Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
Mike Ellis
TDR MEMBER
Interesting points there Southpaw, some of those things need a whole thread of their own
I agree the black boxes can be useful, however I disagree that they are there for YOUR protection. They are there to help:
#1 - the vehicle mfg / dealers / mechanics (the average black box will never be used in an accident invasion, and far more recorded data will be seen by mechanics than cops)
#2 - insurance companies
#3 - police
#4 - owner (indirectly, through theoretically lower insurance / warranty costs)
If the boxes were intended primarily for police support, instead of recording data that showed you committed a crime AFTER the fact they would be more oriented toward (a) preventing and (b) reporting a crime. It would be easily within the DC black box designer capabilities, for example, to command the engine into "limp mode" (wimp mode?) if you exceeded some set speed, maybe limiting you to 75 hp and 1500 rpm or such. With electronic engine controls this would be easily doable, "chipping" being a two-way street.
The authorities / mfgs already have the demonstrated ability to perform remote shutdown, in fact with Onstar this capability is streeted today in a tremendous number of vehicles. It would be much more effective if they really wanted to PROTECT people, to command vehicles into "limp mode" or shutdown if they see them being used illegally, than to wait until after an accident has happened. In fact, it is just a matter of time until some American parent sues GM after their child splats their Suburban into the side of a cliff at 120 mph, "Onstar knew he was driving recklessly and could have stopped it! :{ :{ "... ... and the odds are good that they will win! Logically pressures from the liability lawyers will inevitably lead the mfgs to implement proactive measures instead of just after-accident reporting.
The possibilities are quite interesting. For example, we already have transmissions and engines that are "smart" enough to adapt to your driving habits, so it would be feasible to detect when a different person is driving the car. This could be used to command "limp mode" if aggressive driving showed up, perhaps one of the kids hotrodding Dad's truck or even indication it has been stolen.
We already have cheap and reliable CO, CO2, smoke, and alcohol vapor sensors on the market, think how much safer we would be if the vehicle detected banned substances and reacted by notifying the cops or killing the engine. Likewise, with cheap voice recognition software the car could detect key words in passenger conversations and notify the cops if something illegal seemed to be going on inside - NOW we're talking safety. I'd be happy if a sensor were installed to command "wimp mode" if you don't have both hands on the wheel - it would take care of a lot of the terrifying female driving I see on the way to work every morning (cell phone in one hand, makeup in the other, presumably steering the car with some other bodily part).
Another thing that would help the rest of us out TREMENDOUSLY would be to have the on-board systems detect the presence of performance chips and either shut down the engine or override them with "wimp mode" until reset by the police or a dealer at the cost of a hefty fine. People who run performance chips are defeating the original emissions design of their truck, accordingly producing more pollution that the REST of us have to deal with. After all, tampering with emissions controls IS a Federal offense. It would be trivial to install appropriate sensors to monitor the engine's power output and emissions, and bring the offenders to justice - after thousands of $20,000 fines are levied, the chipping / cat removal business would take a severe downturn I expect. It would also save on insurance costs by reducing aggressive driving, lower warranty costs by ensuring that the mfgs are not having to support engines operated far beyond their intended output, etc.
I have to tell you guys, as a law-abiding guy who doesn't speed, doesn't drive aggressively, and has kept his truck bone stock, this is sounding pretty good to me. I like clean air and safe highways. Since most of you say you have "Nothing to hide", you wouldn't mind having your vehicle regularly checked for illegal performance modifications would you? And since you are all fans of LAW'N'ORDER, don't feel it is necessary to wait around until the systems actually have the above capabilities... . run down to the dealer, insurance folks, and police right now and notify them that you have been running a chip or other performance measures so they can flag your warranty, adjust your policy, and levy you a fine to REDUCE COSTS for all the rest of us! I'll try not to get run over by the stampede :-laf :-laf :-laf
With all of the above in mind, noting that most of these helpful features have NOT been implemented (except for the Onstar variants), it is highly probably that the only reason these items are on your vehicle is to save somebody time, money, and effort. Hint: That "somebody" is probably NOT the vehicle owner :-laf :-laf
I agree the black boxes can be useful, however I disagree that they are there for YOUR protection. They are there to help:
#1 - the vehicle mfg / dealers / mechanics (the average black box will never be used in an accident invasion, and far more recorded data will be seen by mechanics than cops)
#2 - insurance companies
#3 - police
#4 - owner (indirectly, through theoretically lower insurance / warranty costs)
If the boxes were intended primarily for police support, instead of recording data that showed you committed a crime AFTER the fact they would be more oriented toward (a) preventing and (b) reporting a crime. It would be easily within the DC black box designer capabilities, for example, to command the engine into "limp mode" (wimp mode?) if you exceeded some set speed, maybe limiting you to 75 hp and 1500 rpm or such. With electronic engine controls this would be easily doable, "chipping" being a two-way street.
