The Filutowski Law Firm, PLLC

In light of recent automobile recalls, drivers are increasingly concerned with vehicle safety.   Toyota’s defective accelerator that suddenly and randomly caused vehicles to accelerate, led to Toyota recalling hundreds of thousands of vehicles and issuing an apology.  Toyota now faces a myriad of lawsuits.  In an effort to safeguard the public from future defective automobiles, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is considering whether it should regulate automakers’ use of  black boxes, also known as Event Data Recorders (”EDRs”).

A black box, similar to the flight recorder used in airplanes, captures a vehicle’s operation data a few seconds immediately before and after a crash.  This data is recorded and can then be used by police, insurance companies, and vehicle owners to aid in the determination of the cause of the collision.

Recently, data from one of these black box devices, along with other information from the vehicle’s diagnostic systems, was used to determine that a woman who had careened into a stone wall in Harrison, NY was pressing on the accelerator, not the brakes, and that a car defect was not the cause of the crash.

This information, while useful in accident reconstruction and liability determination, has raised concerns among privacy advocates and civil liberties groups. Thus far, 12 states have passed laws restricting access to the black box data, and with an estimated 30 million cars with the devices on the road today, it is expected that more will follow suit. Honda says it is protecting its owners. “Our stance has always been that [Black Box] data belongs to the owner of the vehicle, and we will download it at their request — or to comply with a court order,” says Honda representative Chris Naughton.

Concerns are also being raised about the accuracy of the data provided by the black box.  The data may be wrong if the car is defective, since the black boxes rely on the same electronics that could have caused the problems in the first place.  NHTSA hopes that data from multiple points in the car will not all be inaccurate.

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