Auto black box - a new witness
Published August 25, 2013
Editorial by Jacksonville Daily News, August 23, 2013.
If you bought a new car in the last few years, chances are it’s equipped with a device that records such data as how fast a driver is going or if he or she is wearing a seat belt.
Black boxes aren’t just for airplanes anymore. Most know the so-called black boxes are used to help air crash investigators figure out what happened, usually in the final moments, before an aircraft goes down. Now, similar technology could be in that car you bought.
They were first installed by automakers as a way to analyze the performance of their cars if that became necessary, but it didn’t take long for crash investigators to see them as a source of information about what led to an accident.
Was the motorist really traveling within the speed limit, as he claims to have been? When did she begin to apply the brakes?
Because of the boxes’ value in accident investigations, and in determining recall-worthy safety issues, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration this year proposed that they be required in all new cars and light trucks beginning in 2014. Car companies are willing, and insurance companies support the idea because the information could be used to determine who is at fault in accidents.
But various consumer groups, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which advocates for individual privacy rights in the digital world, have their doubts.
Right now, the information recorded by the black boxes is very limited. Though they continuously gather information, they also continuously erase it. If a crash occurs or an air bag deploys, the boxes retain only the data from a few seconds before to a few seconds after.
But with new advances, the boxes might retain data for longer stretches of time. They might also include new information, such as the car’s location or cell phone calls that were made using the car’s equipment and how long they lasted.
The NHTSA, in its enthusiasm, has neglected to include adequate protection for consumers in its proposal. To start, the buyers of new cars should be informed, clearly and verbally, that the boxes exist and what they record. Right now that information is tucked away in the owner’s manual, which isn’t exactly bestselling reading material.
Information gathered by the devices should be limited to safety data, and the only information that should be available to investigators and insurance companies should be what’s directly related to a crash — meaning the seconds immediately before and after. The boxes should not collect audio or video data; the conversation in the car before an accident should not be recorded. And the information should be available only by warrant or subpoena, unless the owner voluntarily surrenders it.
Beyond that, the data gathered about a driver in the car he owns belong to the driver alone.
A version of this editorial first appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
August 25, 2013 at 1:14 pm
dj anderson says:
"the buyers of new cars should be informed, clearly and verbally, that the boxes exist and what they record." - blog
I agree that this should be known, so put a sticker on the sun visor or horn.
"Information gathered by the devices should be limited to safety data" blog
Let's see, speeding is a safety issue, even without a wreck.
Personally, as a condition of using public highways, where far more deaths occur than in planes or trains that both have comprehensive black boxes, I would support complex recorders with long memories, and mandatory checks by authorities, say at inspection times.
I'd like to see my insurance rates go down when my reports are read. I'd like to see bad drivers taken off the road, or at the least their cars.
Sitting at home, in your driveway, anything can go on in your car and that's your business, but when my family is meeting you head on in a curve I want your car on your side of the road doing the speed limit, and I think I have the right to expect that and expect technology to keep up with the times. I'd like to be able to be able to read the stats on how my children drive my car, too. I would sure drive better than I do if I were held accountable more closely.
Wonder if there are more of me than you?
