Speeding? Hit the brakes too fast? What if a tiny computer may be in your car recording your driving habits?
Currently auto makers voluntarily install them in cars, but in the wake of the
massive Toyota recall, federal regulators are considering making these systems mandatory. So how does it work and where can you find it?
When an accident occurs, responding officers spring into action. Drivers and witnesses are interviewed, measurements are taken, and the wrecked cars are hauled away. Most end up dumped next to piles of twisted and mangled metal. But hidden inside most cars, probably yours, is a device that has captured critical information.
Two-thirds of new cars have them. So do roughly 40 percent of cars already on the road. And safety officials are now considering making them mandatory on all new cars. The problem is most drivers have no idea it exists.
"I don't know much about them, but I would be a little shocked," says driver Danielle Lockhart.
"That would kind of freak me out kind of," says Whitney Rector.
The hidden device is called an Event Data Recorder or EDR. It's only activated when it senses the possibility of an air bag deployment. And it records critical data in seconds, before and during an accident.
"We always want to see how a driver is reacting at the time of an accident," says accident reconstructionist Mike Shaloski.
It's Shaloski's job to download the information from the recorder and then interpret the data.
"A lot of times we see situations where maybe an inattentive driver runs into an object. We can look at it. Were the brakes applied or not? The speed they were doing at that particular time. Maybe even in some circumstances where the steering wheel was in the position."
That data is increasingly finding its way into courtrooms as evidence in criminal and civil cases.
"As a plantiff's lawyer I like event data recorders," says attorney Michael Rainwater.
Attorney Michael Rainwater says EDR's provide objective data that can back up witness testimony. The EDR's don't lie.
"We truly are trying to get to the truth. And the quicker we can get there and more effectively we can get there, the sooner we can solve the problems," says Rainwater.
For example, June 9th, 2009, one of Rainwater's clients was making a left hand turn on Chenal Parkway when the driver of a Ford Mustang collided with his client. There were conflicting testimonies as to who was at fault until Rainwater got the EDR from the Ford Mustang.
"We know as a matter of fact, indisputable, that vehicle was traveling in excess of 80 miles an hour on Chenal," says Rainwater.
But the technology does raise questions about civil liberties. Many call it another example of Big Brother.
"I like my privacy, so I wouldn't want it to end up being public knowledge," says Danielle Lockhart.
"I think that should be up to the consumers to decide if they want that in their car or not," says Lisa Tolliver-Gay.
Others see the data recorders as a positive.
"I think it would be good. I think it would probably help my insurance rates go down," says Roger Snyder.
Whitney Rector says, "If I get in an accident and its not my fault they'll know my speed and everything."
Whatever your opinion is, know this, according to Arkansas state law you own the device and the only way anyone can obtain the data legally is if you give them permission or if a court of law subpoenas the data through a court order.
