mandate Archives | AutoDepot

Filed under: Technology

electronic data recorder Are you ready for a black box to be installed in your car? The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration apparently is. According to a new report from Wired, NHTSA is expected to rule next month that all new cars will need to carry just such a device.

Now, before you get all “Screw the Gubment!” in the comments, you should know that many modern cars already have black box systems installed – you might have one and not even know it. General Motors, for instance, has been installed the electronic data recorders since the 1990s, on almost all vehicles fitted with airbags.

The concern for most drivers, however, lies with what type of information is captured, and who has access to it. Also, different automakers use different Electronic Data Recorder devices. A black box standard needs to be developed, which would allow for the data retrieved from an EDR to be consistent regardless of the vehicle make it’s pulled from.

Some view this mandate as an invasion of motorists’ privacy. However, the data recovered from the black box systems can provide crucial insight into crash dynamics. Exactly who’s allowed to view that information varies by state, of course, and only 13 states currently have legislation in place regulating the release of EDR data.

What do you think, is this a good idea, or a bad one? Have your say in Comments.

NHTSA expected to mandate black boxes in all cars next month originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 24 May 2011 14:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Report: NHTSA expected to mandate black boxes in all cars next month”

Filed under: Hybrid, Government/Legal, Electric, Diesel

Carl Levin

Michigan Senator Carl Levin has been called the auto industry’s best friend by detractors who say he’s worked hard to obtain that title by defending the status quo. At the 2010 Business of Plugging In conference in downtown Detroit today, though, he made some comments that might put a stop to such name-calling. Levin said he wants to end what he sees as the small, incremental approach to cleaner vehicles the U.S. government is using today in favor of a huge and comprehensive program. “Our goal should be nothing less than making electric vehicles affordable and attractive to every American family,” he said.

Levin talked about seriously overhauling how the U.S. government promotes cleaner vehicles. He said there are three policy drivers pushing us in this direction today: climate change (which he said “is real, it is urgent and we either deal with it now or our children and grandchildren will have to deal with it later when the remedies will be much more difficult, much more expensive and much less effective.”), national security (i.e., oil independence) and the desire for a thriving manufacturing sector (i.e., jobs).

What has held the U.S. back from dealing with these issues in a coordinated way? Levin cited a fear of government support of manufacturing because that was considered industrial policy, what he termed “the kiss of death”:

While our government refused to partner actively with American manufacturers, our competitors were establishing partnerships and making investments to position their manufacturers for the future. The second impediment was the ability of oil-exporting nations to play like a yo-yo.

America made progress on fuel efficiency gains in the 1970s, Levin said, but OPEC knew how to set us back:

Oil ministers of those nations made it clear they would keep the price of oil at a low enough level so that alternative energy sources would not make economic sense and that distracted us from the fact that ending out dependence on imported oil in our long-term economic interest, beyond the need for environmental and security reasons.

Continue reading Senator Levin in favor of a bolder clean vehicle mandate to replace CAFE

Senator Levin in favor of a bolder clean vehicle mandate to replace CAFE originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 13 Oct 2010 17:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Senator Levin in favor of a bolder clean vehicle mandate to replace CAFE”