Will you be a better driver with Big Brother watching you?
Pretty soon, car accidents will no longer be one person's word against another's -- a new bill will require "black boxes" that record vehicle data to be a standard feature of new cars.
The recently passed Senate Bill 1813 (known as MAP-21) mandates that auto manufactures install Event Data Records (EDR) in all new vehicles starting in 2015. The bill is expected to be approved by the House. The EDRs are similar to the black boxes used to determine what went wrong in an airplane crash, and record data such as speed, brake force, and electrical systems monitoring.
The National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration has been studying and mulling over EDRs in vehicles for several years, but has stopped short of requiring manufacturers to implement them. However, many auto manufacturers already use these devices to help engineers and mechanics perform diagnostics tests and identify malfunctioning parts. … Read more
