Source: VRT NWS | Hajo Beeckman | Tuesday 05 July 2022
From 6 July 2022, all new car models will have a black box, just like those in aircraft. This stores data that allows the court, after an accident, to check what you were doing with your car just before the collision. A big step forward, say proponents, because it avoids discussions. However, some observers question the fact that your insurer might also make clever use of this data, usually not to your advantage.
The list of safety applications is impressive: intelligent speed support (an audible indication of the speed limit), a universal connection to install an alcohol lock, systems that warn you when you are tired and it is better to take a rest (based on your steering movements) and even an "incident data recorder" or "event data recorder" (EDR). The latter is simply put a black box like those that have been in aircraft for years. In the United States (2012), South Korea (2015) and China (2021), the black box became compulsory earlier.
With the data from the black box, the government can find out exactly what you were doing in your car, van or lorry just before an accident. It should enable experts and the courts, especially in cases of major and complex accidents, to find out exactly what happened and who is liable, for example when the parties involved in an accident contradict each other or when there is no information from witnesses.
Some experts also point to a psychological effect: the black box would make drivers drive more carefully, so that there are already fewer accidents.
The black box stores a whole series of data: how fast was someone driving just before an accident, how hard was the braking, was the driver actually trying to avoid an accident, was someone wearing a seatbelt and how was the steering wheel used (was there any abrupt movement from left to right, indicating that the driver wanted to avoid a collision or obstacle)? The data relate to 30 seconds before and 15 seconds after an incident.
Unlike in an aeroplane, the black box does not record voices and sounds. What you discuss in the car is therefore not recorded.
In fact, the black box is simply a solid box that stores data, sometimes outside the existing on-board computers in cars. The box is usually in a hidden place, for example in the centre console of the vehicle or under a seat. As in an aircraft, the recorder must be extra robust to ensure that the data is accessible even after a heavy impact.
"In many cars this black box is already built in and recent vehicles already store a lot of information via the on-board computer and the built-in software," says Jean-François Gaillet, director of innovation at the traffic institute Vias. "That then works through the airbag control module, the engine control module and the roll-over module (which literally records the movement when the car tips over or overturns)."
"Until now, the data in a car was encrypted, the new European rules make it more easily accessible via the black box" Jean-François Gaillet, Vias
"The problem is that until today the data in those modules was encrypted and only accessible to the manufacturers themselves," Gaillet continues. "Not that this has already stopped a judge from requesting the data in the event of an accident: remember the tragedy a few months ago when a car crashed into a group of carnivalists in the Walloon municipality of Strépy: the judge then obliged BMW Germany to provide the on-board computer data decrypted to the justice system in order to find out exactly what the driver of the car was doing."
"Judge uses black boxes for the first time to explain deadly car accident" (di 31 jan 2017 10:10)
"Even in 2017, a judge in Diksmuide had the data from the on-board computer retrieved after a serious head-on collision without witnesses in order to objectively determine liability," says Joost Kaesemans, director of public relations for Touring.
Today, however, that remains a hassle. The new European rules make it much easier to have the data read out quickly and unencrypted. This is even done via a module that is already in your car: the OBD or 'on-board diagnostics'. With a simple scanner, you can extract the data from the black box via a laptop. If the car is badly damaged, there is a bit more work involved.
"I think the consumer can rest assured," says Kaesemans (Touring). "Only a court will request the data in case of serious accidents, never the insurance company. I am sure that the European government wants to hit repeat offenders and traffic criminals, and not the road user who has a minor accident.
Barbara Van Speybroeck, director of communication at Assuralia, confirms that it is only up to the courts to order the black box data to be read out in certain cases. Insurance companies will not have access to the data in any way.
"Insurance companies will not have access to the data in any way" Barbara Van Speybroeck, Assuralia
"As far as we know today, the black box will not have an impact on insurance premiums either," Van Speybroeck continued. "There will also be no different rates between new car models with a black box and older vehicles that do not yet have one."
"When composing the premium, insurers only take into account the risk profile of a policyholder. That profile is determined by your driving experience, the number of years you have had a driving licence, your age, and possibly the power and age of the car," says Van Speybroeck. Of course, your driving behaviour and accident history are also important, but that is separate from the presence of the black box.
