Toyota fallout: Congress proposes new fees, 'black boxes' (hold executives personally accountable)

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2010/04/congress-proposes-new-vehicle-fee-and-black-boxes-in-new-cars/1

The scandal over Toyota's safety shortcomings is resulting in new legislation in Congress.

New cars and trucks would be required to carry black boxes to record crash information and automakers would pay fees -- $3 per vehicle initially -- to help fund the government's auto safety agency under a series of proposals in Congress in response to Toyota's massive recalls, the Associated Press is reporting.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday released a draft to shore up vehicle safety and better fund the government's safety watchdog, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The measure are generally viewed as a reaction to the Toyota scandals, which so far have resulted in recall of 8 million vehicles worldwide. Another recall was announced just this week.

The draft legislation would eliminate the cap on civil penalties an automaker could face and allow NHTSA to order an immediate recall if it finds an "imminent hazard of death or serious injury." It would also require new safety standards related to brake override systems, the prevention of pedals from getting trapped in floor mats and vehicle electronics, the AP said.

The legislation would also hold executives personally accountable:

FULL story at link.

Noble in principle, but likely a disaster in practice.

Insurance companies undoubtedly would use them, for instance, to show that a driver had a history of driving over the speed limit, and they'd use this as justification to deny a claim for an accident that actually wasn't the driver's fault.

Alternatively, if there were a GPS component, the black boxes would certainly be used to track a driver's movements retroactively, thereby compromising personal privacy at the very least.

http://www.komonews.com/news/problemsolvers/92445284.html

Note that all car makers except Toyota have open source codes.

At the bottom of the article: A small box called an Event Data Recorder (EDR) is the key. It records speed, throttle, engine RPM and brake status. Toyota has the only software able to decode the data inside, but refused the Eves' plea for help.

"Right from the start, Toyota has used nothing but a bunker mentality about trying to help us," Ron said.

But after Senator Maria Cantwell saw our reports she questioned the North American CEO of Toyota, Yoshi Inaba during a Senate hearing and he promised to unlock the answers on the Eves' EDR.

snip: Toyota's analysis of the Eves' EDR includes data from five seconds before and one second after the crash. The five seconds of pre-crash data show Chris's truck traveling at about 75 miles an hour with no braking. After the crash, the data show a velocity change of 177 miles per hour. That number is meant to show the severity of the impact, but experts say the numbers are impossible.


Most new GM's have had GP for several years included with OnStar. It's in my 09 Cobalt. I have no problem with that. Stolen cars are easier to find. Lost and need directions. hurt in a crash and in shock, emergency crews can still find you. Etc.

Do they, for instance, show that Bob was parked outside the local crackhouse on 9/21/2009? That, I think, would be problematic. A GP navigation system is fine and a very helpful tool (unless you're driving in Pittsburgh, where such directions are impossible.)

And a limit of X seconds or minutes before a crash would be acceptable, too. I'm more worried about a record of the vehicle's long-term history.

Otherwise it is moment by moment. I asked (blue button on the mirror) and that was the answer the operator gave me.

They're probably watching you right now.


And now.




And now.

They are intended to record things like speed, throttle and brake use before a crash. But they do so using the same signals that the vehicle's computer does. In the case of Toyota's throttle problems, if a faulty signal from the pedal or associated electronics were at fault, the throttle position data would simply make it appear the driver had floored it.