[Brinworld] LATimes article on Event Data Recorders, privacy, teentrackers

[Major Variola (ret.)]

June 24, 2003
                    BEHIND THE WHEEL
                    A Key Witness at Crash Scenes: the Black Box
                      Helping investigators reconstruct accidents, data
recorders are not just for jets anymore. But their use has
                    raised privacy concerns.

...
Most other car makers also use this technology. But GM, and now Ford
Motor Co., decided to allow others
                    access to the data. In 2000, Santa Barbara-based
Vetronix Corp. began selling a data-retrieval system that
                    enables insurance and accident investigators to
download data recorder information. The California Highway
                    Patrol and 10 other law enforcement departments in
the state have the retrieval systems, which cost about
                    $2,500.
...
Jon Cherney, an Irvine police investigator, used data recorder
information to
                    catch a Rancho Palos Verdes man in a recent
hit-and-run collision. Although the man had denied being
                    involved in the accident, Cherney said the recorder
from his impounded car showed it had been in an
                    accident in the same time period. The case is
pending, he said.
...
Recently, a consumer variant of the black box has become available. The
device, marketed to parents of
                    teens, emits beeps and other noises when a driver
exceeds 70 mph, takes a turn too quickly or doesn't wear
                    a seat belt. Devices installed by car makers don't
record such regular driving details.

                    Who actually owns the data recorder information is a
central question in the debate over whether it
                    represents an invasion of drivers' privacy.

                    "Your car effectively spies on you," said Marc
Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy
                    Information Center, a civil liberties group based in
Washington, D.C. "It's a little like having the guy from
                    Allstate in the back seat of your car."
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http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-wheel24jun24235621,1,7942363.story?coll=la-headlines-california