce this Act accordingly. Requires the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to study and report to Congress on the potential utility and still unknown consequences of implementing EDR technology.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

The strongest published arguments

Alternatives

Needs sources: no published alternatives yet (for example a different bill, a law instead of an amendment, or keeping current law). We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Capuano, Michael E. [D-MA-8] · 1 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Sources

• Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
• Congress.gov
• Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-108hr5305.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/108/hr>

Record fed-us-cong108-hr5305 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong108 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong108