USA Today: "Opposing view: Event data recorders help keep roads safe"

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seanhaight
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USA Today: "Opposing view: Event data recorders help keep roads safe"

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http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2 ... a/1566096/
In December, the Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) proposed a new standard that would help make our roadways safer — while preserving consumer privacy.

OUR VIEW: You don't necessarily own what yours record

Requiring automakers to install event data recorders in all passenger vehicles to capture safety-related data in the seconds before and during a motor vehicle crash will help explain the dynamics of a crash and inform future efforts to improve vehicle safety.

Event data recorders are already being used in 96% of new vehicles today to provide critical crash data that might not otherwise be available.

These devices capture data from the five seconds before and during a crash that help crash investigators, regulators and vehicle manufacturers understand how drivers respond in a crash and whether key safety systems operate properly. In fact, event data recorders play a key role in whether an air bag functions properly by monitoring information needed for the system to determine whether and when to deploy the air bag.

Yet it's important for the public to understand what an event data recorder doesn't do. When a crash occurs, an event data recorder takes a snapshot of a few seconds of information, such as how fast the vehicle was moving or whether the brakes were applied. An event data recorder does not record conversations, personal information, or video — and it doesn't track a vehicle's location.

Out of consideration for driver privacy, our agency treats the data captured by these devices as the property of the vehicle owner and obtains the owner's consent before accessing the data. NHTSA is only proposing that event data recorders collect information immediately related to a crash — and the agency is encouraging the public to view the proposal in the Federal Register and submit comments for consideration before any final regulation is issued.

Ultimately, the information captured by event data recorders can be used to help automakers design safer vehicles and to help crash investigators and NHTSA determine whether there are safety issues with specific vehicles that could put the public at risk.

The agency's proposal would ensure that this important tool remains in the fleet and continues to provide safety information that will save lives and reduce injuries for years to come.

David Strickland is administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2 ... a/1566096/
Sean Haight, PhD

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