New rule: Car buyers must be told about 'black boxes'

[Donger]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/AUTOS/08/21/event_data_recorder_rule/index.html

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has passed a regulation requiring car makers to inform customers when their car has been equipped with an Event Data Recorder, the agency said Monday.

EDRs, similar to "black boxes" used in commercial airliners, record data about what a car is doing in the moments just before and after a crash. They do not record the voices of occupants but they do record things like speed, steering wheel movement, how hard the brakes are being pressed and the actual movement of the car itself.

About 64 percent of model year 2005 cars were equipped with EDRs, according to NHTSA. Some manufacturer's already include information about the EDR in the owners manual, but not all, said Rae Tyson, a spokesman for NHTSA.

"If you have a new vehicle, chances are it's got one," he said.

Data from the recorders is used by law enforcement and attorneys to recreate events directly leading up to an accident. Data is also used by car companies to research how cars and drivers perform in actual crashes.

Some privacy advocates have expressed concern that the data, which can be used as evidence in court cases, is being collected without the knowledge of vehicle owners and drivers.

The devices are virtually impossible to disable because their functioning is so tightly integrated with vehicle safety systems such as airbags and anti-lock brakes.

Several states have already passed laws that restrict how the data can be used.

Car companies must comply with the new regulation beginning in the 2011 model year. Information about the EDR, if one is installed, will have to be included in the vehicle's owner's manual.

The new rule also requires EDRs to collect a uniform set of data. Having access to uniform data will help investigators to recreate crashes and determine causes, the agency said.

More-uniform data will also make it easier to develop systems so that, in cars equipped with automatic 911 emergency notification, data about the crash can also be passed along to paramedics and ambulance crews.

The data can also be used to research better road designs and ways to better protect young and old drivers, said Robert Sinclair, a spokesman for the New York chapter of AAA.

AAA had previously expressed concern to NHTSA about privacy issues that might hamper public acceptance of the systems. Those concerns seem to be addressed by the new rule, Sinclair said.

[jspchief]

Nice to see the NHTSA is looking out for us. I had no idea.

[Donger]

Various estimates show that 15 percent of the 270 million cars on the road in the United States today contain some type of data-recording device. Roughly 65 percent of the 16.7 million new cars sold in the United States during 2004 were equipped with them, said Kevin Mixer, an analyst with Boston-based market research company AMR Research.

That means the number of black boxes on U.S. roads will rise significantly as newer models are sold. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in its announcement last June recommended that manufacturers install the devices in all vehicles beginning in September 2008, though automakers are not required to do so.

General Motors has installed the most black boxes to date, although Ford has also used data recorders widely in its lines. BMW, Chrysler, Honda, Isuzu and Toyota install boxes in some models, Mixer said.

ROFL

[jiveturkey]

GM makes the best EDR's.

[HemiEd]

It is 1984 already, big brother.

[OnTheWarpath15]

GM makes the best EDR's.

Toyota's will still work properly after 50,000 miles........
:)

[Bwana]

Fug that, hello wire cutters, that thing is coming out.

[HemiEd]

Toyota's will still work properly after 50,000 miles........
:)

eh no, the Toyotas are being recalled.

[Mr. Laz]

Fug that, hello wire cutters, that thing is coming out.
if you aren't doing anything wrong you don't have anything to worry about.


~W~

[Bwana]

if you aren't doing anything wrong you don't have anything to worry about.


~W~

I may very well be doing something wrong, hence, that POS will be part of my leaf pile this year. :p

[Mr. Laz]

I may very well be doing something wrong, hence, that POS will be part of my leaf pile this year. :p
ROFL

[NJ Chief Fan]

eh no, the Toyotas are being recalled.

dont you mean ford
:)

[pr_capone]

Hmmm.... I wonder how to find out if my wifes new car has one.

Its a Dodge Stratus... 2006.

[Skip Towne]

Toyota's will still work properly after 50,000 miles........and shortly thereafter the whole car will fall apart.
:) Fixed it.

[penchief]

How does a black box know when an accident is coming?

[Bwana]

Heh, I have a not so PC joke called the "black box." All this Black box talk has me thinking abong it and cracking up.

[stevieray]

Byrant Gumble is on the case.

[Adept Havelock]

Heh, I have a not so PC joke called the "black box." All this Black box talk has me thinking abong it and cracking up.

I think you read one too many of QuickSsurfers posts and it rubbed off. We need several pints of Guinness over here as an antidote, stat! ;)

If you can't post the joke, please PM it.

[Bwana]

Heh! Nice catch AH. LMAO


What the hell ever happed to old QuickSsurfer anyway? I was just starting to warm up to the kid a little bit and he pulls a vanishing act.

[mikey23545]

Why would anyone care about this being in their car?

[Adept Havelock]

Heh! Nice catch AH. LMAO


What the hell ever happed to old QuickSsurfer anyway? I was just starting to warm up to the kid a little bit and he pulls a vanishing act.

I think he forgot where the board was. Must be that damn short-term memory loss...

[banyon]

How does a black box know when an accident is coming?

Miss Cleo is inside the box.

