Downloading data from an EDR. pic via Wikipedia
Event Data Recorders (EDR) have been placed in many vehicles. It records data from various points in a "blackbox" style fashion. It helps with diagnostics and also when something fails. General Motors vehicles have been fitted with EDRs, recording 30 points of data, since the 1990s. Now, most new vehicles have something similar. Later this year the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will propose a law to require every motor vehicle to have a blackbox EDR, that will be accessible by authorities and the laws that be. In some ways it will help people in court argue their case, but expose others. It may help insurance companies raise rates. General prying into one's automotive life, in other words.
Some may say this is government overreaching of authority. I disagree. Recently, I had thought that cars should have a blackbox. Every moment should be logged in the case of a disaster. I would like the blackbox to go even further. I would like it to record other vehicles that are in proximity at any point. Hit and runs, accidental damage when one is not around, and the people at fault getting away will be a thing of the past. For the time being, local data logging is fine.
Is this going too far? Should be all just drive classic cars from now on?
Eavesdropper
