"In the next few days, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is expected to propose long-delayed regulations requiring auto manufacturers to include event data recorders ? better known as "black boxes" ? in all new cars and light trucks. . . When a car is involved in a crash or when its airbags deploy, inputs from the vehicle's sensors during the 5 to 10 seconds before impact are automatically preserved. That's usually enough to record things like how fast the car was traveling and whether the driver applied the brake, was steering erratically or had a seat belt on."
I can see a cottage industry for modding automobile black boxes. Of course there are already ways to hack automobile computers and I don't think it's any great leap to the formation of black box hacking clubs and widespread information and how-to's showing up on The Web. ^_^
This is being driven by the insurance companies, as part of their effort to determine and assign fault for so-called accidents (better defined as crashes, since the majority are preventable). They'll make a condition of being insured that the data is available. You tamper the box, they won't pay your claim.
You don't know a lot about hacking do you? The point of hacking is to conceal the tampering. GPS recording can be handled with GPS jammers which are available and not that expensive. ^_^
While I do not like the idea , it would be good if they could be set so that if you are going over say 80 to 90 mph they would shut down the car and would need a reset to get them going again. Should cut down some of the high speed chases.
I have seen some advertisements on TV about a removiable device that checks your driving and the insurance company sets your rate by your driving habits.
If you want to wish for that, why would it have to shut the car down? You could just wish for a car that won't go over 80 mph to begin with. And don't know what's so special about high speed chases over 80mph. If they are going 80 or 100, not much difference in my book and I'm not sure there are that many that go much faster than that. The real problem is that any of these chases can be deadily for innocent bystanders. The simpler solution is to not have police continue to chase someone who is fleeing a routine traffic stop. That's where most of these chases originate from.
My thinking is that when the car hits say 80 + mph it shuts down. That limits the high speed part of the chase to a short distance. I think there are some policies not to get into a high speed chase unless there is more involved than a simple traffic stop.
With guys like you asking for it, probably won't be long before Obama gives it to you.... And who's gonna deal with all the cars beside the road that went above 80 that were not being pursued by the police? The cops gonna come over and hand them out tickets for speeding? And suppose the wife is having chest pains while you're driving, you're 10 mins from the hospital, and it's a big old highway with little traffic? You gonna drive at 75, play it real safe?
78 and worry that maybe you'll trip it? 80 and hope for the best? pull over and wait for an ambulance?
so for ten miles, every increase of speed by 1 mile shortens the time by a few seconds and increases the possibility that the wife in her stressed out state will hit the only coyote in seven counties and not be able to recoveer
Let me help you with the math. Driving 90 instead of
75 gets you there a minute and and 20 secs faster. That's not just a few seconds more. It's an amount that could mean the difference between life and death. You do it your way and let me do it mine.
Moe DeLoughan used improper usenet message composition style by unnecessarily full-quoting:
The data is the property of the vehicle's owner?
After a night of moderate drinking, you get in your car and drive home. A few miles from the strip bar you were patronizing, while in a drunken stupor, you collide with a tractor-trailor and you're rendered bloody, bruised, unconscious - but still alive. The police, a firetruck and a couple of ambulances are dispatched to the scene.
At the scene, officer Ken Qualls (me) pulls out my ODB event-recorder scan-tool (sold only to law enforcement) and I plug it into the data port located under the dash of your wrecked car. You are unconcious, on a gurney strapped to a body-board, with an IV in your arm, being loaded into an ambulance.
While I'm downloading the black-box data from your car, I'm looking around inside your car, looking for open liquor or beer bottles, plastic baggies filled with green leafy items or white powder, fire arms, your cell phone, etc. If I find your cell phone, I'm going to browse through it, look at any pictures it might contain, flip through the contacts and see if I recognize anyone, etc.
Oh - I see the download is finished. I'm going to take the data back and log it as evidence.
Because I'm essentially an armed stenographer, most of what I do as an officer of the law is fill out paperwork that's destined for the desk of some insurance company. Your insurance company - and that of the trucker that you hit, is going to see your black-box data and will use it to determine if you are 100% at fault in this accident, or something less.
But there you have it. The data that you think is yours is now mine (oh yea- it's still there inside your black-box). Your car is going to be a hostile witness, and will testify against you. Enjoy your day...
That would take the fun out of my daily commute. I'm in favor of a disabling device operated by the chasing police cruiser, but not for anyone to restrict my speed.
A half dozen years ago, my insurance company offered some driver $400 to allow one to be installed for a few months. I let them do it. There were no restriction on driving and no penalties for anything. I allegedly would be done anonymously. I did keep my speed down to 75 during the test.
You are quite correct. Virtually all laws, especially those regulating traffic, are trumped by 'exigent circumstances.' That is, violation of some dictate is excusable when life or significant property damage is at stake.
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