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[bob ford <bobford79 AT yahoo.com>]

"Black box on board
New standards for automotive "big brother" take effect in 2012


...........All data recorded by the EDR technically are owned by the vehicle 
owner or lessee, but every manufacturer has adopted a variation of a policy 
spelled out in most owner's manuals that says data will be released only with 
the permission of the owner or under court order to third parties and 
law-enforcement officers. Safety agencies also may have access to the data 
with vehicle owners' permission.

Although NHTSA's policymaking led to an industry standard for EDR data 
collection, which will allow far wider use of the gathered information, the 
agency did nothing to place additional restraints on the use of the 
information. ......... 

But Jim Baxter, president of the watchdog National Motorists Association, 
noted that this does nothing to constrain law-enforcement accident 
investigators, private eyes and other interested parties-such as 
manufacturers and insurance companies-from getting a court order to download 
the information. 

"NHTSA did issue a rule that the units must generate specific information," 
Baxter said, "but that doesn't prevent them from collecting more information. 
There's pretty much no limit on what they can collect."........... "



http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080924/FREE/809189970/1023/THISWEEKSISSUE

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