NHTSA Wants Snitch In You Car

[Jim Meade / Iowa City]

The DOT's  National  Highway Transportation Safety Administration is asking Congress to mandate that new cars have an "event data recorder" more commonly known as a black box to record infomration which will be availabe to NTSB.  They claim they want to use it to study accident data.

Many new vehicles already have data recorders and their use is more and more prevalent in lawsuits following an accident.

Some privacy advocates are concerned that insurance companies will get their hands on data and use it to adjust rates.  

Who owns the data?  What data should ve recorded?  Should you be able to disable your black box?

http://www.nhtsa.gov/About+NHTSA/Press+Releases/U.S.+DOT+Proposes+Broader+Use+of+Event+Data+Recorder...

"NHTSA estimates that approximately 96 percent of model year 2013 passenger cars and light-duty vehicles are already equipped with EDR capability. These devices are located in the vehicle and require special hardware and software to copy the information. A crash or air bag deployment typically triggers the EDR, which collects data in the seconds before and during a crash. The data collected by EDRs can be used to improve highway safety by ensuring NHTSA, other crash investigators and automotive manufacturers understand the dynamics involved in a crash and the performance of safety systems.

Examples of some of the information recorded include:
vehicle speed;
whether the brake was activated in the moments before a crash;
crash forces at the moment of impact;
information about the state of the engine throttle;
air bag deployment timing and air bag readiness prior to the crash; and
whether the vehicle occupant's seat belt was buckled.

EDRs do not collect any personal identifying information or record conversations and do not run continuously.:"

What do you think?  Do you like this?  Does it bother you?  Is Big Brother getting ubiquitous?

[Kay/NC]

I guess vintage vehicles will be more popular than ever, Jim.  

It will fall into that category of information that could exonerate you from fault, or  lead to false conclusions.  If you have  nothing to hide, you would want to introduce it into evidence.  There will probably be Fifth Amendment cases argued.  Intriguing...

Drones, black boxes, and the Electronic Medical Record...what's next in terms of loss of the illusion of privacy?  We are always presented with plausible reasons why all of this Is in our best interest.  Do you buy it? 

[k-289]

Might be a fair bet that the underwriting industry could have a fair amount of weight on this --- cell phoneitus being one item  - event recorders have been prevalent for some time in transportation industry --- Kay's hubby would know about these at his previous career ---

[BA Deere]

I`m usually a "libertarian" on these matters, but if it would help to find out what really happened in a accident, it might be alright.  What I don`t like is the device on newer cars that allow the cops to disable it if they`re chasing you, sometimes you have a good reason for outrunning the cops.

[Nebrfarmr]

How can it record conditions BEFORE the crash, unless it was continually monitoring everything?

[toughguy189]

It was, as do most Commercial vehicle black boxes.  As a former CMV driver I can tell you I got a call from my supervisors everytime I hit the brakes hard.  It seems that this sort of technology is usually implemented on the CMV community before it hits the general public.  I didn't like it when I was driving and I don't like it now.  Guess I'll stick with my old vehicles.

[rawhide]

they are already in your car if it's newer than a 2004

[Nebrfarmr]

This reminds me of a story.   My cousin used to drive a service truck, and once had a tire going flat, so he pulled into the nearest driveway to change it, without really noticing that it was the lot of a drive-through liquor place.   He was getting the jack out, when his cell phone rang, and his boss started chewing him out, for being at a liquor joint.  He said when he tried to talk, the boss interrupted him, telling him to get in the truck, and drive straight to the shop (about 10 miles) without stopping for anything, and he better have a good excuse figured out, for what was going on.   He did just as he was told, and drove it back on the rim, ruining the tire and rim, and beating the fender well up with the flapping tire.   When he got back, his boss was still mad, and asked what they were doing drinking on the job.   Cousin replied, he doesn't touch alcohol (which I know to be true) and just stopped to change a flat tire.   The boss then started chewing him out for driving on the flat tire, when he interrupted the boss.  He asked, 'So, am I fired, or not?"  Boss said "not yet', and he said 'Good, because I quit.".

All told, 6 out or 8 service guys wound up quitting in a 2 week period, because of the boss' monitoring them, and calling them up, chewing them out for stopping at the wrong place, taking the wrong road, having the truck stopped at lunch for more than an hour (the guys ran into a customer as they were heading out of the Cafe, and actually scheduled a work stop, in those extra 5-10 minutes). 

Myself, I'd be pretty safe, as my 'new' pickup is a 94, and my 'daily driver' is an 86.