That's where she's been hiding.

[Bwana]

I think he forgot where the board was. Must be that damn short-term memory loss...Heh ROFL

Either that or kitty hit the road again and he's still out looking for him?

Well, in the event you still read the board, this one goes out for you and your cat QS.

[boogblaster]

Just another way to monitor your life...wont be long youll either be implanted or tattoed for 24 hr surveillance....BOOG KNOWS....

[Adept Havelock]

Heh ROFL

Either that or kitty hit the road again and he's still out looking for him?

Well, in the event you still read the board, this one goes out for you and your cat QS.

:LOL:

Great pic.

[StcChief]

How does a black box know when an accident is coming?
The box is recording all the time....But over writing only the space it will hold.
What ever it has buffered in memory dumped to file or perm storage is a few minutes of data. Enough to help them
convict you of something, instead of measuring after the fact...

Nice buy old cars?

[banyon]

So the auto industry is all on board to increase costs and help out with these boxes, but they cannot be bothered to raise fuel efficiency even a smidge.

[Bugeater]

I had an opinion on this until I got distracted by that cat rolling up a doobie.

[Rain Man]

Year 1. Black boxes are used to assign blame in accidents as a neutral, objective source.

Year 2. Devices begin being sold online to erase the black boxes within a 20-foot radius if the accident was your fault.

Year 3. It becomes a felony to drive a vehicle without a working black box.

Year 4. Law enforcement agencies begin lobbying to put longer memories into black boxes so they can be used to trace vehicle movements in criminal trials.

Year 5. Carmakers put longer memories into cars, and increase the prices by $500 to cover the additional cost, and another $300 "information tax" is collected by the government.

Year 6. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson indignantly point out that requiring black boxes is disciminatory to African Americans, and in fact, the very term "black boxes" is vulgar and demeaning. They remain indignant, but are mollifed after receiving a $20 million federal grant to hold town meetings in Las Vegas, Honolulu, and Martha's Vinyard to discuss the problem.

Year 7. News story breaks. When cars are being serviced, car dealers are downloading the black box information to be used in identifying target markets for services such as brake jobs and tuneups. There's no public interest in the story.

Year 8. It emerges that manufacturers have installed transmitters and GPS systems into vehicles to track consumer habits, and are selling the data to Jack in the Box, The Gap, and other retailers so they can target advertising to nearby vehicles. There is no public interest in the story.

Year 9. Senator Edward Kennedy's limousine is found in a ditch on the side of the road with the body of a dead young woman inside. The vehicle's black box is missing, and a nearby security camera shows the site surrounded by Massachusetts State Patrol vehicles for several hours before a 911 call is made. No charges are filed.

Year 10. In the interest of protecting citizens' privacy, a law is passed making it a felony to drive a car that is equipped with a black box.

[Adept Havelock]

:LOL: All too possible...

[Marcellus]

Year 1. Black boxes are used to assign blame in accidents as a neutral, objective source.

Year 2. Devices begin being sold online to erase the black boxes within a 20-foot radius if the accident was your fault.

Year 3. It becomes a felony to drive a vehicle without a working black box.

Year 4. Law enforcement agencies begin lobbying to put longer memories into black boxes so they can be used to trace vehicle movements in criminal trials.

Year 5. Carmakers put longer memories into cars, and increase the prices by $500 to cover the additional cost, and another $300 "information tax" is collected by the government.

Year 6. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson indignantly point out that requiring black boxes is disciminatory to African Americans, and in fact, the very term "black boxes" is vulgar and demeaning. They remain indignant, but are mollifed after receiving a $20 million federal grant to hold town meetings in Las Vegas, Honolulu, and Martha's Vinyard to discuss the problem.

Year 7. News story breaks. When cars are being serviced, car dealers are downloading the black box information to be used in identifying target markets for services such as brake jobs and tuneups. There's no public interest in the story.

Year 8. It emerges that manufacturers have installed transmitters and GPS systems into vehicles to track consumer habits, and are selling the data to Jack in the Box, The Gap, and other retailers so they can target advertising to nearby vehicles. There is no public interest in the story.

Year 9. Senator Edward Kennedy's limousine is found in a ditch on the side of the road with the body of a dead young woman inside. The vehicle's black box is missing, and a nearby security camera shows the site surrounded by Massachusetts State Patrol vehicles for several hours before a 911 call is made. No charges are filed.

Year 10. In the interest of protecting citizens' privacy, a law is passed making it a felony to drive a car that is equipped with a black box.

ROFL ROFL ROFL ROFL ROFL

[Bwana]

The National Transportation Safety Board recently divulged they had covertly funded a project with the U.S. auto makers for the past five years, whereby the auto makers were installing black box voice recorders in pick-up trucks.


This was done in an effort to determine, when accidents occurred, the circumstances in the last 15 seconds before the crash. They were surprised to find in 49 of the 50 states the last words of drivers in 61.2 percent of crashes were, "Oh, Shit!"
Only the state of North Dakota was different, where 89.3 percent of the final words were: "Hold my beer and watch this!"

[Bwana]

If you can't post the joke, please PM it.

Done :D