North Dakota Makes Vehicle Black Box Data Owner Property

I’m not sure whether I like this or not, but…via Endgaget:

In a rare case of having something positive to report in the political realm, the North Dakota legislature is the first to set a precedent by making the black box data sole property of the vehicle owner.

On the one hand, the black boxes (particularly when car purchasers aren’t told about them and, incidently are charged extra for them) are huge invasions of privacy. On the other, knowing what led up to an accident could save lives. At least they do with airplane crashes. Of course, airline black boxes contain information about the condition of the plane and many of its components, information not available from the automobile black boxes. (The automobile black boxes are limited driver-related items such as speed and direction. )

The North Dakota bill, Senate 2200, click here for the version as of this posting, would require that North Dakota purchasers and renters be notified about the existence of the black boxes and prohibit reading of the information contained in them except for safety studies, automobile repair or court order. (The bill is silent about the circumstances in which a court might order the reading, but presumably this could be evidence of liability in a traffic accident and available in an appropriate law suit.)