20-12-2012, 03:22 PM
BLACK BOXES FOR SAFER, GREENER TRAVEL
[attachment=44580]
INTRODUCTION
In 2005, 1.3 million people were killed in road crashes, more than 3500 each day. Over 40% of those
killed will have been under the age of 30 and will only have lived half of their life at most. Road deaths
are predicted to increase further - by 60% before 2015, with 90% of this increase occurring in low and
middle income countries. A simple, cheap and increasingly available technology – Event Date
Recorders (EDRs) or ‘Black Boxes’ - could dramatically reverse the escalating problem of road death
and long-term disability. The same technology could also take pressure off the planet by reducing fuel
consumption and carbon emissions. Greater use of black boxes would prevent many crashes and
make driving greener.
What are black boxes?
Black boxes or EDRs are used to improve safety by monitoring how cars are being driven. There are
different types of black boxes and they are used for different purposes. At their most basic, they
record changes in speed, acceleration and direction of travel. Some use this information to activate
safety devices such as airbags and anti-locking brakes. Others, installed after manufacture, use the
information for driver training, crash reconstruction and crash prevention. Fleet managers use aftermarket
black boxes to reduce the costs of crashes to businesses. Parents in North America and
insurance companies in Europe use them to protect young drivers.
Proving responsibility for crashes and crash damage
Black boxes can provide accurate, objective and reliable data about what happened during a crash.
Such data would reduce arguments over facts and lead to fairer trials, protecting the interests of crash
victims, vehicle owners and drivers. It would help to speed up court and insurance proceedings.
In several North American court cases, EDR evidence has been decisive in establishing innocence or
guilt. It has been used to secure convictions in cases of dangerous driving and hit and run cases, and
to prove actual speeds contrary to witness testimony. In an important recent case the black box
showed that a driver who killed two teenage girls had been travelling at 103mph in a 30mph speed
limit one second before the crash and at 114mph four seconds before. A defence expert had argued
that the defendant had been travelling 57mph and the state's expert had estimated a minimum
speed of 80-98mph (4). In another case EDR evidence was used to exonerate a driver when brake
failure had caused the crash. EDR data would also help deter insurance fraud, benefiting all insured
drivers.
Reducing distances travelled and thus climate change
Fleet management and insurance policies using black box data potentially help to reduce distances
travelled, which also reduces casualties and emissions. A study of the potential effect of distancebased
passenger car insurance in Los Angeles, USA, estimated that the distances driven would be
reduced by nearly 5% and congestion by nearly 10%, partly by discouraging unnecessary driving and
driving during the rush hour when more crashes occur (5). Smoother driving improves vehicle fuel
consumption and reduces CO2 emissions.
[attachment=44580]
INTRODUCTION
In 2005, 1.3 million people were killed in road crashes, more than 3500 each day. Over 40% of those
killed will have been under the age of 30 and will only have lived half of their life at most. Road deaths
are predicted to increase further - by 60% before 2015, with 90% of this increase occurring in low and
middle income countries. A simple, cheap and increasingly available technology – Event Date
Recorders (EDRs) or ‘Black Boxes’ - could dramatically reverse the escalating problem of road death
and long-term disability. The same technology could also take pressure off the planet by reducing fuel
consumption and carbon emissions. Greater use of black boxes would prevent many crashes and
make driving greener.
What are black boxes?
Black boxes or EDRs are used to improve safety by monitoring how cars are being driven. There are
different types of black boxes and they are used for different purposes. At their most basic, they
record changes in speed, acceleration and direction of travel. Some use this information to activate
safety devices such as airbags and anti-locking brakes. Others, installed after manufacture, use the
information for driver training, crash reconstruction and crash prevention. Fleet managers use aftermarket
black boxes to reduce the costs of crashes to businesses. Parents in North America and
insurance companies in Europe use them to protect young drivers.
Proving responsibility for crashes and crash damage
Black boxes can provide accurate, objective and reliable data about what happened during a crash.
Such data would reduce arguments over facts and lead to fairer trials, protecting the interests of crash
victims, vehicle owners and drivers. It would help to speed up court and insurance proceedings.
In several North American court cases, EDR evidence has been decisive in establishing innocence or
guilt. It has been used to secure convictions in cases of dangerous driving and hit and run cases, and
to prove actual speeds contrary to witness testimony. In an important recent case the black box
showed that a driver who killed two teenage girls had been travelling at 103mph in a 30mph speed
limit one second before the crash and at 114mph four seconds before. A defence expert had argued
that the defendant had been travelling 57mph and the state's expert had estimated a minimum
speed of 80-98mph (4). In another case EDR evidence was used to exonerate a driver when brake
failure had caused the crash. EDR data would also help deter insurance fraud, benefiting all insured
drivers.
Reducing distances travelled and thus climate change
Fleet management and insurance policies using black box data potentially help to reduce distances
travelled, which also reduces casualties and emissions. A study of the potential effect of distancebased
passenger car insurance in Los Angeles, USA, estimated that the distances driven would be
reduced by nearly 5% and congestion by nearly 10%, partly by discouraging unnecessary driving and
driving during the rush hour when more crashes occur (5). Smoother driving improves vehicle fuel
consumption and reduces CO2 emissions.