Flight data recorders, or ‘black boxes’ as they’re more commonly known, have been around for decades on both private and commercial aircraft. They’re the top priority item among crash wreckage, along with survivors we’d like to assume, and provide detailed information about all aspects of the aircraft prior to and during an accident.
The United States government has now approved a request from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that will make black boxes compulsory equipment in all vehicles sold in the U.S. by 2014.
The idea is that when a car accident occurs, or when the car’s air bags are deployed, data from the car’s various electronic sensors are saved to the black box in the seconds leading up to the accident. Examples of recorded data would be the car’s speed, whether or not the brakes were applied, whether the driver was wearing a seat belt and much more. Basically, the status of every electronic component in the car can be monitored, and who knows, maybe even the radio station you were listening to at the time of the accident too.
While the data provided by the black boxes could save lives in the future by providing a broader picture of why and how accidents occur, there’s also a real concern about misuse of the information and who actually owns it. After all, what’s to stop insurance companies from subpoenaing the information to allay accident claims?
“A broader EDR (electronic data recorder) requirement would ensure the agency has the safety-related information it needs to determine what factors may contribute to crashes across all vehicle manufacturers,” says NHTSA Administrator, David Strickland. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, however, told the U.S. Congress that government requirements to install EDRs on all vehicles must include steps to educate the public and protect consumer privacy.
In reality, however, black boxes in vehicles are nothing new. In fact, General Motors began capturing data as far back as 1990 and EDRs became standard in GM products in 1995. It’s not just GM, however, as it’s estimated that over 90 percent of all cars on the road have data recorders installed, but the new ruling, if passed, will establish standard monitoring parameters and make black boxes a mandatory requirement for all production cars.
NHTSA has not yet said when such a rule would take effect.
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