Spectre
The Deported
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2007
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- Dallas, Texas
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- 00 4Runner | 02 919 | 87 XJ6 | 86 CB700SC
From Dvice/Wired/PopSci:
My comments on the article: They note that existing cars have such capability and this is true - car makers started installing limited recording functions after the insane lawsuits leveled against them.
However, the information on them is proprietary and difficult to access. If you want to pull the data off the most popular cars, you will need several multi-thousand dollar rigs (because every maker is different), and most current ones only record the last 30 seconds or so prior to an airbag event or the point at which you plug in the recovery rig. They don?t keep long-term tabs on you precisely because of privacy concerns.
This new reg means an OBD-II like (in terms of standardization) interface that will allow any government agency to easily and quickly pull any data off it that they want to. Logging time will be ?indefinite? with indefinite persistence. Nice, huh?
Now we see what Cash For Clunkers may really have been aimed at - getting older cars that do not have such capabilities off the road and forcing people into new Big Brother-equipped vehicles from here on out.
Sooo... who did you vote for last Presidential election? I don't remember Big Brother being on the ballot, but apparently he was.
Edit: More information/commentary on these new regulations that seem to have slipped under the radar here: http://www.examiner.com/finance-exa...atory-black-box-installed?fb_comment=33589026
I'll also note that no US-market motorcycle, not even the stupendously complex Goldwing and BMW touring bikes, has datalogging capability.
If you don't like the idea, here's some links to write your Representative and Senator. Maybe its time to defund NHTSA until they get a clue as to who Ray LaHood and company really need to be answering to.
Feds to require black box event recorders in all new cars
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is expected to issue new regulations next month, that will require a black box style data recorder be fitted in all new cars.
Similar in concept to the familiar black boxes used in commercial aircraft for decades, the boxes are expected to record information about speed, seat belt use and brake application in the final seconds leading up to an accident, the data can be retrieved for later analysis.
Before you start screaming about government overreach, you should know that almost every new car already has a device like this fitted at the factory. For example, GM has fitted one to almost every new car they've built since the early 1990s.
The new rules are aimed at evening out a patchwork of state laws about who can access to the data, while standardizing the devices themselves so that the data is easier to recover. Currently, the devices are used mostly be car manufacturers to cover their own butts, by helping to determine whether an accident was caused by driver error, or some problem with the vehicle.
This sounds like a sensible idea, as long as strict limits are places on what data is recorded, and who has access to it. The potential for abuse is huge, such as cops using it to issue speeding tickets, or GPS data being used in a divorce case to show who you were visiting. Still, the upside could be pretty significant too, for example proving that you weren't speeding when you had an accident.
Personally, I think I'll stick with my very analog 1985 Diesel Mercedes. The most sophisticated electronic device in that car is the AM/FM radio.
My comments on the article: They note that existing cars have such capability and this is true - car makers started installing limited recording functions after the insane lawsuits leveled against them.
However, the information on them is proprietary and difficult to access. If you want to pull the data off the most popular cars, you will need several multi-thousand dollar rigs (because every maker is different), and most current ones only record the last 30 seconds or so prior to an airbag event or the point at which you plug in the recovery rig. They don?t keep long-term tabs on you precisely because of privacy concerns.
This new reg means an OBD-II like (in terms of standardization) interface that will allow any government agency to easily and quickly pull any data off it that they want to. Logging time will be ?indefinite? with indefinite persistence. Nice, huh?
Now we see what Cash For Clunkers may really have been aimed at - getting older cars that do not have such capabilities off the road and forcing people into new Big Brother-equipped vehicles from here on out.
Sooo... who did you vote for last Presidential election? I don't remember Big Brother being on the ballot, but apparently he was.
Edit: More information/commentary on these new regulations that seem to have slipped under the radar here: http://www.examiner.com/finance-exa...atory-black-box-installed?fb_comment=33589026
I'll also note that no US-market motorcycle, not even the stupendously complex Goldwing and BMW touring bikes, has datalogging capability.
If you don't like the idea, here's some links to write your Representative and Senator. Maybe its time to defund NHTSA until they get a clue as to who Ray LaHood and company really need to be answering to.
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