Privacy concerns related to the ordinary EDR (the non-OnStar EDRs) may overestimate the ability of others to extract the data from it. Traditionally, most automakers have installed their own proprietary versions of the EDR. Only their own dealers that have the proprietary extraction tool can access and download the data. That’s been a problem for insurance companies and government authorities wanting access to the data. Federal authorities are making rules to standardize the black box and the tools that can extract the data.
And your Tomball, TX accident lawyer reminds you that many cars still don’t possess an EDR. In the absence of a requirement to install one, many automakers didn’t. As of the 2011 model year, new car owners’ manuals have to state whether the car has a black box or not and, if so, where it is located.
But that doesn’t help owners to turn off the devices. The EDRs can’t be turned off. They form integral parts of the car’s computerized sensing and diagnostic system to help the vehicle avoid wrecks or deploy airbags when needed.
It will not be until the 2013 model year that passenger vehicles must all come equipped with a standardized black box. Automakers first began to install EDRs in some vehicles in the mid 1990s. Owners of these older vehicles sometimes find themselves surprised to discover that they’ve had an EDR silently recording their driving data for all these years. They often don’t learn about the presence of the EDR until after they’ve had a significant wreck and the insurance companies want to extract the data.
Tomball, TX accident lawyer clarifies that generally, interested parties can only extract the EDR data with the consent of the vehicle owner or with a court order.
Beware the implications of ownership transfer: If you relinquish your car to salvage after a wreck, the salvage yard becomes the owner. And if the insurance company or police want the EDR data, the salvage owner will provide permission to extract it. And sometimes the insurance company will buy the salvaged vehicle directly.
Extracting the data usually only involves attaching a cord, and then running it to a laptop computer. Special software will actually “read” the EDR data. But some vehicles, for instance the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze, allow the EDR data to be easily extracted wirelessly through the OnStar system. And car dealers can easily download EDR data on their make of vehicle.
Some automakers maintain that the whole purpose behind including EDRs in their vehicles related to safety research. They claim that the data has helped them to design better airbags and other safety features for your car.
But those that benefit most from the EDR devices may be the insurance companies. The EDR data allows them to establish with more certainty who was at fault in an accident, as well as the “how and why” of an accident event. This can help you establish the other driver’s fault after you’ve been injured in an accident. The insurance companies can also use the data in some instances to evaluate drivers’ driving habits and to determine what their insurance rates should be.
Tomball, TX accident lawyer mentions that if considering the power of your EDR device to finger you for fault worries you. Consider how much more data your cell phone provides about you every single day. Your cell phone, particularly a “smart phone,” can tell others where you go, to whom you speak, what Internet sites you look up, what you purchase, and more. And many people deliberately link themselves to “find” features that tell others their whereabouts at all times. And your cell phone data is stored longer, more widely, and is more easily accessible to far more people than your EDR data. Unless you have OnStar, your EDR doesn’t much invade your privacy. Your cell phone, on the other hand, just throws your privacy out the window.