Posted 3/05/2010 05:21:00 PM by Douglas

Things are looking worse and worse for Toyota. Still, I don't think the electro-mechanical defect in their design is the problem. The apparent cover up is quite troubling.

Toyota has for years blocked access to data stored in devices similar to airline "black boxes" that could explain crashes blamed on sudden unintended acceleration, according to an Associated Press review of lawsuits nationwide and interviews with auto crash experts.

The AP investigation found that Toyota has been inconsistent — and sometimes even contradictory — in revealing exactly what the devices record and don't record, including critical data about whether the brake or accelerator pedals were depressed at the time of a crash.

The automobile "black boxes" have been a popular topic here at crap-blog for a while. It's obvious that all the automakers have been less than forthcoming as to what they record and how owners can access the data. But Toyota, in light of their current troubles, is being downright dishonest with it.

Toyota's "black box" information is emerging as a critical legal issue amid the recall of 8 million vehicles by the world's largest automaker. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said this week that 52 people have died in crashes linked to accelerator problems, triggering an avalanche of lawsuits.

When Toyota was asked by the AP to explain what exactly its recorders do collect, a company statement said Thursday that the devices record data from five seconds before until two seconds after an air bag is deployed in a crash.

What?!? It records data "five seconds before" the air-bag is deployed? Uh, doesn't that mean the data is being continuously recorded? Saying it's only recorded "five seconds before" the air-bag is deployed is like the old joke about the farmer giving the lost stranger directions: "turn left five miles before the road dead-ends."

Sounds like the auto-makers are going to have to come clean as to what these EDR devices, that we all pay for, actually do and how they can protects us in the event of a malfunction of our cars.

Labels: EDR

Posted 8/05/2008 01:40:00 PM by Douglas

Want lower rates on your car insurance? All you gotta do is let big brother ride shot-gun.

Auto insurer Progressive Corp. has begun offering its drivers the chance to cut their costs based on how they actually drive, not only on their age, credit score and number of tickets or accidents on their record.

The monitoring device — sort of like a black box for cars — tells Progressive what time people drive, how many miles they've driven, how fast they accelerate and how often they hit the brakes. It does not track where people go.

I'm pretty sure that anyone that would sign up for such a idiotic program already has a tracking chip implanted in their neck. I wonder if they interfere with each other?

Labels: EDR

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

Posted 10/03/2005 05:19:00 PM by Douglas

Your car IS spying on you.

Meanwhile, automakers quietly have started adding what amount to black boxes to their automobiles--sort of cheap, simplified versions of the black boxes found in commercial airliners.

But the public doesn't know about those black boxes, and I haven't noticed anything about them in the owner's manual.

In the last few seconds of an automobile's operation before a crash, they record data such as speed, direction and whether there was braking.

It's a lawyer's dream. After an accident, one side or the other would be interested in the data, which could be invaluable at a trial.

This one's going to get interesting. I can't imagine the recording device in a car being used to testify against its driver in court, but stranger things have happened.

Labels: EDR

Posted 9/15/2005 05:40:00 PM by Douglas

Is the DPS pulling over any cars that don't consent to a search?

Department of Public Safety troopers arrested two men Tuesday morning on money laundering charges during a traffic stop on Interstate 40 near here.

Troopers stopped a 2006 Cadillac TDS at 8:30 a.m. traveling westbound on Interstate 40, according to a DPS report. After receiving consent to search the vehicle, troopers found $114,930 in cash secreted in the lining of an ice chest in the back seat of the Cadillac, the report said.

The load is believed to have originated in Detroit and was headed for Tucson, the report said.

Long-time readers from the tin-foil hat brigade (you know who you are: you think I'm monitoring your thoughts, and I am) will see this as yet another example of the DPS monitoring cars with the mysterious automobile black box. Not that I'm giving credence to nor discrediting this assertation, but it's kinda kooky that this sort of thing happens all the dang time along I-40.

Labels: EDR

Posted 11/11/2004 05:52:00 PM by Douglas

And now, from a long-time reader that's been in the tin-foil hat club [shiny side out!] a lot longer than I have, comes an article about the black-box that's in your car right now. It can be summed up in one sentence:

"Big brother is riding shotgun"

I'm going to stand by my original assessment and blame the insurance companies. Who else would have the power to pull this off and/or have as much to gain from the technology?

EDRs are certainly not new. Information gathered on black boxes — typically everything from speed, brake pressure, seat belt use and air bag deployment — has already been used in determining guilt in criminal and civil cases across the country.[emphasis added]

Proponents, including the NTSB and road safety advocates, say the data collected on these black boxes is valuable for studying how accidents happen and how to make roads and cars safer. EDR data has been used for years to fine tune air bag efficiency.

Well, duh. Insurance companies want to use this data to prove you were driving recklessly, thus giving them grounds to disavow your claim. But what I don't understand are the legal aspects. I realize this is a poor analogy, but how is this any different from the diary I wrote describing how I committed a crime? The EDR is in my car, I paid for it, right? How could I possibly be compelled to relinquish it if I didn't want to? Doesn't the 5th amendment still protect us from self incrimination?

Then, Haseline said, he would prefer that laws address the issue of a car owner’s knowledge of the EDRs in their vehicles, and that car owners have ownership of the data once its recorded.

"I can understand [NTSB's desire] to have this information, but from a practical perspective, it is premature at this point to require it," he said.

So why do I have to have one in my car to begin with? Why can't I just unplug the damn thing if I want to? I think that's the real issue. Not only do I have to submit to this monitoring, but I have to pay for it, as well.

Labels: EDR

Posted 10/29/2003 09:15:00 PM by Douglas

Insurance companies rule the country, example #587. How much do these "black boxes" cost, and what benefit am I getting from it, since I'm the one that paid for it. (The one in my car, anyway.) Since it seems like the only useful purpose they would have is to asses liability after a collision, I really don't see how they could justify a universal implementation.

And why are we just now finding out about them if they've used them for 13 years? It doesn't sound like we're getting the whole story on this one.

Labels: EDR