Carmakers must tell buyers about "black boxes

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Quigley_Sharps, Aug 22, 2006.


  1. Quigley_Sharps

    Quigley_Sharps The Badministrator Administrator Founding Member

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The government will not require recorders in autos but said on Monday that car makers must tell consumers when technology that tracks speed, braking and other measurements is in the new vehicles they buy.




    The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration regulation standardizes recorder content and sets guidelines for how the information should be disclosed. It also requires recorders to be more durable.

    Privacy experts complained that consumer interests are not fully protected and information captured by recorders can be exploited.

    Safety experts, consumer groups and insurance companies have long pressed the agency to mandate recorders in cars, but industry has responded voluntarily in recent years. About two-thirds of the new vehicles now produced each year contain the device that is connected to air bag systems. General Motors equips all its vehicles with recorders, a company spokesman said.

    Regulators sought on Monday to set basic standards for their use, saying that uniform safety data will help make future auto safety regulation more precise.

    Automakers have until September 1, 2010, to comply with the notification and other requirements in the new regulation, if they choose to equip their vehicles with recorders.

    The rules governing auto recorders, which are similar to the "black boxes" that store information about mechanical flight systems on commercial airliners, are intended to give law enforcement, emergency medical personnel, auto companies and safety regulators a minimum set of mechanical measurements in the seconds leading up to and during a crash.

    Under the new rules, auto recorders must track vehicle speed, acceleration, and deceleration, braking, steering and some air bag functions. In some cases data on vehicle roll angle, steering inputs, and passenger safety belt use will be recorded.

    Privacy experts criticized the decision to use the owners' manual to notify consumers that the vehicle contains a recorder, arguing that many people do not look at it. They also raised concerns that data could be misused for legal or insurance purposes.

    "They basically punted on the privacy issues," Jay Stanley, a privacy expert with the American Civil Liberties Union, said of the NHTSA regulation. "This is a technology that is powerful and rapidly advancing and we need to bring our laws up to date."

    Rae Tyson, a NHTSA spokesman, said the owner's manual is suitable for notifying consumers and stressed that recorder information is private property that cannot be downloaded without permission of the vehicle owner.

    Tyson said most privacy concerns should be addressed by the courts and Congress, not by NHTSA.
     
  2. 155gunner

    155gunner Monkey+++ Founding Member

  3. Bogie

    Bogie Monkey+++

    Just another reason I wont buy ANY newer cars
     
  4. Quigley_Sharps

    Quigley_Sharps The Badministrator Administrator Founding Member

    No imports on that list foosed
     
  5. 155gunner

    155gunner Monkey+++ Founding Member

    Not yet. Just wait till 2010.
     
  6. jim

    jim Monkey+++ Founding Member

    Can the recorders be legally disconnected?
     
  7. sniper-66

    sniper-66 Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Right now they can.
     
  8. ColtCarbine

    ColtCarbine Monkey+++ Founding Member

    Unfortunately, the sheeple probably think this is a great idea :eek:
     
  9. poacher

    poacher Monkey+++ Founding Member

    Mine will be disconnected when I buy a used veh. that has it. They can kiss my AHEM. What ya want to bet that before long it will also have gps crap in it. My 75 Jimmy is lookin better all the time.

    Take care Be safe Poacher.
     
  10. Bogie

    Bogie Monkey+++

    Of course they do "They will know I didnt cause the accident then or I can know what my kids are doing"
     
  11. TailorMadeHell

    TailorMadeHell Lurking Shadow Creature

    I don't see that this will be any good in the long run. Just another end-run around personal freedoms. There is so much that can be done to restrict your movement with this new tech. As far as the idea that others can't get your information, that is BS they need to blow up someone elses rear hatch. That's what hackers do everyday, steal information. That is also why some people have more money than others, selling personal information. Pretty soon they will have a chip that allows you to start the car and when such things as 'global warming' are contributed to the use of vehicles, they will pass into law the rule that says you can only use your car a certain amount of time a day. If you do not comply, they will remotely shut down the chip leaving you stranded until the police show up to give you a ticket or arrest you, depending on how many violations you have.

    If this becomes a 'law' where it is illegal to deactivate that little box, then I'm sure that I know someone who may just be in trouble for doing so. :D I will not buy any 'New' vehicle as long as there are great older vehicles to be had. Though I do see a movement that may be hypothetical or it could even be in the works to melt down all old vehicles without the chip in place so that there is no choice but to buy the chip equipped vehicles. What do we put them on next? Mopeds? More and more the NWO and it's controlling members march to power while the sheeple accept this outright issue to further suppress the freedoms of those that wish to live free.

    The more and more things that come about, the further and further I seem to slip towards the label where people could begin to call me paranoid or on par with the conspiracy theorists. Guess I'll just enjoy the ride, because I am indeed wary of these 'small inconveniences'. Want to hear something crazy? Scientists at NASA have spent millions and millions of taxpayer dollars looking into space and thinking of what position Pluto has to play. For at least 30 years, Pluto has been known as a planet. A couple friends of mine have let me in on the news that NASA is now or planning for the future dismissal of Pluto being a planet. They want to downgrade it to something insignificant. How arrogant can people become? Not only is ruining a country, countries and the world not enough for them, they have taken it upon themselves to try and alter the existence of a planet into something else entirely because it doesn't fit into their neat little categories.

    To quote from a crazy movie, 'It's a mad, mad, mad, mad world.'
     
  12. ricdoug

    ricdoug Monkey+++

    Any vehicle with Traction Control will be on that list...

    because they monitor the Anti-Lock Braking system and individual Wheel Speed. Ric
     
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