Effective from July 6, 2022!
All newly approved car models to be sold in Europe must be equipped with an “event data blogger”. A “black box” for recording vital data, much like the ones routinely used in modern aircraft. From July 2024 it will be mandatory on all new cars sold.
The data collected during the last five seconds leading up to a car crash include speed, braking, steering wheel movement, its incline on the road, and safety system status. It will, for example, register whether the seatbelts were properly fastened.
FIVE SECONDS BEFORE A CRASH
The system is always on, continuously overwriting previous data, so only the data recorded immediately before a crash will be available. The information will only be accessible to the police, not to other parties including insurance companies. All recorded data is anonymous and, unlike the black boxed used in aircraft, no conversations between the driver and passengers will be recorded.
The speed is recorded within the 250 km per hour range, and the system will also register the degree of depressing of the accelerator pedal during the critical last five seconds. Cruise control operation, airbag deployment and seat belt stabilization are also monitored and recorded.
The new law, jointly approved by the European Commission and the European Council in 2019, applies to all passenger cars and buses.
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
Similar regulations and solutions are already operational in several other countries, including the USA, Japan, Korea, and Switzerland.