- Black Boxes
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California Black Box Law
In September, California became the first state to adopt a law that addressed the issue of event data recorders (or black boxes) in automobiles. When a crash occurs, these black boxes record certain factors seconds before the accident. The actual information recorded varies widely depending on the type of recorder. It could be something as simple as whether the air bag deployed, or as complicated as what speed your vehicle was traveling at, as well as if you were braking at the time of the accident.One thing this law (which goes into effect July 1, 2004) has accomplished is that it brought attention to this issue. Attention that has been sorely lacking. The majority of drivers don't even know these devices exist, let alone the potential that their car's information could be used against them.
Most car owner's manuals only have a sentence or two that tells you that your vehicle has a black box. And, even then, it is usually in the section that describes your air bag and implies that the recorder only records that your air bag deployed. It doesn't go into detail on how many seconds before a crash are recorded or what other information may be included. This new California law will now require carmakers to provide more information concerning these devices.
While this new legislation does require the disclosure of these devices, the privacy protections outlined in this law are a joke.
This law states that no one can access the data without the owner's permission or a court order. If you look closely at this, you can see this really doesn't restrict anything. If you have been in an accident, it would be very easy for the court to order this information to be collected. No protection there.
A driver could also be pressured into giving permission for the information to be taken. (One scenario could be your insurance company threatening you with higher premiums if you don't share your car's information.) No protection there either.
While this brings much needed attention to the issue of black boxes, this isn't even close to being the "privacy act" that the politicians are touting it to be.
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Information
- HR 1015 - NMA's Black Box Bill
- Introduction To Black Boxes
- Whose Data Is It Anyway?
- What's In Store For Black Boxes?
- Call For Standardization
- Motorcyclist Magazine Article
- California Black Box Law
- Maine Governor Disputes Black Box Data
Related Links
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The Accident Reconstruction Network (ARC)
Good Information on black boxes
List of vehicles with Black Boxes.
Another list of vehicles with Black Boxes.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Black box information from NHTSA.
Vetronix
Firm that makes black boxes.