Some experts still question the privacy of road users. They have doubts about the claim that insurance companies cannot directly access the data.
"I want to emphasise that this is my personal view," says Gaillet (Vias), "but I am convinced that an insurance company will be able to put pressure on the policyholder in certain cases. There is a law in our country that says you have to pass on all available data to the insurance companies after an accident. If you don't, that's a reason not to pay out."
Jean-François Gaillet, Vias:
"Suppose you claim that an accident is the fault of the other party, but your insurance company doesn't believe you. Then they can ask you for permission to have their experts read your car's data," says Gaillet. "If you refuse - which is perfectly possible - then the company can decide not to pay or they will draw their own conclusions based on an interpretation of the data in the file." That will not always be to the policyholder's advantage.
Mark Pecqueur, lecturer in car technology at the Thomas More University College, also suspects that insurers will draw the card in doubtful cases, but then specifically in the case of "own damage", an accident or claim in which no other party is involved. "Think of a situation in which you crash into a tree or a pole at an inappropriate speed, or your vehicle is damaged by driving too fast over a speed bump. It is to an insurer's advantage to pay less or not at all if they can find out that the damage was simply caused by your irresponsible driving behaviour."
It can go even further:
"An insurer can sell you a cheaper contract in the future with an explicit clause that you must behave like a good father on the road," says Pecqueur.
"But if it turns out that you have your own damage after a one-sided accident, and the black box can prove that you flouted the traffic rules or reached irresponsible speeds or performed manoeuvres, the bill is entirely for the policyholder. Compare it to home theft insurance: if the contract says you must have an alarm system, but you don't install one, you can whistle for your money in the event of a burglary."
Barbara Van Speybroeck of Assuralia does not follow Pecqueur and Gaillet's arguments at all. "A policyholder must indeed provide an insurer with all the information that may be useful to assess a situation, but the insurer can only do that with data to which a motorist himself has access, and that is certainly not data from a black box."
Steven Soens, regulatory and technology advisor at Febiac, sees only advantages. "The EDR or black box will lead to a more uniform treatment of road accident data in Europe and will also benefit vulnerable road users like cyclists. What exactly was the driver of a car doing when he hit a cyclist? That is where the box can help."
"Moreover, the EDR should not only be seen as a tool to better determine the liability of parties involved in an accident, but also as a source of data to improve vehicle safety," continues Soens, "after all, we are facing a major challenge: more and more cars are equipped with driver assistance systems such as semi-automatic driving in traffic jams or sensors that ensure that you do not deviate from your lane, or that can automatically choose an exit on a motorway. However, these are systems that can currently be switched off. The question in an accident is then: were these systems active or not? For a judge or an insurer, it will become increasingly important in the coming years to know whether the car or the driver was driving."
Gaillet (Vias) is already sure that the presence of the black box in the car will have a psychological effect on the behaviour of the road user. In the United States, where the black box has been in use since 2012, 20 per cent fewer accidents have been recorded since its introduction. This is because drivers are driving more carefully.
Kaesemans (Touring) strongly doubts that this 20 percent is only due to the black box, other measures in the field of infrastructure and enforcement will also have helped. Nevertheless, he too believes in the psychological effect:
"If you increase the chance of being caught for speeding or alcohol use behind the wheel, for example, people will adjust their behaviour, which is logical. The black box will make many motorists exercise more restraint, because turn it around or not, you are de facto permanently monitored from your own vehicle. Some people will see this as threatening, but we as a mobility organisation see it as a normal evolution, it's only good for road safety."
Car technologist Pecqueur is less convinced. "A lot of personal damage to vehicles is caused by the cocky behaviour of a small group of repeat offenders. They won't care about the black box and will simply make the same mistake again next time". He seems to be suggesting that in addition to the black box, our enforcement policy for people who frequently break the rules should also be adjusted, such as the points-based driving licence, which, incidentally, is currently being debated at the federal level.
Read more about this topic in our blogs:
Driving style analysis for fleet managers I All-Connects
Discount on insurance premiums: good idea? I All-Connects
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