Is Your Car Spying On You? If You Have An Airbag, It Is!

Everyone knows that all commercial airliners, as well as many private aircraft, carry what is commonly referred to as a “black box”. These devices record virtually everything there is to know about a flight. They have proven to be quite valuable, on numerous occasions, when investigating airline accidents. It may however surprise you to learn that the same technology has been deployed in your car, if you drive an automobile with an airbag.

The automakers started to introduce this technology to assist them in designing better passenger restraint systems. They just didn’t inform consumers that they were doing this.

The data that is recorded by these devices includes your speed, braking, skid distance, etc…. If you are involved in an accident, you can almost be assured that the black box in your car has recorded it.

While automobile manufacturers may have introduced this technology for a good purpose, unfortunately it is now being used for a multitude of other things. Insurance carriers know about these devices too. They are now using them to determine fault in accidents, and for assigning the rate you pay for insurance accordingly. The police have also begun using these devices in their investigations. This means that you shouldn’t even think about lying about your speed, or if you were driving eratically prior to an accident, even if the only thing you hit is a tree.

You may or may not think that a device recording your driving habits is an invasion of your privacy. The State of California has determined that installing such a device, and not telling consumers about it, is definitely a privacy violation. Therefore, a landmark law is set to go into effect in California next year requiring automobile dealers to inform consumers about black boxes contained in the cars that they sell. Consumers can then decide if they want to leave the devices installed, or disable them.

There is one very real upside to being aware of this technology. If you are involved in an accident that is not your fault, but the other driver is trying to blame you, tell your insurance company to check out the black boxes in both cars. The chances are that the accident was recorded in detail.