Posted on 08/04/2004 12:57:35 AM PDT by kattracks
August 4, 2004 -- WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board yesterday recommended for the first time that the federal government require passenger vehicles to be equipped with black boxes that record speed, seat-belt use, braking and other factors. The safety board's recommendation arose from its investigation into the July 16, 2003, farmers market crash in Santa Monica, Calif.Safety investigators were unable to interview the elderly driver who stepped on the gas instead of the brake, plowing into the open-air market, killing 10 and injuring 63.
The board concluded that investigators could have gained a better scientific understanding of the driver's behavior had his 1992 Buick LeSabre been outfitted with an event-data recorder.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
even Republican administrations are just socialist-lite.
Will they record if you're picking your nose while talking on a cell phone?
Saabs and Volvos already have them...
It's a closely guarded secret that the Texas State Department of Public Safety has been installing voice recorders in cars for years. 90% of the time a driver's last recorded words before an accident are "Hold muh beer an' watch this!".
I've been told that my '98 GM does, too.
Sure, a freebie and I can't chose my favorite color. ; )
That's government for ya'. Freedom of choice is lost....
Sorry, I will refrain for I'm going to bed now.....
To solve the problem, let the black box drive da car.
UR Joking....right?
Government is not the solution to the problem. Government IS the problem
Are these people morons ? What the heck do you need to know besides the fact he stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake ?
why not just assign a govt watchdog to each taxpayer....follow them 24-7
get more people working.....
Of course if I were paid to lobby for the 'black box' company...I would feel differently
The FEDs' job is to make criminals out of more Americans, and little more. Legislators write laws. The more laws on the books, the more choice exists to either obey or break them. Those who break the law become criminals. (unless they're Democrats...)
A vehicle-mounted "black box" is another lawyer's tool designed to permit post-crash nitpicking to fix the blame or avoid culpability, depending upon which side you're on and who has more $. It has little to do with improving driving safety and preventing accidents. What good is it seeing that a driver had been wreckless after he's plowed into something? We could probably make a pretty good guess at that...
Fact of the matter is, the overwhelming majority of traffic accidents occur because someone did something stupid, dangerous, negligent or illegal. How about doing something rational to prevent traffic deaths -- like enforcing CURRENT laws and getting rid of liberal judges who repeatedly let drunk drivers climb back behind the wheel?
For 2004 Fords they list the T-Bird, F-150, Explorer and Lincoln LS.
Personally, I'll keep my 20 year old diesel pickup forever. No computers, no black boxes, no electronics to kill the engine when they invariably fail.
Remember when telling proprietors they can't let customers smoke seemed bizarre? When the thought that the government could tell you to buckle up or else... seemed absurd?
What a lovely way this would be to track where people are at all times. <^..^>
Speed, seat-belt use, braking... why have a trial! The car can be your "secret witness" when you're in a fender bender. Playing devil's advocate, I've had friends killed in vehicle accidents that weren't explained. One was a single vehicle accident on a freeway. No indication he was at fault. A black box might've indicated whether he swerved to avoid being hit. Another friend was killed head on by a full-size truck trying to make a left-hand-turn. A black box might've given his 1 yr old son and widow some justice in a prosecution of the reckless youth in the truck.
Such a thing might be a necessary step towards the automated highway future. Driving *is* a priveledge, not a right afterall.
An oft-repeated untruth: Show me where the government is authorized to confer such a privilege, or to limit my travel in any way unless I break a law. (Which, by the way, is WHY the government wants to make criminals of us all.)
Freedom to travel is a hallmark of a free society.
Law Enforcement and Insurance companies already have the ability to read your post 1996 vehicle crash data.
The use of this crash ALARM is to further the monitoring of all vehicular travel in the USA
Google OBD III and learn, below is one example...
http://www.loompanics.com/cgi-local/SoftCart.exe/Articles/YourCar.html?E+scstore
True. And you are free to travel anywhere you wish. But nowhere is it written that you have the 'right' to drive there.
Sorry, driving legally is a *privilege*. If it wasn't, Illegals could drive, right?
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