If you’ve experienced a Galveston, TX auto accident caused by another driver, you want to do all you can to prove the negligent driver‘s fault. If the other driver was behind the wheel of a vehicle from a fairly recent model year, he or she may well have had a black box in that car. And you may think that you can use that black box data to prove your claim. But there are still a lot of problems with using the black box data from cars.
For one thing, not all states accept black box data from cars as evidence in court.
And black boxes and their data lack uniformity.
Most car manufacturers have their own proprietary black box data recorders in their vehicles.
The different types of black boxes record different sets of data.
Many black boxes don’t allow their data to be extracted and read by third parties; only the manufacturer (or its authorized dealers) can extract the data using proprietary data readers.
A surprising number of black boxes, with their data, get thrown away and replaced when a wrecked vehicle undergoes repairs.
Black boxes only store limited amounts of data, usually just the 15 seconds prior to the impact.
If a catastrophic collision shuts down a car’s electrical system, the black box may record no data at all.
Black boxes store their data only for a short time. For instance, many delete their data after a set number of turns of the ignition key. With many black boxes, data might be lost after 200 turns of the key (usually about 6 to 8 weeks).
The U.S. DOT and NHTSA have said that by the 2013 auto model year, all cars must be equipped with standardized black boxes that all capture the same data in the same format. In addition, the agencies require the availability of commercial tools so that third parties like police agencies and insurers can readily download the black boxes’ data. The agencies have said that they will issue specific rules on this subject in October 2011.
Until car manufacturers all equip their cars with standardized data recorders, use of the black boxes in cars for proving liability remains difficult at best. So for now, if you need to prove another driver’s fault in causing your car crash, you still need the help of an experienced Galveston, TX auto accident attorney. Our law firm has the extensive experience and knowledge you need to prove your car accident case. Call us now for your free legal consultation.