Legislation regulating the use of information from a motor vehicle "black box," a computer chip that stores information on speed and seat belt use, is being considered by state lawmakers in Tennessee and several others states, including Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota and Virginia. The measures would require buyers to be told if their new car or truck is equipped with a black box and also would prohibit the data from being used in court unless there is a court order. 

General Motors lobbyist Thomas Kelsch said it makes no sense to bar information from the computer chip from being used in court. "What's the societal good that would result from the suppression of valuable crash data?" Kelsch asked. Others disagree, saying it's a matter of privacy. Critics such as North Dakota State Senator Raymon Holmberg worry the data could be used to track driving habits or be used against a driver who has an accident, without the driver's consent or knowledge. "When I bought my car," Holmberg said, "I didn't realize I was also buying a highway patrolman to sit in the back seat."

About 15 percent of vehicles -- or about 30 million cars and trucks -- are equipped with black boxes, according to the National Highway Transportation Administration.

States Debate Privacy and 'Black Boxes' (Arizona Republic 3/25/05)

April 5, 2005