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Call For Standardization

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has proposed standard requirements for Event Data Recorders (EDRs). These devices are also known as black boxes as they essentially perform the same function as the black box of an airplane (i.e. they record information from your vehicle before, during, and after an accident).

By September 2008, NHTSA wants to:

  • Require that EDRs voluntarily installed in light vehicles record a minimum set of specified data elements useful for crash investigations
  • Specify requirements for that data
  • Increase the survivability of the EDRs and their data by requiring that they function during and after front, side and rear crash tests
  • Require vehicle manufacturers to make publicly available information that would enable crash invest- igators to retrieve data from the EDR
  • Require vehicle manufacturers to include a brief, standardized statement in the owner's manual indicating that the vehicle is equipped with an EDR and describing the purposes of EDRs.
None of this addresses the concerns that are being raised on this issue. Currently it is extremely difficult to get an exact answer as to which vehicles have black boxes and what exact information is being recorded. Even the car's owner (if he or she even realizes the car has a black box) cannot easily determine what information is being recorded.

Nor is there any indication by NHTSA that EDR information should be used strictly for accident research. Black box technology was originally introduced for this purpose (although it has never been explained sufficiently how this information helps researchers), and yet it is being used less and less for this. More frequently, the information is being used by law enforcement and prosecuting attorneys to convict people for offenses ranging from reckless driving to vehicular manslaughter.

The more likely scenario behind NHTSA's push for standardization is that agencies that can use a black box's information against you want easier access. Police, courts, and insurance companies all would benefit at your expense.

Out of the approximately 200 million light vehicles in the United States, NHTSA estimates that 15 percent of the vehicle fleet (30 million cars, pickups, vans, sport utility vehicles, and multi-purpose vehicles) are equipped with EDRs that can be easily read, and that between 65 and 90 percent of new light vehicle models will be equipped with EDRs.

The issue of black boxes is not a passing fad, but a growing problem. NHTSA is accepting comments on their black box proposal until August. Now is the time to contact them with concerns on how this data is being used. Written comments should be sent to the DOT Docket Facility, Attn: Docket No. NHTSA 2004-18029, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C., 20590-0001, or faxed to (202) 493-2251. The notice also will be available for viewing at http://dms.dot.gov/ and comments may also be submitted electronically via that web site.

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