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Event Data Recorder Information - Misfortune

Auto Black Box - By Perry Zucker

Safety Act Of 2010 (S.3302)

The Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 2010 (S.3302) - 111TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION, which would have been an amendment to FMVSS Title 49, US Code. This act would have addressed several issues concerning motor vehicle safety, they are as followed: Title - (I) Vehicle Electronics And Safety Standards, (II) Enhanced Safety Authorities,

(III) Transparency and Accountability, (IV) Funding.

In Title (I) - Sec. 107 Vehicle Event Data Recorders, which stated " (a) MANDATORY EVENT DATA RECORDERS.—Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall require that all passenger vehicles be equipped with an event data recorder that meets the requirements for such recorders established in part 563 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations. The Secretary shall require compliance with such requirement for all passenger vehicles manufactured in the first model year that is 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act. (b) Revised Requirements For Event Data Recorders.—The Secretary shall initiate a rulemaking proceeding requiring that the event data recorders required to be installed in passenger vehicles pursuant to subsection (a)— (1) be temperature, water, crash, and tamper resistant; and (2) continuously record vehicle operational data that can be accessed for retrieval and analysis in accordance with subsections (c) and (d). (c) SPECIFICATIONS.—The rule - (1) shall require such recorders to record, for a reasonable time before, during, and after a crash or airbag deployment, information that includes engine performance, steering, braking, acceleration, vehicle speed, seat belt use, and airbag deployment level, deactivation status, deployment time, and deployment stage, and may require such recorders to record other data, such as data related to vehicle rollovers, as the Secretary considers appropriate; (2) shall require such recorders to record data for at least 60 seconds prior to, and 15 seconds after, a crash or airbag deployment; (3) may require such recorders to capture certain events such as rapid deceleration, full-throttle acceleration lasting

more than 15 seconds, and full braking lasting more than 10 seconds, even if there is not a crash or airbag deployment; (4) may not require information recorded or transmitted by such data recorders to include the vehicle’s location; shall require that data stored on such recorders be accessible, regardless of vehicle manufacturer or model, with commercially available equipment; and (6) shall specify data format requirements and other requirements, and shall require an interoperable data access port to facilitate universal accessibility and analysis. (d) LIMITATIONS ON INFORMATION RETRIEVAL.— (1) OWNERSHIP OF DATA.—The rule issued under subsection (b) shall provide that any data in a data recorder required under the rule is the property of the owner or lessee of the motor vehicle in which the data recorder is installed. (2) PRIVACY.—The rule issued under sub16 section (b) shall provide that information recorded or transmitted by such a data recorder may personally identifiable information of the owner, lessee, or driver of the vehicle and the vehicle identification number is not disclosed in connection with the retrieved information. (e) DISCLOSURE OF EXISTENCE AND PURPOSE OF EVENT DATA RECORDER.—The rule issued under sub section (b) shall provide that any owner’s manual or similar, documentation provided to the first purchaser of a passenger vehicle for purposes other than resale shall disclose that the vehicle is equipped with such a data recorder and explain the purpose of the recorder. (f) ACCESS TO EVENT DATA RECORDERS IN DEFECT INVESTIGATIONS.—Section 30166(c)(3)(C) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘, including any electronic data contained within the vehicle’s diagnostic system or event data recorder after ‘‘equipment. (g) DEADLINE FOR RULEMAKING.—The Secretary shall issue a final rule under subsection (b) not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act. (h) LEAD-TIME.—The rule issued under subsection (b) shall take effect beginning with passenger vehicles manufactured in the first model year that is 2 years after the date on which a final rule is issued under this section".(**)

Unfortunately , The Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 2010 (S.3302) never passed beyond the House of Representatives, as to date of this article (06/14/2011). Notwithstanding, if this bill would have passed, it would have addressed several issues concerning motor vehicle safety, and detailed specs on the Auto Black Box - Vehicle Event Data Recorder.

Event Data Recorder - Conclusion

The Auto Black Box - Vehicle Event Data Recorder, should never be used as a stand-alone device. The use of physical evidence, such as impact data, skid/yaw marks, initial/resting positions of vehicle(s) as well as eye witnesses, in conjunction with mandatory federal regulated vehicle black box laws / regulations, will assist engineers with the proximate causes of vehicle accidents.

The assassination of the Safety Act of 2010 (S.3302), diminished some of the causation's of vehicle accidents, from a new technology point of view.

** Source: NHTSA

This article entitled Misfortune Of The Event Data Recorder - Safety Act 2010 Auto Black Box is for informational purposes

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