The authorities / mfgs already have the demonstrated ability to perform remote shutdown, in fact with Onstar this capability is streeted today in a tremendous number of vehicles. It would be much more effective if they really wanted to PROTECT people, to command vehicles into "limp mode" or shutdown if they see them being used illegally, than to wait until after an accident has happened. In fact, it is just a matter of time until some American parent sues GM after their child splats their Suburban into the side of a cliff at 120 mph, "Onstar knew he was driving recklessly and could have stopped it! :{ :{ "... ... and the odds are good that they will win! Logically pressures from the liability lawyers will inevitably lead the mfgs to implement proactive measures instead of just after-accident reporting.
The possibilities are quite interesting. For example, we already have transmissions and engines that are "smart" enough to adapt to your driving habits, so it would be feasible to detect when a different person is driving the car. This could be used to command "limp mode" if aggressive driving showed up, perhaps one of the kids hotrodding Dad's truck or even indication it has been stolen.
We already have cheap and reliable CO, CO2, smoke, and alcohol vapor sensors on the market, think how much safer we would be if the vehicle detected banned substances and reacted by notifying the cops or killing the engine. Likewise, with cheap voice recognition software the car could detect key words in passenger conversations and notify the cops if something illegal seemed to be going on inside - NOW we're talking safety. I'd be happy if a sensor were installed to command "wimp mode" if you don't have both hands on the wheel - it would take care of a lot of the terrifying female driving I see on the way to work every morning (cell phone in one hand, makeup in the other, presumably steering the car with some other bodily part).
Another thing that would help the rest of us out TREMENDOUSLY would be to have the on-board systems detect the presence of performance chips and either shut down the engine or override them with "wimp mode" until reset by the police or a dealer at the cost of a hefty fine. People who run performance chips are defeating the original emissions design of their truck, accordingly producing more pollution that the REST of us have to deal with. After all, tampering with emissions controls IS a Federal offense. It would be trivial to install appropriate sensors to monitor the engine's power output and emissions, and bring the offenders to justice - after thousands of $20,000 fines are levied, the chipping / cat removal business would take a severe downturn I expect. It would also save on insurance costs by reducing aggressive driving, lower warranty costs by ensuring that the mfgs are not having to support engines operated far beyond their intended output, etc.
I have to tell you guys, as a law-abiding guy who doesn't speed, doesn't drive aggressively, and has kept his truck bone stock, this is sounding pretty good to me. I like clean air and safe highways. Since most of you say you have "Nothing to hide", you wouldn't mind having your vehicle regularly checked for illegal performance modifications would you? And since you are all fans of LAW'N'ORDER, don't feel it is necessary to wait around until the systems actually have the above capabilities... . run down to the dealer, insurance folks, and police right now and notify them that you have been running a chip or other performance measures so they can flag your warranty, adjust your policy, and levy you a fine to REDUCE COSTS for all the rest of us! I'll try not to get run over by the stampede :-laf :-laf :-laf
With all of the above in mind, noting that most of these helpful features have NOT been implemented (except for the Onstar variants), it is highly probably that the only reason these items are on your vehicle is to save somebody time, money, and effort. Hint: That "somebody" is probably NOT the vehicle owner :-laf :-laf
Oo.
