In cars? Cool!
Though you may not realize it, your car is probably equipped with an automotive ‘black box’. Also known as Event Data Recorders, these devices record information from a vehicle’s various sensors during a crash – everything from airbag performance to the angle of the steering wheel to the speed of the vehicle is retained. Though an estimated 90 percent of new vehicles are shipped with the devices, each manufacturer uses their own hardware, software and file formats.
Wait a tic…already equipped? I’m not sure if there is one in the MINI, but I have heard that some auto makers have been putting them in cars for the last 2 years.
Without anyone knowing?
Scary.
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I know if I goto my MINI service center they put my key in a little gizmo and they know a bunch of stuff about how I drive and things. So I would say my 06 has one.
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The black boxes 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. GM, Ford and Toyota currently install the devices in virtually all their new vehicles.
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Yep, it’s true that these things are in most cars now. From a safety perspective they make sense, the new advanced/ dual stage airbag systems in cars these days keep track of things like if you are wearing your seatbelt, how close you may be sitting in relation to your steering wheel, and how fast you were going at impact. It just made sense from a research perspective to actually put memory in these things and let them save that data for safety experts.
At present, all GM systems, and a limited number of Ford & Toyota systems are universally available to crash reconstructionists and engineers to download. Other automakers use their own proprietary stuff that no one else (that I know of) can download.
It may be scary from a litigation point of view, but at the same time, for researchers (who strictly do not allow the data to be used in court) it is invaluable information. We now have hard evidence as to exactly what the accident scenario was, rather than having to try to figure it out, based on lots of assumptions. So the idea is to use technology to get something valuable out of the unfortunate reality of accidents…
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I’m very glad that this technology is being used. Please dont’ get me wrong.
I am not very glad that the automakers failed to disclose this to the buyers. Just seems a little sneaky and underhanded to me. I mean, what’s to stop them from installing just about anything they want in such a way that nobody will no about it? That’s the part that really scares me.
< /tin foil hat moment >Warning: Undefined array key "comment" in /home/dbmini/public_html/wp-content/plugins/azrcrv-markdown/includes/plugin-functionality.php on line 80
Oh yeah, I’m with you on the concept, but if they actually do have a downloadable EDR then it’s noted in the owners manual. I actually haven’t looked for in in my MINI manual, but I think BMW doesn’t currently fall under the strict definition of an EDR, so perhaps they don’t have to disclose it (though I completely agree that they should mention what it does and what it is there for).
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Incidentally, I heard those tin-foil hats don’t really work.
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But since EDRs only capture data during a collision that is severe enough to cause the airbag to deploy, it means that it wouldn’t be of help at all in investigating minor accidents.