Automotive black boxes soon to be required

Wired : This June, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is expected to declare that all vehicles must contain an event data recorder, which would record vehicle inputs and, in the event of a crash, provide a snapshot of the final moments before impact. Many cars manufactured now already have the devices, writes Keith Barry for Wired. Since the early 1990s, General Motors has installed them in most vehicles that have airbags. For the most part, the data have been used by automakers for diagnostic purposes, to determine whether vehicle systems, driver error, or a combination of the two contributed to an accident, and to find out which vehicle systems prevented serious injuries or death. The data have also been used to assess the merit of vehicle-defect claims, the results of which can either vindicate the manufacturer or lead to a recall. No federal laws govern access to the data; 13 states require a warrant and 37 have no statutes barring the disclosure of such data.