New rule: Car buyers must be told about 'black boxes'

[OCBob]

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has passed a regulation requiring car makers to inform customers when their car has been equipped with an Event Data Recorder.

EDRs, similar to "black boxes" used in commercial airliners, record data about what a car is doing in the moments just before and after a crash. They do not record the voices of occupants but they do record things like steering wheel movement, how hard the brakes are being pressed and the actual movement of the car itself.

About 65 percent of model year 2005 cars were equipped with EDRs, according to NHTSA. Data from the recorders is used by law enforcement and attorneys to recreate events leading up to an accident. Data is also used by car companies to research how cars and drivers perform in actual crashes.

Some privacy advocates have expressed concern that the data, which can be used as evidence in court cases, is being collected without the knowledge of vehicle owners and drivers.

Car companies must comply with the new regulation beginning in the 2011 model year. Information about the EDR, if one is installed, will have to be included in the vehicle's owner's manual.

The new rule also requires EDRs to collect a uniform set of data. Having access to uniform data will help investigators to recreate crashes and determine causes, the agency said.

More uniform data will also make it easier to develop systems so that, in cars equipped with automatic 911 emergency notification, data about the crash can also be passed along to paramedics and ambulance crews.

 

[silversrt]

Am i the only one thinking about warranty refusal due to info on this so called "Black Box" ?:dontknow:

 

[Georgia Ken]

This information should be known to everyone and it should have started at the beginning. Now, if you are involved in a serious accident, severe injury or possibly death, that is when we pull data from the boxes. There is one problem with the box. After an accident, if the car is started again, the information before and after the accident is erased, most of the time. We have encountered this problem.
The data is all electronics about the car. It does not record anything being said, except for those people with ONSTAR. Occupant conversations can be recorded.
Thanks BOB for the info.

Additional Info -
This information is primiarly used in Civil Law Suits. Seldom is it used in Criminal Charges, to my knowledge.

 

[silversrt]

So whats being said is that only the accident investigators have acess to the info on the box?

 

[Georgia Ken]

So whats being said is that only the accident investigators have acess to the info on the box?

Yep your right, it is encrypted and we have to have key codes to be able to read the information.

 

[Alberta-SRT]

It does not record anything being said, except for those people with ONSTAR. Occupant conversations can be recorded.
Thanks BOB for the info.

Additional Info -
This information is primiarly used in Civil Law Suits. Seldom is it used in Criminal Charges, to my knowledge.

Onstar is way too much like Big Brother..I think it was Car & Driver that was testing a new Malibu and after the slalom test thru the cones Onstar called the car. They told the driver they had detected erratic movements and wondered if everything was OK. That's scary ..What's next--"we detected your speed at 100 in a 55..Here is your ticket".

 

[Kevan]

A few questions:

1. Are any of the SRT vehicles equipped, and if so, which models/VINs?
2. Is there a complete list of all makes/models that have it?
3. How do we remove it? (is it illegal to remove it?)

Thanks for the info Ken!

 

[silversrt]

Thats hillarious!!!!

That's scary ..What's next--"we detected your speed at 100 in a 55..Here is your ticket".

 

[Stingray]

3. How do we remove it? (is it illegal to remove it?)

Thanks for the info Ken!

If you remove it, your air bags will not work. The "black box" is actually a function of the air bag sensing and diagnostic module (SDM). The SDM is the heart of the whole air bag system.

 

[Georgia Ken]

A few questions:

1. Are any of the SRT vehicles equipped, and if so, which models/VINs?
2. Is there a complete list of all makes/models that have it?
3. How do we remove it? (is it illegal to remove it?)

Thanks for the info Ken!

Im not sure which of the vehicles have them. I will check with my Accident Investigators to find out about the list.

I do know this, the box cannot be removed as it is connected to just about everything eletronic in the car.

Bob, thanks again for posting this thread. I have known about the boxes, but, we seldom pull any info from them I didnt think to post it so everyone would know. Sorry Family, I just wasnt thinkin.

For those of you who drive Tractor Trailers, I hope that you know the boxes have been in your Tractor for the last Several Years.

 

[Kevan]

Thanks guys.
It seems like a slight invasion of privacy to me. And I'm kinda unhappy the 'not being told' part.

I don't really care though. They can "insta-ticket" me all they want. I will not change how I drive.

 

[eddie102870]

thats correct we pull the data everytime we have a major accident, helpful in lawsuits.

 

[OCBob]

There was a case a year or 2 ago, where they charged the driver of a Corvette with homicide based on the info they pulled from the data recorder. This is just another notice that nothing that we do in this day and age can be truly anonymous. Electronic survellience is a piece of cake now, most of the time we already possess the necessary equipment ourselves, they just need to flip a switch to listen in. All these things are sold to us, as making our life more convenient or more safe. But we give up a little of our freedom and liberties each time we fall for it.

 

[greatone61]

They had a story on this box a year or two ago on Dateline I think. Some guy in a Vette was pissed his car had one and he didn't know about it! haha! In some ways I think this might be good...theirs alot of liars on the road when they get into an accident, also the Onstar may help curb DWI's if they report continuous erratic movements to law enforcement. Also if this kind of info was available to used car buyer's that would be awesome, they would know how their car had been treated.

 

[OCBob]

They had a story on this box a year or two ago on Dateline I think. Some guy in a Vette was pissed his car had one and he didn't know about it! haha! In some ways I think this might be good...theirs alot of liars on the road when they get into an accident, also the Onstar may help curb DWI's if they report continuous erratic movements to law enforcement. Also if this kind of info was available to used car buyer's that would be awesome, they would know how their car had been treated.

So you are ok with onstar reporting your driving habits to the cops??? Talk about Orwellian, not only are they going to get me arrested, but I have to pay them for this service too??? I am not advocating driving under the influence by any means, but I sure as hell don't want a system in my vehicle that reports this, especially one I have to pay for. Just seems with all the cameras and such we are already under constant surveillence in this country. Privacy is a thing of the past.

 

[DrPierceMD]

I do know this, the box cannot be removed as it is connected to just about everything eletronic in the car.

Where there is a will, there is a way.