NHTSA Expected to "Black Box" Mandate

Federal safety officials are expected to soon finalize a standard that would require all light vehicles sold in the U.S. to be equipped with crash event recorders, The Detroit News reports.

Congress mandated the recorders in 2010. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration already requires about 92% of light vehicles to carry a so-called black box, according to the News.

The devices maintain a continuously updated record of such data as seatbelt usage, accelerator position, lateral forces and braking. After a crash, they can be used to determine conditions shortly before, during and after impact.

Beginning with the 2013 model year, a previous NHTSA ruling also mandates 15 measurements to be captured and standardizes how the data is recorded and accessed.

The latter became an issue in 2010 during probes of unintended-acceleration crashes of Toyota vehicles. Safety investigators discovered that only the carmaker was able to download information from its non-standard system a problem Toyota remedied by providing its data readers to government officials.

The News notes that General Motors Co. began installing event recorders more than 20 years ago. The newspaper says GM, Ford, Mazda and Toyota are among carmakers who already equip all their U.S. cars and light trucks with the devices.

Proponents, which include the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, say the recorders provide valuable input to improve safety features. Opponents worry that the accessing the captured data could infringe upon the driver's rights. AAM says carmakers don't access the information without consumer permission.

NHTSA was cleared to expand its mandate for the recorders on Thursday in a ruling by the White House Office of Management and Budget. Backers of the extension include AAM.