Black box?
07-03-2004, 03:21 AM
#1
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Black box?
I was wondering if anyone has any good information concerning electronic data recorders, called EDR's (or better known as a black box) in Mustang's. I have recently purchased a '04 GT and was wondering if I am being monitored, and how much information is gathered. From what I've read, these things are quite sofisticated. Something to think about. Check this out
07-03-2004, 12:45 PM
#4
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Join Date: Mar 2004
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RE: Black box?
They have them in almost every kind of new car. The nefarious thing is that it's not really listed equpment, so even calling Ford to ask where it is might not work. We (the police) can use them to determine the final 20-30 seconds before the air bags deploy. They don't record voices, but just about anything else you can imagine. Whether your blinker was on, hitting the accelerator or the brake, the speed, the rate of decceleration, amount of gas. If you can think of it as applying to the car, it's probably recorded. The box only stores less than 30 seconds at a time and it's constantly overwritten until your airbags deploy. Then the police or the insurance company can get ahold of it to determine if you were at fault if they really want to, ie, did you really hit the brakes, was your blinker on like you said it was, stuff like that. I guess the good thing is the info can only be collected after a crash, but how long before they incorporate it into something like OnStar and save a couple years worth of your driving habits to calculate your insurance rates or something? Sounds like big brother I know, but OnStar already tracks your car's location and speed and direction at will, and we've all run into spyware on the computer.
07-03-2004, 06:20 PM
#5
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RE: Black box?
It seems GM has been putting these devices in all their cars since 1999 and ford is following suit. I found this "Ford, meanwhile, began installing a Restraining Control Module in 1997 to control air bags and seat belts. It has since upgraded the module to record vehicle information five seconds before a crash, including front and side acceleration, driver and passenger air bag deployment and whether seat belts were buckled. " Check out the whole article Here. I still can't find any information on the Mustang.
07-03-2004, 06:41 PM
#6
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RE: Black box?
Ford did this first in 1996 when the first OBDII ECU's were used. Ford actually recorded things like driving habits, how much throttle you were giving the car, rpms, etc - long term type data. They got busted big time and the whole thing got hush hush. I heard about this at an OBDII seminar I attended back in the late 90's. I wasn't aware they were recording any information other than info used to run the vehicle more efficiently - I didn't think it was something "accepted" they could morally do. But, Ford was busted for "invading privacy" - I don't suppose storing information related to a crash would be invading, I dunno.
07-03-2004, 06:47 PM
#7
3rd Gear Member
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Bakersfield, CA
Posts: 518
RE: Black box?
I was at Toyota one time with my x getting her car service - I heard these two tech's talking about this kid on a Celica - they we're able to determine that he blew his engine because he switched gear from 5th gear to 2nd - they got that info from the box - I was overhearing all this info - they talked to the manager and he told them to call the kid and tell them how much it was going to be cuz they we're not going to cover his fuc< up... I was like "crazy!!!"
07-03-2004, 06:48 PM
#8
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Join Date: Jun 2004
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RE: Black box?
I've now read several articles of drivers being convicted due to the information downloaded from their EDR "Electronic Data Recorder" They were found guilty based on speeding, not braking, etc. They were pretty eye opening articles. There is now a pilot program from Ford that ties this information to satelite tracking. They say it's for speeders on toll road, but some fear this information will lead to a "Big Brother" effect.
