NEWS: Black Boxes Should Be Required in all Vehicles

Federal Safety Officials are recommending that all vehicles be equipped with black boxes after an investigation of a horrific car crash that killed several people. Black boxes in vehicles could provide an exhaustive database, highlighting flaws in auto and road design. This was concluded after an 86 year old man crashed into a farmers market in July of 2003.



Who would have access to the information is what critics are worried about. Between 65% and 90% of all 2004 vehicles on the road today have some sort of recording ability, according to the highway safety agency.

The highway safety agency says that a requirement of black boxes in unnecessary, but by 2008 the auto industry should voluntarily outfit their vehicles.

[edit on 8-4-2004 by Valhall]

I hope they're kidding, drg...this would GREATLY increase our vehicle prices!

I agree with you Valhall. I also don't like having my privacy invaded. I would NEVER have OnStar. I don't like the thought of someone being able to track me wherever I am.

Some cell phones have a tracking device. I had a SprintPCS phone and I turned that feature off. It creeped me out. I'm a very paranoid person

[edit on 4-8-2004 by deeprivergal]

I don't think that will help much, beacuse when people crash, 99.9% of the time it's human error. Like to drunk or people to old to still be driving, or some who didn't see the other car or someone who's trying to outrun the cops. These black boxes will never touch my dam car, if they do start putting them in I will learn how to take it the hell out. Period.

I'm against requiring or even installing black boxes in vehicles. I believe it's an invasion of privacy. I do not want my car constantly recording everything I do on the road and especially do not want to pay for something that could potentially be used against me in a court of law. It's obviously driver error in many car crashes and I don't need a black box to figure that out nor do the car manufacturers. Sounds like big brother or some part of big brother would like to constantly know everyones location, speed, heart rate, etc. at every point of the day down to the nearest foot.

First they require black boxes, then they can require GPS, then they can require any traffic violations be automatically reported via computer and you automatically get a ticket for going 36 mph in a 35 zone on a deserted road. This may sound extreme but it is the path this could lead too.

This is the reason I will not buy a new vehicle, along with the instant depreciation, I will do just fine in my 86' GMC truck and when it comes time, I will replace the engine, transmission etc to avoid ever owning a vehicle with any type of tracking device.

I am an old school mechanic and all the CPU integration into our vehicles causes more problems than any carbureted vehicle I have owned.

And I don't need no stinking computerized key to let me start my truck, if someone wants to steal it they will steal it as far as I'm concerned.


I just wish that HUMMERS came out earlier

Originally posted by deeprivergal
National Transportation Safety Board investigators concluded the 86-year-old driver had stepped on the gas instead of the brake and plowed into a farmers market in Santa Monica, Calif., on July 16, 2003.

[edit on 8-4-2004 by Valhall]

Yes, blackboxes should be installed in all cars. OR....people who don't know the f*ing difference between the brake and the accelerator shouldn't be allowed to drive. This is a toughy....

[edit on 5-8-2004 by phaedrusxxx]

Originally posted by Murcielago
I don't think that will help much, beacuse when people crash, 99.9% of the time it's human error. Like to drunk or people to old to still be driving, or some who didn't see the other car or someone who's trying to outrun the cops. These black boxes will never touch my dam car, if they do start putting them in I will learn how to take it the hell out. Period.

Agreed. Do they really need the data? Just as an FYI ford vehicles record the last 3 seconds as an quality improvement device, but now lawyers are looking at the data in suits. It records speed, engine RPM etc

I blame Insurance companies for this push, If they could weazel out from paying out dammages because of black box info, THEY WOULD...its all about their $$$, not your safety.

I think the incident of this elderly driver's mistake in judgment shows a crying need for us to test senior citizens to ensure they are mentally and physically capable of operating an automobile safely.

The priviledge of driving is one which people cling to because it is a gateway for independence. However, when people such as this kill others due to their clouded judgment, slowed reaction times, or perhaps overmedicated, I think it's imperative we take action to prevent such future occurances.

Overmedication is a serious issue as it is common knowledge that many seniors are overmedicated. One man's priviledge to drive must be weighed over the consequences of him endangering others lives.

As far as black boxes in vehicles go, if it REDUCED the cost of auto insurance, REDUCED the costs of litigation and frivolous lawsuits, then I think those are positive aspects of it.

In our town last summer a man stole a car and it had a unit in it where the police were able to track him down and capture him quickly, and they learned he was wanted on many criminal charges, so in this case it shows how it can be a positive thing.

I think the key issue here is WHO would have access to such information. The idea of automatically issuing traffic tickets and having GPS installed is a truly frightening thing!!! Surely it would make us a paranoid nation!!!

And whose to say if these units would malfunction & falsely report data? Like any mechanical object, they're bound to be prone to breakdowns and misreadings.

It is unsettling to me that our privacies are being encroached on more and more everyday. Just where do we draw the line? Would we have any voice in this issue?

Black box are in most new cars... I was watching a report on car crashes. Most new cars have them and the consumer has no idea. They have been using them to see who caused the wrecks.

Believe me, if you have a 2000 or newer your car, you should assume it has one.

[edit on 5-8-2004 by SpittinCobra]

I'm okay with the black boxes...

I drive a 2003 model and I hope mine does have one... I don't drive dangerously or with road rage and I hope that I never cause an accident, however if I am ever involved in an accident and need to prove my innocence... I hope the black box is there.


Also, a report that I saw on tv said that not all "new" cars have them, they are put in several new models, but not all of them.

wanted to check some data on my last statement...

here's what I found..

One of the best-kept secrets in the auto industry is that many late-model GM cars now have electronic gizmos installed along with their airbags to record data when a car crashes. The device, much like the black box on an airplane, is known in the trade as a Sensing & Diagnostic Module (SDM), a simple version of which was first installed in the 1994 model year.

www.drivers.com...

this article is from 1999, I'm searching for something newer..

Sure having a black box unit may give a better picture of what happened after an accident, and provide details accurately to the law enforcement area, but what good is that after the fact if someone died in the accident? None! Its just a reactive solution to a problem best handled with a proactive appraoch. Actually enforcing laws, testing seniors, and other proactive measures are going to do more to save lives than sticking some box under a car to tell us after someone is dead who gets to sue who.

Last week I came across an article discussing how some automobiles are being outfitted with devices that monitor and record driving statistics such as speed, acceleration, and turning severity. Along a related vein, General Motors will install its Advanced Automatic Crash Notification (AACN) system in 2004 Chevrolet Malibu and TrailBlazer, GMC Envoy, and Oldsmobile Bravada models. GM plans to deploy AACN in all of its automobiles by the 2006 model year.

arstechnica.com...

General Motors plans to begin installing new sensors and communications systems into vehicles next year in a move that could save lives but that also raises privacy concerns.

But privacy advocates and attorneys question whether the powerful system could become an agent for continual surveillance. Although drivers must agree to have the hardware installed and must pay $16.95 per month for service, privacy advocates worry that the data GM collects could fall into the hands of third parties that range from police or government agents to research firms trying to track consumer habits.

news.com.com...

I didn't think they were in all cars yet, but we're getting close it looks.