Not seeing much outrage.
They are already in some new cars without the gov't mandating it.
Think I'm on the fence with this one - but don't buy the safety argument at all.
In general, I don't like government mandates and would rather if the government didn't seek to expand into every possible book and cranny, like a virus.
With that said, I'm on the fence about this too, if for no other reason, that the data would
most likely help my case if I was ever in a car accident. With the way Civil Courts hand out judgements these days (i.e. "you add 6 zeroes at the end of the amount the plaintiff is asking and you pay him!") having data about the accident from an "impartial and rational observer" could help.
Of course that doesn't mean I like the concept. I would have
much preferred no government mandate, but the insurance companies saying "we developed this tech. New vehicles that have it get a discount on their premium" and then letting the market decide whether this is something consumers want.
I haven't seen the specifications for the government mandated black boxes but I am curious about some things: is the data stored encrypted and does the law state that the data belongs to the owner of the vehicle? If those two topics ate clarified in the law/rules issued I would feel a lot better about this.
