Hi All,
I found the following to be very interesting..............
Big Brother in the car
Washington Times
http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20040808-110051-8462r.htm
Government officials at the National Transportation Safety Board are trying
to leverage an emotive incident to push regulations that infringe on
American privacy and civil liberties.
On July 16, 2003, George Weller, 86, drove his car headlong into an outdoor
farmers market in Santa Monica, Calif., killing 10 people and injuring 63.
The safety board said last Tuesday that, based on its investigation of that
accident, the government should require "black box" data recorders in all
passenger vehicles. But officials failed to substantiate why the accident,
while certainly tragic, proved a need for black boxes which record vehicle
performance and driver actions, such as brake activity, speed and whether
seat belts were in use.
The board reached the logical conclusion that the driver plowed into the
market after having mistakenly hit his car's accelerator, rather than the
brakes. There were no signs of mechanical failure. Such a conclusion can be
confidently reached without the aid of black boxes. Through old-fashioned
police work, investigators can determine if brakes were used and can
estimate the car's speed at the point of collision.
But even though the cause of the accident appears obvious enough, the board
said investigators would have gained a better scientific understanding of
the driver's behavior had his 1992 Buick LeSabre been outfitted with a data
recorder. Just what kind of scientific understanding were they looking for?
That July 16, 2003, accident seems clear-cut. It was caused by driver
error. An elderly man hit the wrong pedal, and no magic box would have
saved the lives of the victims. It appears the safety board, which has only
the power to investigate and make recommendations, picked that particular
accident not because it technically supported its recommendation, but
because of its egregious nature.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which has the authority
to make requirements, has correctly found that regulation requiring data
recorders isn't necessary, since many automakers are including them anyway.
An estimated 25 million vehicles are equipped with black boxes, though many
consumers aren't aware of them.
This points to another problem. Who does the information in the boxes
belong to? In some states, authorities can seize the devices as evidence at
a crash scene provided they have a warrant. Use of the black boxes could
grow wider, and insurance companies could lay claim to their information as
well.
Lawmakers in more than 20 states have considered bills that would require
dealers to notify consumers of the existence of black boxes in vehicles.
California is the only state to pass such a measure. At the very least,
consumers should be allowed to decide whether they want to purchase a car
that could be used against them.
_________________
~* *~
"It is good to have an end to journey towards:
but it is the journey that matters in the end." ~Ursula K Le Guin |
