AutoVIBES: Is your car spying on you?

Attention readers: If you drive an American car manufactured after 1999 or a Japanese car manufactured after 2005, it is likely there is a spy nestled somewhere in your car. This spy does not require oxygen, good weather, or attention to function, but is smart enough to unfailingly record your driving habits and vehicle's movements. This spy is actually an EDR (Event Data Recorder) or "black box," found today in many newer vehicles, and mandatory on all new U.S-sold vehicles for the 2013 model year. The device usually hides within the dash, under the seat, or in the engine compartment, and begins storing information when sensors indicate a crash is about to occur. It records driving speed, steering effort, brake usage, exact gas-pedal position, whether stability control was on or off, and whether or not a seatbelt was worn at the time of the event. The system stores data seconds before and minutes after the impact and readily releases the data upon being hooked up to a laptop computer or similar device. The system is so interlinked with the overall operation of the car that attempting to disconnect it could result in the failure of one or more crucial systems. Does this seem more like a safety device or an invasion of privacy?

The argument for the EDR is improved safety, the idea being that auto company engineers can use this information to make improvements to a vehicle's safety response system. Interestingly, information on EDR is buried within the owner's manual and is never advertised by car companies as a safety feature. Is that admitting that the black box really serves no purpose for the consumer other than to be potentially used against him?

According to AutoWeek magazine, one man has already canceled his order on the new $82,000 Nissan GT-R Super-car due to its unique and ultra-clever spy, dubbed VSDR (vehicle status data recorder). Adding to the already-meddling EDR system, the VSDR is always recording and storing data, not just during an extreme driving instance such as an accident. The system can store anywhere from days to weeks of data that service personnel view at service checkpoints to "help monitor the performance of various onboard systems in the highly advanced car." Critics see an ulterior motive: to prevent street-racing and reckless driving by voiding the warranty based on VSDR data. For example, Nissan warns that the warranty will not cover problems that occur while the vehicle dynamic control is switched off (a choice often made if attempting to have fun with your very expensive toy). With this data recording device, Nissan is in a way destructing the relationship between car and driver. It seems that if someone pays $82,000 for a car (or $25,000 for that matter), he should not have to worry about what is being recorded during each driving decision. Rest assured, the VSDR does not yet record sounds or images.

If VSDRs are already showing up in cars, when will the technology record sound and imagery to the black box? Ten? Fifteen? Twenty years? Will advanced black box systems be linked to GPS systems so that police officers and insurance companies can monitor and cite drivers without actually being near them? All of these issues are buzzing around the black box debate, and the question being asked is where will consumers draw the line? As of now, some manufacturers permit law enforcement and government investigators to access the EDR data while others limit EDR access to their own company. There have even been insurance claims and lawsuits solely based on data from the EDR system: In one case, Joe was hit by Tom and Joe was put in a coma for six months. In court, the EDR system revealed that Tom had been violating the speed limit by 3 mph at the time of the crash; Joe won the $10 million lawsuit.

When advanced EDR systems begin interfering with warranties and insurance claims, it seems that they often create a win-lose situation for the owner of the car. The Nissan GT-R is more than willing to pin its driver to the seatback or extract life from a curvaceous road, but the VSDR system acts as a mental leash, threatening "recording" of an act otherwise ignored by the car itself. If the interest of safety is truly paramount, perhaps manufacturers should integrate this system on tester vehicles only. As of now, German and Korean companies have refused to place these systems in their cars. Rob Moran, a representative for industry-leader Mercedes-Benz, said, "We have not viewed that feature as necessary or beneficial for the brand or our customers." If you too do not want Big Brother spying on you, my advice is to restore your favorite classic or buy the nicest 2012 Mercedes you can find and drive it for life, because sometimes driving is about those special moments between car and driver that no one should be capable of monitoring.