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

**ZeoBandit** · 08.21.06, 12:16 PM

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

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 steering wheel movement, how hard the brakes are being pressed and the actual movement of the car itself.

About 65 percent of model year 2005 cars were equipped with EDRs, according to NHTSA. Data from the recorders is used by law enforcement and attorneys to recreate events 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.

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.

**voivod** · 08.21.06, 02:28 PM

GM first used a type of event data recorder (EDR) in the mid-1970s in conjunction with air bags, and the technology has continued to evolve. In the mid-1990s, GM began using them in racecars and some passenger vehicles to collect crash-related data. Today the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) estimates that 65 percent to 90 percent of vehicles in the United States contain some type of EDR. Often the driver doesn't even know that it's there [ref]. In 2004, the National Highway Traffic Saftey Administration recommended that EDRs installed in vehicles built after September 1, 2008 meet a set of minimum standards. The NTSB wants to go one step further and make standardized EDR installation mandatory for all manufacturers.

**billy007** · 08.21.06, 02:43 PM

Can they get the side the gas filler cap is installed on standardised on all makes and models too, while they're at it?

**Infamous** · 08.21.06, 02:49 PM

They tried this back in the 70's, I recall. All the recordings ended in "Wow, those are the biggest boobs I have ever seen!"

**janthraxx** · 08.21.06, 02:51 PM

Haha

"Nah it's cool, I do this all the time."

**voivod** · 08.21.06, 03:35 PM

Originally Posted by billy007

Can they get the side the gas filler cap is installed on standardised on all makes and models too, while they're at it?

Exactly!

**ZeoBandit** · 08.22.06, 07:23 AM

That gas cap thing is rediculous. My Silverado has it on the driver's side, and my GTO has it on the passenger side. Every time I get gas I have to stop for a second and remember what side it is on, depending on the vehicle I am in.

**billy007** · 08.22.06, 07:30 AM

Well, it's not only that - my recent cars have at least had an arrow on the gas gauge to point out where it's at - but when you go into a gas station you have cars going every which way and nerves sometimes get frayed when two people pull in from different directions for the same pump because their gas caps are on opposite sides of the car.

**smithjc** · 08.22.06, 09:07 AM

My old Chevy Malibu had the gas cap right in the back under the license plate. All I had to do was pull up to the pump and hand over my check.

Made it a bit difficult to fuel up. I unfortunately have just sold it to a very enthusiastic buyer.

I like when the fuel gage in the car has the arrow to remind you of which side the gas cap is on. All cars should have this.

**fast98dodge** · 08.22.06, 11:43 AM

OK, enough about gas filler doors people...

Do you guys/girls/wookies see the implications of this???

First, we have GPS and other similar systems like General Motor's Onstar that can pinpoint a vehicle at any given time...

Now we have "black boxes" as well.

Not to be a conspiracy theorist, but the government basically has the ability to track where a person is and where they are going...

Too damned scary if you ask me!!!

**chefcraig** · 08.22.06, 11:52 AM

Originally Posted by fast98dodge

OK, enough about gas filler doors people...

Do you guys/girls/wookies see the implications of this???

First, we have GPS and other similar systems like General Motor's Onstar that can pinpoint a vehicle at any given time...

Now we have "black boxes" as well.

Not to be a conspiracy theorist, but the government basically has the ability to track where a person is and where they are going...

Too damned scary if you ask me!!!

There was an episode of The X-Files where the "Lone Gunmen" pointed out that there are little metal strips within US currency that allow the goverment to tell exactly how much money a person has on them at any given time, so chances are we are all already under one form of surveillance or another, particularly post 9-11 and the "Patriot Act".

I'm more afraid of the idiots behind the wheel than I'll ever be afraid of the black boxes hidden in their cars.