Posted on 02/04/2005 7:31:09 PM PST by Rennes Templar
Your car is most likely recording things about your driving and that information can be used against you if you have a traffic accident.
Most people don't know their car has a black box. They are similar to ones in airplanes, although they don't record voices, but they do record plenty of other things that happen before a crash.
Even though it's silver, it's called a black box or airbag sensor or event data recorder. Its main job is safety, it operates the airbags, but it also records information and because of that, a Glenpool teenager could be charged with negligent homicide. It'll be the first time anyone's been charged in Tulsa County based on a black box, but you can bet, it won't be the last.
Last year, a 19 year old man took his sister's 2002 Trans-Am out for a test drive the day after she bought it. He lost control and hit two utility poles; the crash killed his passenger, who was also 19. The driver had no idea the car would become a witness against him. Tulsa Police removed the black box from the wreckage and it had quite a story to tell.
The Trans Am's computer read-out says five seconds before he hit the first pole, the driver was going 121 miles an hour, the throttle was at 100% and the RPM's at 5504. At four seconds before impact, he took his foot off the gas and his speed dropped to 119. At three seconds, he hit the brakes and slowed to 108. At two seconds, he was down to 102 and one second later, just before he hit the first pole, he was going 87 miles an hour. Police sent that information to the DA, for a negligent homicide charge.
The National Transportation Safety Board wants black boxes in all vehicles. And another crash is one of the reasons why. An 86 year old man killed 10 people and injured 63 when he plowed into a farmer's market in California in 2003. Some witnesses said he was braking, others said he was accelerating.
Investigators still don't know for sure and that's when they said wanted black boxes in all vehicles sold in the US, which will happen by 2009. But 10-million vehicles already have them and some people wonder how they got installed with so few people knowing about it.
Car makers say the recorders give them real-world data they can't get in a lab and that helps them make safer cars. Adam Goins, Riverside Chevrolet Service Mgr: "Accidents are what they are, they're accidents and weird things happen and the data that comes out of this box helps manufacturers make a safer product."
The box records information as you're driving. If you slam on your brakes or crash, it decides in milliseconds which seatbelt to cinch up or which airbag to deploy, which is a great safety feature, it also starts retaining the information it recorded. Tulsa Police Sgt Rick Bondy: "It keeps a rolling track, five seconds worth of data, on how fast you're going, if your foot is on the gas or the brake, engine speed, who's wearing a seatbelt, who's in the front seat."
Many people don't like the idea of being spied on without their consent or knowledge, especially since there are no guidelines about who can get this information or how they can use it. Attorney Wayne Copeland: "We're no longer a country that's as free as it once was. We're more of a police state every day." Others argue something must be done about the 6,000 crashes in this country every day and their enormous financial and physical cost.
An Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper showed us how to hook up to a black box in a wrecked car and read the data. OHP trooper Ron Singleton: "The driver was buckled; the air bag was on the passenger side."
Prosecutors say when it comes to finding the truth, a computer is more reliable than contradicting witnesses and since the black box has no personal bias, it can prove a person's innocence as well as guilt. Tulsa County First Assistant DA Doug Drummond: "Something where a life has been lost or it's serious, if there's a piece of evidence out there that will help you find the truth, which would surely outweigh anyone's privacy in my opinion."
Some worry about the uses of this technology not even conceived of yet, like recording months of data that allows dealers to refuse warranty work or insurance companies, to deny coverage or lawyers to file lawsuits. This debate of safety versus privacy is just beginning and will no doubt result in rules about how much these boxes record, who can legally get the information and how it can be used.
To see if your vehicle has an event recorder onboard, check this site: http://www.harristechnical.com/downloads/cdrlist.pdf
I'll rant when, and where necessary, thank you.
Your welcome.
Words from someone with something to hide.
Maybe all of 'em didn't go to public school!
Maybe George Jones knew something before we all did. They don't have them on Lawn Mowers yet, do they?
yes, but you can't just unplug the thing. either the car will not run, or the airbag lights will be permanently lit, or some sensor will go nuts, etc.
Now if you get a speeding ticket or a ticket for running a light and you were not speeding or did stop, can you use that data for your defense?
And the prosecutor or plaintiff's attorney will argue to the jury that you planned to drive in a reckless manner and were trying to cover up. If you did decided to take the stand, they would argue that your testimony is not credible, because you wanted to hide the true, objective evidence which would be in the courtroom but for your actions.
Is there a list of years and cars that the black boxes installed in them? Where are the boxes located and how do you disable them?
Put the hammer away. You don't need that much misuse of energy. Get some more delicate tools. Gently pry the cover off and unsolder the offending wire and cut the soldered section off where the exposed wire ends. Use a solder sucker or braid to collect what is left. Put cover back on and go your merry way down those empty highways.
OH, I FORGOT- disconnect the + terminal from your battery and put a baggie over it. Everything must be done in a ground plane.
Actually, I do have some knowledge of the computer end of this (more than the legalities as in my earlier post). It's really only a ten-minute job to hook up the easily-availble cable to the computer and copy the information from your car to whatever they want to store it in.
its all of them now - all modern cars have them.
I have terrible gallows humour.
But your post just made me laugh.
that's true, so you can imagine the police having these devices in the future and doing a data download as a normal part of any traffic accident. and memory is so cheap now, that's its not just the past few seconds it will store, it could be your entire driving record for the past week or month.
See link at end of article.
Think this way,,,A black box records , that all it does..It does not make the vehicle run...After that is something else..............Southron And Proud Of It...............
Think this way,,,A black box records , that all it does..It does not make the vehicle run...After that is something else..............Southron And Proud Of It...............
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