Feds to Mandate Black Box on all New Cars

DETROIT — Federal safety regulators, who allowed auto companies to voluntarily install event data recorders on their vehicles a few years ago, are now looking into whether the systems should be required, the head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Thursday.---
The recorders, sometimes referred to as “black boxes,” like those on airplanes, record events from five to 30 seconds before a crash, and soon afterward.  The devices, which are generally linked to air bags, note information like the speed of the car, whether the driver was applying the brakes and other facts that can be downloaded and analyzed.  Link: NY Times