A European Commission (EC) study may recommend the mandatory installation of black box-style data recorders in all passenger vehicles.
The Event Data Recorders (EDR) could store details such as a car’s speed, when and how hard brakes are applied, steering movements and the use of indicators and seatbelts.
The EC report states that EDR devices would help to build a clearer picture of the events that lead to road crashes and would also ensure that negligent drivers were properly identified.
It is also hoped that awareness of the devices would encourage motorists to drive more cautiously.
Many new cars, including many sold in Australia, already have sophisticated data-recording devices connected to on-board computers.
Holden’s privacy policy contains information on the use of EDRs in their vehicles.
It states that the information stored on the devices, if available after a collision, is used to improve vehicle safety, although it can also be provided to police on request.
In the United States in 2008, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) made it mandatory for all vehicle manufacturers to clearly state in the owner’s manual if an EDR device was fitted.
While the installation of the devices is not mandatory in the US, the NHTSA estimates that by 2011 around 85 per cent of new cars sold there will have the technology.
EDR devices have been in use for many years and there is much evidence of their value in encouraging safer driving practises.
In 1999, London’s Metropolitan Police installed EDR-type devices in 3,500 police vehicles and found there was a reduction of 2 million pounds in accident costs.
The recent EC report also found that drivers could be 10 per cent less likely to be involved in fatal crashes.