Posted 8/22/2006 05:20:00 PM by Douglas

What does a bleach blonde have in common with your new car? They both have a black box, but you won't find out about either 'till it's too late.

Car owners need to be told if their vehicles are equipped with event data recorders, commonly called "black boxes," the government said Monday.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said automakers, beginning with 2011 model year vehicles, will need to disclose the existence of the technology in owner's manuals. Privacy groups have said many owners don't know the boxes are in their cars.

The data recorders will also need to be more durable to protect the information during a crash, NHTSA said. Vehicles with the devices will need to collect at least 15 types of data, including vehicle speed, whether the driver was wearing a seat belt, and whether the driver hit the accelerator or the brake before the crash.

Yet another reasons insurance companies suck. This technology benefits them. It covers their ass if I run over a school bus full of penguins, yet who is stuck with the bill for this data recorder? Me.

OK, NTSB, how 'bout you weigh in to try to scare us into thinking this is a good idea:

With more than 40,000 motorists killed on the roads each year, supporters said the black boxes give investigators and automakers extensive data that can help them design better vehicle safety features and improved roads.

"This is nothing more than replacing bad data with good data," said Dr. Ricardo Martinez, a former NHTSA administrator. He said the rules will help bring "a landmark change in vehicle safety."

Give me a freakin' break, you fucking idiot. Who are those "supporters" that you speak of? Private citizens that want their families to know how fast they were going when they hit a tree, or insurance lobbyists that stand to make a kazillion dollars denying claims if they can prove you were being an idiot when you had a wreck? Hmm, that's a tough one. There's more:

About 64 percent of 2005 model year vehicles have the equipment. GM and Ford currently install the devices in virtually all new vehicles.

Ten states have laws dealing with the devices, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Many require manufacturers to disclose the presence of recorders in vehicles and clarify that the data is owned by the vehicle's owner and can only be accessed with his permission.

I don't think anyone is going to whine about this if:

1. New car buyers know these devices are installed and that they are paying for them, and
2. Any information obtained on said devices is the property of the vehicle's owner.

The fact that both of the above stipulations are ample reason to conclude that the reason that the collusion between auto makers and insurance companies has been so secretive about these devices is that their installation has self serving and nefarious ends. If these things were so great at promoting safety, why haven't we heard about them?

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I know that this is a topic near and dear to my tin-foil hat roots, but I honestly forgot how many times I've ranted about this in the past. Damn archives, yet the links are still active. Here's one from 2003, and here's another from 2004, and the latest from 2005. So what does that tell me, other than I drink way too much while blogging? It tells me that this isn't news. The only reason it hit the AP today is because the big 3 got caught, and now they have to actually tell people that these devices exist. Which is the first step to owners yanking them from under the hood.

Labels: EDR