...

"Engineers join push for automotive black boxes
Efforts to place 'black box' data recorders into automobiles are gaining momentum and the IEEE plans to have a standard for such recorders completed next year. Delphi Corp.’s black box (shown) already captures crash data in racing vehicles."

http://www.eet.com/sys/news/OEG20020419S0100

is this like good or bad?

 

Good if you're not at fault, bad if you are at fault and hope that lies will get you out of being at fault.

Good idea IMO.

Albert

 

It's a good idea in principle, but the the privacy implications really worry me.

 

There are 5th amendment questions here. If I'm forced to give up my black box for evidence in a prosecution against me, then is that a violation of my right to silence & to not incriminate myself?

If the driver could choose whether or not the information is used against him, then there are no constitutional problems...

People will claim that it's just an attempt to evade justice and that you should be forced to give it up - the same people must therefore also believe the 5th amendment is invalid.