(ABC News)--The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration would like to make it
mandatory for automakers to install a so-called "black box" in all new
cars and light trucks.
The devices, also known as event data recorders, have long been used by
investigators to discover the root cause of commercial airplane crashes.
In recent years however, automakers have quietly begun installing
similar products in more and more cars.
Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray of Massachusetts found out the hard way last year.
He crashed a car he was driving and claimed to police that he was
wearing a seatbelt and was not speeding at the time of the crash.
However the black box installed in his car revealed to police he was
actually driving unbelted while travelling faster than 100 mph. Police
issued a $555 ticket to Murray as a result.
The data recorders track a number of items, including vehicle speed,
whether a driver tried to step on the brakes before a crash, information
about engine throttle, air bag readiness before a crash, and whether
seat belts were buckled.
The NHTSA believes the data the black boxes could collect will save
lives in the future by providing a broader picture of why and how
crashes occur.
"A broader EDR requirement would ensure the agency has the
safety-related information it needs to determine what factors may
contribute to crashes across all vehicle manufacturers," NHTSA
Administrator David Strickland said.
Consumer and privacy advocates do not disagree there are many potential
benefits from the devices, but insist that proper safeguards be put in
place to prevent your car from turning into a spy of sorts for insurance
companies that may want to raise your rates.
"There are important safety concerns here and they shouldn't be ignored,
but there are also pressing privacy concerns," said Chris Calabrese of
the American Civil Liberties Union. "Chiefly, who's going to access
this information and how long is it going to be collected? I'd make sure
that the owner of the vehicle controls the data."
Copyright 2012 by ABC News
