Mandatory U.S tracking technology for 2015 new car models.

[EncryptedBytes]

What could very well become law beginning in 2015, all new cars in the United States will likely need to be fitted with data-recording devices very similar to the devices currently used in aircraft. The U.S. Senate has already passed a bill that will make the devices a requirement, and the House is expected to approve the bill as well. Section 31406 of Senate Bill 1813 states that mandatory event data recorders must in installed in all cars starting in 2015, and it outlines civil penalties that will be levied against violators.

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SEC. 31406. VEHICLE EVENT DATA RECORDERS.
(a) Mandatory Event Data Recorders-

(1) IN GENERAL- Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall revise part 563 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, to require, beginning with model year 2015, that new passenger motor vehicles sold in the United States be equipped with an event data recorder that meets the requirements under that part.

(2) PENALTY- The violation of any provision under part 563 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations--

(A) shall be deemed to be a violation of section 30112 of title 49, United States Code;

(B) shall be subject to civil penalties under section 30165(a) of that title; and

(C) shall not subject a manufacturer (as defined in section 30102(a)(5) of that title) to the requirements under section 30120 of that title.

(b) Limitations on Information Retrieval-

(1) OWNERSHIP OF DATA- Any data in an event data recorder required under part 563 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, regardless of when the passenger motor vehicle in which it is installed was manufactured, is the property of the owner, or in the case of a leased vehicle, the lessee of the passenger motor vehicle in which the data recorder is installed.

(2) PRIVACY- Data recorded or transmitted by such a data recorder may not be retrieved by a person other than the owner or lessee of the motor vehicle in which the recorder is installed unless--

(A) a court authorizes retrieval of the information in furtherance of a legal proceeding;

(B) the owner or lessee consents to the retrieval of the information for any purpose, including the purpose of diagnosing, servicing, or repairing the motor vehicle;

(C) the information is retrieved pursuant to an investigation or inspection authorized under section 1131(a) or 30166 of title 49, United States Code, and the 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; or

(D) the information is retrieved for the purpose of determining the need for, or facilitating, emergency medical response in response to a motor vehicle crash.

(c) Report to Congress- Two years after the date of implementation of subsection (a), the Secretary shall study the safety impact and the impact on individual privacy of event data recorders in passenger motor vehicles and report its findings to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives. The report shall include--

(1) the safety benefits gained from installation of event data recorders;

(2) the recommendations on what, if any, additional data the event data recorder should be modified to record;

(3) the additional safety benefit such information would yield;

(4) the estimated cost to manufacturers to implement the new enhancements;

(5) an analysis of how the information proposed to be recorded by an event data recorder conforms to applicable legal, regulatory, and policy requirements regarding privacy;

(6) a determination of the risks and effects of collecting and maintaining the information proposed to be recorded by an event data recorder;

(7) an examination and evaluation of the protections and alternative processes for handling information recorded by an event data recorder to mitigate potential privacy risks.

(d) Revised Requirements for Event Data Recorders- Based on the findings of the study under subsection (c), the Secretary shall initiate a rulemaking proceeding to revise part 563 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations. The rule--

(1) shall require event data recorders to capture and store data related to motor vehicle safety covering a reasonable time period before, during, and after a motor vehicle crash or airbag deployment, including a rollover;

(2) shall require that data stored on such event data recorders be accessible, regardless of vehicle manufacturer or model, with commercially available equipment in a specified data format;

(3) shall establish requirements for preventing unauthorized access to the data stored on an event data recorder in order to protect the security, integrity, and authenticity of the data; and

(4) may require an interoperable data access port to facilitate universal accessibility and analysis.

(e) Disclosure of Existence and Purpose of Event Data Recorder- The rule issued under subsection (d) shall require that any owner’s manual or similar documentation provided to the first purchaser of a passenger motor vehicle for purposes other than resale--

(1) disclose that the vehicle is equipped with such a data recorder; and

(2) explain the purpose of the data recorder.

(f) Access to Event Data Recorders in Agency 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 (d) not later than 4 years after the date of enactment of this Act.

[Palancar]

Just how big can "Big Brother" get? LOL!!

[zero_Phil]

That's got to be the final straw - somebody turn the lights out on their way out.

[Serapis]

I can see them requiring cams to be placed in homes to "protect" you from break ins. Cams in bathrooms will be mandatory just incase someone faints or bangs their head on the sink. A fibreoptic camera will be installed in the rectums of all citizens to monitor their health an well being to alert them on the event of colon tumors.

I love how privacy and freedom are emphasized everywhere in the great land of America, yet it is nowhere to be found.

[dw426]

A black box, minus audio recording capability, is in no way sinister. In fact they are invaluable in determining what might have gone wrong. That being said, it's way too easy to produce a modified one and add all sorts of goodies like GPS (though if you have anything like OnStar or TomTom, you already have it) you can't turn off.

If its anything at all like an aircraft black box, there's little to worry about. For one thing, if you're in a legitimate accident and survive, well, you either are at fault or you aren't. If you're dead, the contents of that black box won't be that much of a concern to you. I do understand the concern though, and it's something to watch.

[dw426]

Originally Posted by Serapis

I can see them requiring cams to be placed in homes to "protect" you from break ins.

With the increasing number of net-capable TVs, you're basically already being spied on. The "smarter" your toys and appliances are, the more likely it is you'll be tracked/watched in some way. No, that's not a call to return to rotary phones and Teletones, just something to be aware of.

[tgell]

Most production cars already have these black boxes (EDR's). GM's especially.

http://www.harristechnical.com/downloads/cdrlist.pdf

More up to date list.

http://www.rimkus.com/uploads/pdfs/Event_Data_Recorder.pdf

[ronjor]

By Darlene Storm
Busted! Your car's black box is spying, may be used against you in court

[chronomatic]

Not only that, but I saw a talk at the RSA conference this year where a guy was talking about how he can remotely hack the various computers put into cars nowadays. Even critical systems like the brakes can be turned off.

Link: -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5FeJ6DEaJw-

The dude talks about hacking cars at 27:30. The rest of the talk is worth watching if you are interested in cryptography as well.

[Noob]

Didn't they just approve the CISPA law?
So much for SOPA . . . and look what happened.

[TheWindBringeth]

Originally Posted by Noob

Didn't they just approve the CISPA law?

No. The House of Representatives passed a bill abbreviated CISPA. The Senate hasn't passed a bill yet. After both sides agree on a bill it goes to the President and if signed THEN becomes law. So there is theoretically still an opportunity to influence things.

[treehouse786]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2012...e-aa-black-box

its begun

[chronomatic]

Originally Posted by treehouse786

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2012...e-aa-black-box

its begun

I think we will see the prices of antique cars rise in the near future as demand goes up.

[Noob]

Wow, Insurance based on how you drive?
Although i usually drive kinda slow and maintain a stable speed i also every now and then step on the gas a little for fun (NOT driving recklessly, just straight line acceleration etc.) now that would be hard to do with this.