Washington – Devices that record crash-related data would be required in all new cars and light trucks under a U.S. Department of Transportation proposal made on Friday to broaden their growing use in the United States.
Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
The proposed rule, which may stir consumer privacy concerns, would require automakers to put “event data recorders” in light passenger vehicles weighing less than 8,500 pounds, effective September 1, 2014.
The so-called black boxes would track vehicle speed, brake activation if any, forces at impact and whether a seat belt was buckled, among other crash-related information in the seconds up to and during a collision.
Such data would help investigators and automakers better grasp crash dynamics and the performance of air bags and other systems, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a Transportation Department arm, said in a statement.
Mindful of privacy concerns, it said the devices would not collect any personal identifying information, nor record conversations or run continuously. A crash or air bag deployment typically triggers the on-switch.
In keeping with current policies, the information would be treated by the agency as the property of the vehicle’s owner.
The data would not be used nor accessed by the agency without owner consent under the proposed rule, which is open to public comment for 60 days after being published in the Federal Register, the government’s official gazette.
When a vehicle owner dies in a crash, the vehicle becomes the property of the insurance company, which could give consent as the owner.
About 96 percent of model 2013 cars and light-duty vehicles are already equipped with a form of this technology, the safety administration estimates. The devices require special hardware and software to be tapped.
The devices would help figure out “what future steps could be taken to save lives and prevent injuries,” David Strickland, the safety agency’s administrator, said in the statement.
just part of the unstoppable march to grow government into every nook and cranny of our lives, this means that the Dept. of Transportation will hire another 50,000 people to manage this program and ensure that the Demorats stay in power forever.
and who pays for all this you and me by paying a thousand dollars more per car.
anyway it will be able to tell if the person that crashed was using text or posting garbage on FB?
I would also add windshield mounted video cameras. I agree there may be some privacy concerns. However I think that anyone who was wrongly pulled over by a cop or anyone involved in an accident which wasn’t his fault would want such a system. In the past few months I had 2 such incidents. In the first one a car service in front of me made a u-turn in middle of the block (in front of the kollel store) I swerved so I only hit his back bumper and light. He told the police I hit him from behind as he was trying to make a u turn at the intersection. The second incident was during the gas lines after sandy I tapped the corner of a car as I was trying to make a right turn. The damage the other car had was consistant with other damage the entire bumper had. In addition the damage the other car had, had to be done by a car that was going pretty fast not by by my tap, especially when my car didn’t even have a scratch. Ablack box / video camera would have helped me in both cases.
When you are on the road, there is no right to privacy. As long as such technology simply records your actions, there is no privacy implication. We would run into trouble if the technology reported when you misbehaved. Then it would be a snitch.
It’s your car, your black box, your information, so you can use it as you see fit. If you caused the accident, you could withhold the information, unless subpoenaed. If you’re in the clear, you could use the information to your advantage. Maybe everyone should have a video camera in their car–it could help you make your case if there’s an accident, it could help you if the cops stop you, etc.
A case where technology can make roads safer and keep people from making mistakes when they realized they’re being recorded. Funny, HKBH does this everyday, recording us and writing down what we do, do we complain? It’s past time to remember who controls the world and it’s not the government.
To #7 I wasn’t seeking sympathy I was just saying the damage the other driver said I did couldn’t have been done by my car.