The Feds have spoken: No exposure without disclosure. This week, the NHTSA gave automakers a green light to put black-box data recorders aboard new vehicles, but from 2011 onward they must inform car buyers if a model carries such a box. (Currently, 60% of new cars have them.) That'll give regulators and manufacturers plenty of time to work up a standard-triplicate disclosure document (yours is the pink copy) buyers will likely sign and date at purchase time. The agency will also set a baseline requirement for the amount of data the boxes collect during a crash at 15 pieces, including speed, seat belt use (binary), and which pedal a driver hit beforehand. That last one would indemnify carmakers in cases of accidental acceleration. Thanks, Big Bro. Er, sort of.

NHTSA requires disclosing "black box" details [AutoBlog]

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