Feds Want a "Black Box" in Every Car by 2014

[The Clinch]

Sounds like the beginning of a bad idea and easily abused to boot. Don't really need someone looking over my shoulder all the time.

 

[Tankeray]

Thumbs way down, fuck this.

 

[Merlotte's]

I don't think its a total waste. I wouldn't object. I think that teaching a driver safe habits from the start would be a better step than correcting those who are careless. If we could accomplish both that would be ideal.

 

[Goat Meal]

Timothy Murray, the Massachusetts Lt. governor, claimed he was traveling within the speed limit and wearing his seatbelt after he crashed a state vehicle last year. The black box in the Crown Victoria captured data that Murray was going 100 mph without a seatbelt.

This is totally probable.

My first civilian job post-military, I worked at a mobile work order management/GPS tracking company. Toward the end of my time there we offered an ODBII solution for parents that wanted to track their children's whereabouts.

One of the issues we experienced is sometimes the GPS would report false data. Sometimes a device would incorrectly show across town or 100-200 MPH speedometer readings. It's not just the devices themselves, though, as this behavior was prevalent in cell phones as well.

I don't see the utility of the devices, tbh. It's not a preventative measure so lives aren't going to be saved. What is wrong that necessitates the implementation of such a device? The article didn't explain that.

 

[Phreaxer]

My real question (for obvious selfish reasons) is whether or not they will try to issue citations based upon data being collected. I.e. speeding, or 5 people in a vehicle with only 3 seatbelts being used, etc... (for the record, if you're in my car, you're wearing a seatbelt, but that's a personal choice for everyone to make)