ATS: Should You be Told Your Vehicle has a Black Box

Ugh.

I'm pretty sure that having a piece of hardware installed that you are not aware of, nor should be, whose sole purpose is to monitor your behavior is a breach of privacy. At any rate, they'd never get to use the data if you didn't know about it.

I like the idea of boxes being used to record crash info though. They should tell you up front, have you sign a release saying they get 2 seconds worth, and that it isn't yours, they have a right to the data, etc. Personally, I'd sooner buy a car from a company that I know is making a concerted effort to learn how its cars respond to crashes.

Originally posted by cessna310
oh please! what's next? a black box for your refrigerator? although technological advancements are great...i sometimes think they go too far

i definately would not want that device in my vehicle.

This has already been done. I have to did up the link. Sorry
But there is a refridgerator that the service department dials into to find the source of the problem and this insures that the repair person makes only one trip to service with the correct part.

Okay, so they tell you. Whatcha gonna do? It seems from the articles that these things are pretty widespread already and only a few years from becoming ubiquitous. You're going to have to buy a vehicle with black boxes in it eventually. Vehicles are already filled with a variety of sensors, all black boxes represent is an ability to capture and store a slice of the data your sensors are constantly gathering anyway.

Originally posted by marg6043
How dare them.

I'm with you marg......

......where the hell do they get off?

Originally posted by marg6043


And now that I know what is going on, I will make sure that if the dealer doesn't tell me after I ask them, I will find out and demand to be taken out.

How dare them.

I looked into how one could be taken out and there is not really any way to do it. They intergrat it into the cars electronics, so if you take it out the car wont work.

I think I found a way to get around that though, The thing isnt to take it out but rather to destroy the memory so it cant store anything but still leaving all the electronic pathways intact.

This may or may not be illegal though Im not really sure on the legal polices of taken a EDR out

Here is a recent example on how this can be abused.

In Nevada, the FBI was trying to get the goods on a ganster. They noticed he had a new Cadillac with On-Star. They went to ON-STAR w/o a warrant and told them they need to listen to conversations in the car. On-Star let the FBI sit in their operation center and open the microphones in the guys car and they taped every conversation the guy had in that car. Naturally the courts threw the tapes out at trial, but that is what they plan to do with this crap. They sell you on the safety of it then record you having freaky naughty backseat sex with your gf! Wouldn't be surprised if cameras in the dash aren't next.....

Originally posted by Sport Kensington
Here is a recent example on how this can be abused.

In Nevada, the FBI was trying to get the goods on a ganster. They noticed he had a new Cadillac with On-Star. They went to ON-STAR w/o a warrant and told them they need to listen to conversations in the car. On-Star let the FBI sit in their operation center and open the microphones in the guys car and they taped every conversation the guy had in that car. Naturally the courts threw the tapes out at trial, but that is what they plan to do with this crap. They sell you on the safety of it then record you having freaky naughty backseat sex with your gf! Wouldn't be surprised if cameras in the dash aren't next.....

Well, alright then. That's the same abuse as if they went into your house without a warrant. If they had one, well then it's perfectly legal. As long as the info is there and still legal, they're perfectly free to use it, and that's a good thing. If it's through OnStar, well, I'm willing to bet there's something in the fine print about all of that. That would give them every right.