Black boxes now in new vehicles in Europe

Today’s vehicles are a source of an astronomical amount of data that can be used for all kinds of purposes, particularly in terms of safety.

A measure adopted by the European Parliament and which entered into force on Monday forces car manufacturers to equip all their new vehicles with a data recording system – in other words a black box, like what is found in airplanes.

Thus, the 30 seconds preceding an accident or collision will be stored, including speed, acceleration or braking, seat belt wearing, collision force, engine speed and GPS coordinates.

The objective is firstly to help the authorities to clarify the real circumstances of an accident and to determine the responsibility of the drivers involved, which will then allow – in theory – to speed up the process of sanctioning the culprits and the compensation for victims.

More generally, the measure aims to counter the scourge of distracted driving and impaired driving, in particular.

Of course, various criticisms have been heard regarding black boxes in cars. Some give the example of air transport, where the sometimes divergent interpretation of data by experts results in long legal and technical battles. There are also the defenders of the right to privacy, who denounce a blatant case of “Big Brother” monitoring the slightest actions of motorists.

Moreover, it is not clear if the on-board recordings are automatically erased as they are carried out or if a buffer memory is created for possible future consultations. And what guarantees that the data will only be analyzed in the event of an accident?

Finally, it should be added that the black boxes do not make it possible to know the external causes of an accident, for example unfavorable weather elements, an unforeseen obstacle or a risky maneuver by another driver. For that, it would also be necessary to equip vehicles with cameras that record images of the scene preceding the accident, which is another big step.

In Quebec, and in North America more generally, no similar measure currently exists. Only a few car insurance companies offer consenting customers telematics programs that analyze their driving habits using sensors in their smartphones. “Good” drivers are thus entitled to reductions on their premium.

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