Carmakers Must Reveal Black Boxes

(Akron/Tire Review) After more than a decade of study, US federal safety regulators have outlined minimum requirements for “black boxes” in vehicles, but stopped short of mandating them. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a new rule that says the devices, officially known as “event data recorders,” must be made more durable and that all automakers must collect the same type of data from them.

The rule, which takes effect in September 2010, also requires automakers to tell consumers if their vehicles are equipped with a black box by including the notification in owners’ manuals. The devices collect a variety of data in the moments before, during and after a crash, such as speed and acceleration, whether the driver was wearing a seat belt and whether the driver hit the accelerator or the brake.

Toyota Motor Corp. now installs the devices in all of its vehicles, while General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. equip nearly all their models. Just over half of DaimlerChrysler AG Chrysler Group models have the technology, said spokeswoman Shawn Morgan.