[CBart95]

What? Are you asking if material evidence is good or bad?
Maybe it depends on whether you have something to hide or not.
Your'e not one of those creepy suspicious types who think Big Brother is nosing around in your garbage so as to imprison you for life? Are you?
Or perhaps you think "freedom" is a license to steal and kill?
What do you think? Since you asked.

[dakine]

What?

Say in English...

[Ben Mugged]

I personally believe this is a good thing. The car has a lot of safety mandated equipment. I believe that if the driver knows that in the event of a driving incident, the car will testify on exactly what the car was doing at the time, this could, if used properly, encourage the driver to drive more responsibly. I think the right to privacy folks will have a field day with this opinion.

[umgud]

The black boxes should be like any other evidence. If probable cause exists, then a subpeona should be used to see them. Having said that, people should know whether or not their vehicles have them and if so, they should disable them. And, under no circumstance should the guv't require them to be in a person's vehicle (I don't know if they do). I don't want the guv't telling me I have to carry a snitch tattletale around with me.

[nygoose]

I know Ben Mugged and you're no Ben Mugged.

[unseen]

Freedom is freedom. If you do not know what it is then the government has already gotten to powerful. IMO

[an amused spectator]

Dude. This is a Constitutional site.

Anybody who comes hanging around here saying stuff like "maybe it depends on whether you have something to hide or not" needs to start doing a LOT of Constitutional reading.

[William Terrell]

Are you sure you've thought enough about this to form an opinion?

The recorder captures about 5 seconds of data at the moment of the accident. 58 mph on icy roads. Breaks not pressed. Another poster pointed out that if the engine were revved the recorder would have recorded a false speed. The lady could have initially been going below the speed limit.

Have you driven on icy roads before? You can start a sideways skid and correct by accelerating a little and turning your wheels in the direction of the skid.

In the above case, you don't touch the breaks.

Sounds like this lady did the correct thing but was perhaps too close to the thing she hit.

Regardless, it is extremely dangerous to turn justice over to a machine.