Would You Pay Extra To Allow Your Vehicle To Collect Evidence Against You? You Probably Already Have.
There are millions of cars and trucks already equipped with Event Data Recorders (EDRs), otherwise referred to as “black boxes.”
Most of these devices capture rudimentary information just prior to an accident. The activation of an air bag initiates the retention of this information and allows for subsequent retrieval of data such as vehicle speed, seat belt use, and brake application.
Event Data Recorders and related automated recording equipment are being promoted as “research” devices that can aid automobile companies and government agencies in the design of safer vehicles. This is a laudable, and perhaps plausible, justification for the installation of EDRs in a sample of privately owned passenger vehicles. This assumes the owner’s knowledge and permission.
However, from a research perspective, there is no rational or scientific need nor justification to equip tens of millions of vehicles on a perpetual basis with EDRs.
Equipping several thousand vehicles with EDRs will result in the same scientific findings that would result from equipping the entire vehicle fleet of 200 million vehicles with EDRs, and for far less money.
While denials abound, there is good reason to believe that the promotion of universal EDR installation in new vehicles has more to do with regulatory, enforcement, and corporate economic interests; all at the expense of vehicle owners who are forced to pay for and retain this form of self-surveillance.
These seven requirements would put a stop to this practice and put control of the information back in your hands:
- Event Data Recorders may be installed on a sufficient number of vehicles to guarantee scientifically valid results that can lead to vehicle safety improvements. The vehicle owners should willingly agree to the installation of the devices and there should be no coercion to accept the installation. Coercion includes the corporate practice of inflating the base price of a product or service and then reducing the price through “discounts” for desired behavior or equipment. A car without an EDR should not cost more than a car with an EDR.
- Prohibit insurance companies from requiring as a condition of coverage or payment access to EDR and related recording device information.
- Prohibit the coerced use (subpoena, court order, discovery) of EDR and related recording device information for enforcement and judicial purposes.
- Permit the vehicle owner to use his or her EDR and related recording device information for his or her purposes in civil and criminal matters.
- Vehicle owners should be able to activate, de-activate, and read without any special or expensive equipment, EDRs and related recording devices, conveniently and with equal effort for either function.
- Event Data Recorders and related monitoring devices should not be enabled to transmit or broadcast data to any external wireless receiver.
- Require that the installation and operation of EDRs be completely independent from the operation of all other vehicle systems and components to the extent that these systems and components operate normally when the EDR is disabled and not collecting data.
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If a car has an EDR or SRS in it this must be disclosed in the owners operating manual.
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It figures that the NMA would be against a device that allows us to record better information about crashes and speeds before crashes. One can only conclude that they are against these devices because these devices will disprove the lies that the NMA has been feeding it’s members for 15 years now.
Weel to answer some questions every vehicle equipped with an air bag (Supplememtal Restraint Device) has some type of recording device. The EDR is used in conjunction with SRS for proper deployment of these systems. The EDR in GM and Ford vehicles can provide the most information for and against any driver including but not limited to seat belt usage, position of the drivers seat, whether a seat belt pre tensioner was fired, and in most cases when an air bar is deployed it will provide engine RPM, brake usage, and axle speed up to 5 seconds before the deployment of the SRS.
Other manufacturers have made this data propreitary information and will not release the data but merely deny it’s technology of the EDR cannot provide this advanced information.
Yes, from my understanding many vehicles are equipped with these “black boxes”. So what. They may help car manufacturers to keep down the cost of cars, if it is proved, an accident was not the result of a vehicle malfunctin, but driver error or impairment. If you are not breaking the law, or do not plan on breaking the law, who cares if it is in the car. If my car has one, so be it. I have no qualm with it, if it will improve car and driver safety. And if law enforcement feel the need to use it in a murder case, good for them. Until you lose a child to a driver who was speeding in excess of 30 miles over speed limit, driving under the influence, eluding police, and hit and run, don’t object to it. I hope the attorneys can use the information against him. If there is a death involved then they should be allowed to use the device as evidence. You have to take it on a case by case. As for big brother, yes maybe they should inform us they are in our cars, maybe that would make people be a little more careful when driving. However, I doubt it would stop those that drink and drive on a regular basis, like the thrill of speeding, and have no respect for the law or enforcement all ready.
This is just a grieving mom’s point of view.
I’ve given up trying to get my Subaru dealer to confirm/deny whether there’s a black box in my 2005 Outback XT. They hem and haw but in truth, i get the strong impression they really don’t know. I don’t want to disable it, I just want to know if I’ve got one. Is there a website that lists manuf/make/model/years that have them installed? Thx for the great website!
Anyone know if one can disconnect the black box reording activity and if so, is it legal on your own vehicle? Or is it like the issue of having to wear a seatbeat, you own the car, but you do not have the freedom to choose whether you wear a seatbelt or not.
Who cares about “Big Brother” watching you, the law enforecement officers who cross that thin blue line of justice need to watch out for little Timmy who is watching out for “BAD” cops the one that lie!!!
Check this site out: http://www.StopCopsLying.com
This is one of the best ideas of 2007. The peace of mind this service provides during any traffic stop is priceless.
StopCopsLying.com™ (SCL) helps the AverageJoe stop abuse of police powers and promotes accountability by using state of the art digital recording technology and combines that advanced technology with your own cell phone to offer you a piece of mind anywhere, anyplace, anytime.
StopCopsLying.com™ (SCL) technology is geared to provide the everyday AverageJoe or AverageJane with the ability to protect themselves from the bad cops, the Lying Cops of the world all day, everyday 365 days a year using just your own cell phone.
As far as Mark D. Girouard stated, ” Several states have laws that say it is illegal to tape record a conversation unless ALL parties are made aware of the recording”.
StopCopsLying.com has designed and tradmarked their own “NO LIES” visual warning stickers that provide a legal level of protection (to the user of the service) from the 12 states in the United States that do not allow surreptitious recording.
This sticker acts as a visual warning to all law enforcement officers in states that do not allow surreptitious recording, basically this visual warning is similar to the same type of visual warning you read when entering a store that states the store uses video monitoring to protect against theft.
Check this site out…. great idea
http://www.StopCopsLying.com
Hey Bill
Give your head a shake and see if anything rattles. How is installing something extra in vehicles going to bring down prices, even temporarily?
You sound like one of the sheep that continually begs for more control over our lives from “Big Brother.”
Enough of being spyed on. If someone agrees to the installation of such a device, fine.
Otherwise, the manufacturers and gouvernments
can choke on their invasive little devices.
An event data recorder is possibly a defense mechanism set up by vehicle mfrs to cast light on what really happened during an accident rather than leaving it to forensics and guesswork. Possibly vehicle mfrs feel that they are being blamed for some crashes when in fact, it was driver error. If it helps to keep the price of cars down, I’m all for it.
Several states have laws that say it is illegal to tape record a conversation unless ALL parties are made aware of the recording. Why should this issue be any different. Like the article says, if a person wants the device they can ask for it.