New Auto Safety Bill Could Triple Cost Of Black Boxes
According to an article on AutoNews.com, the auto safety bill being pushed through the legislature after Toyota’s unintended acceleration scandal could lead to a substantial increases in new car prices down the road.
The bill would mandate the installation of black boxes in all new vehicles and would raise the manufacturing standards closer to the level of aircraft black boxes:
Safety system and electronics suppliers say that if the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration requires all vehicles to be equipped with black boxes similar to those in airplanes — modules that can survive a severe crash, are waterproof and fireproof — the cost of the units could triple or more, bringing them to around $4,000 or $5,000. [...]
“You’re getting to something that’s similar to aircraft black boxes, and those are extremely expensive,” the [engineering executive at a Tier 1 supplier] said.
Aircraft black boxes cost about $20,000. An automobile’s black box could cost around $4,000 or more.
“It wouldn’t be 20,000, but you could very easily wrap a few thousand in this thing,” the executive said. “For the guy who is out there buying a Chevy Cobalt, that’s a big change to the price of a car.”
This increased cost would likely be passed on directly to consumers.
As our previous email alert on this topic pointed out:
Among the many problems with such a bill, NHTSA has taken a weak stance on who owns the data collected by EDRs. The agency gives some lip service to getting the vehicle owner’s consent before accessing the EDR information, but stops miles short of being definitive. Only twelve states currently have laws that address the ownership and use of black box data. Passing a law such as The Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 2010 without proper national legislation in place to control the contents of EDRs is irresponsible and dangerous to motorists.
For more information on black boxes/event data recorders, please read through the Black Box/EDR section of our website.
We’ve been warning of possible abuses of this technology and pointing out the lack of motorist protections for years but this topic will become increasingly important if this black box mandate goes through.
Since there is no Privacy Protection in the United States, it really makes no difference who owns the Box or if a Court Order would be required to access its information. Laws would be passed or exceptions would be made to circumvent whatever obstacles stand in the way of money.
Anyone who thinks otherwise should ask himself why the Insurance Industry has access to an individual's Driving Record – an act totally illegal where I live.
Wireless data transmission in the event of an accident is being discussed by mfgs and airbag mfgrs. If that happens the only way to protect unwanted disclosures will be to somehow block the transmission.
I think some people will opt for older cars and those with money will find a way to modify their cars to eliminate EDR's.
The question of ownership of the black box data IS why subpoenas are needed. What can be done with it, and under what circumstances it can be done, rests entirely on the answer to that question.
If I, as the owner of the vehicle, also own the black box data, then a subpoena (or warrant) is absolutely required to access it. It is testimony (evidence) that can only be surrendered with a valid court order. Supposedly, this court order is the result of a carefully thought out process that weighs the pros and cons of issuing such an order. Other than that, no one else has the right to so much as think about peeking at the data stored in the box.
On the other hand, if I, as the owner of the vehicle, do not own the data, then who is it owned by? The car manufacturer? The insurance company? The local police? How will that data be used against me? When (not if) will that happen? Can you even answer these questions?
Assuming that tampering with these devices will be illegal, the only way to minimize the possibility of my black box data being used against me is for me to be the owner. Either that, or I don't buy a new car–okay by me, since I've never wanted a new car.
Sir, I agree with you but once the courts are involved it will be an object of "discovery" whether you are or are not at fault in a legal issue such as an at fault accident.
Also wireless transmission of data is in the future for the "event data recorder" which from what I have read will be streamed to the manufacturers and parts dealers such as air bags. It seems the data will
be taken from us without our consent.
One positive if this is the case is that since we do not control it we cannot own it therefore the cost of the EDR should not be part of our cost in the
vehicles purchase. I vehemently protest this!
Who owns the "black boxes" is legally not very relelvent because they are subject to supoena by the courts.
They also cannot be removed because they are tied into the computer controlling functions of the car.
What owners will discover when this becomes a common problem is that the "boxes" can be
made to display unintelligible garbage. However If someone posts the way to accomplish this they will have legal problems.
It can be done in a few hours if one is computer savy!