Auto Black Boxes?

[Dr. Cheese]

I saw from a few sources that the LA County Sheriff plans to look in the black box of Tiger Woods’s Genesis SUV to check his speed at the time of his wreck. How common are auto black boxes because I never heard of them before. I know I would not want to pay for a feature that could tell on me.

 

[charlie monroe]

Sorry Doc.

Pretty sure these have been ubiquitous in domestic cars for the last decade or two.

 

[buldog5151bass]

If you have a car without vintage license plates, they are filled with computers. Add in GPS and EZ pass units. Think about it It's not a matter of whether they can trace where/how you've been, but whether they get access to the information legally.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

Sorry Doc.

Pretty sure these have been ubiquitous in domestic cars for the last decade or two.

I had no idea. Ignorance is bliss!

 

[Oddly]

The trouble really starts when the wife gets access...

 

[Dr. Cheese]

The trouble really starts when the wife gets access...

 

[Dr. Cheese]

If you have a car without vintage license plates, they are filled with computers. Add in GPS and EZ pass units. Think about it It's not a matter of whether they can trace where/how you've been, but whether they get access to the information legally.

I knew about the other stuff, I did not know about an airplane style black box.

 

[viper4000]

The real kicker is whether the data is stored in the car's onboard computer or if that data was sent to the manufacturer's cloud. So, maybe there isn't a black box at all, just gaining access to the cloud data.

A key difference I would surmise is that an airplane's black box has access to the radio comms. Your auto more than likely does not.

 

[charlie monroe]

The real kicker is whether the data is stored in the car's onboard computer or if that data was sent to the manufacturer's cloud. So, maybe there isn't a black box at all, just gaining access to the cloud data.

A key difference I would surmise is that an airplane's black box has access to the radio comms. Your auto more than likely does not.

They aren't networked, but it requires proprietary equipment to retrieve data. Some states require warrants for search.

 

[viper4000]

They aren't networked, but it requires proprietary equipment to retrieve data. Some states require warrants for search.

Didn't think it was common place, just thinking of the premium services like what GM and others had where they have reps available to assist in emergencies that will know where you are before you tell them. Didn't they also know if you were in an accident? Maybe I am misremembering it.

 

[rtslinger]

OnStar anyone? ha ha ha

 

[charlie monroe]

Didn't think it was common place, just thinking of the premium services like what GM and others had where they have reps available to assist in emergencies that will know where you are before you tell them. Didn't they also know if you were in an accident? Maybe I am misremembering it.

You are remembering correctly. I was in an accident a handful of years ago as a passenger. OnStar did indeed verify by voice that we were in a wreck and dispatched emergency services on our behalf.

 

[scottm]

I did not know this either

-ScottM

 

[Gaolee]

I knew about the other stuff, I did not know about an airplane style black box.

I don't know how much data the black box keeps. My understanding is that it's not all that much. Maybe ten seconds at a time. But, I probably don't know what I'm talking about. Ignorance will keep me blissful. The bike has a feature that records top speed. I reset that fairly regularly for some reason.

 

[fhm555]

When i traveling for work, my truck had a box that gathered data on a (I think) 15 minute loop. It gathered engine and drivetrain data along with speed and other assorted info. That was in the early 2000’s.

 

[S-Bigbottom]

If your car has a scan port it knows what the engine was doing. (all cars 96 and newer, at least the last few minutes.)
If it has GPS it knows all.

 

[Richland123]

In the auto insurance claim business, they are frequently used to determine who us at fault for accidents especially when speeding, failure to signal, and braking come into question as well as many other things.