[1100D]

No No

I dont want my cars to tell everybody what I had been doing with it. I think the next sugestion in this regard will be let the vehicle decide the speed limits. No way, I am not playing. I will happily live with my 1100d and have more fun.

BTW its a good idea to put them on Auto's, Cabs and busses.

My post count reads 328 yummy, but where is the "i"?

[rangaraj]

Originally Posted by 1100D

BTW its a good idea to put them on Auto's, Cabs and busses.

Bangalorians would love to have it in all yellow boards - especially call centre vehicles!

[wizardofid]

There are many companies doing this sort of stuff but for some reason the Auto Majors aren't biting. I think it is vital that the car company (or an independent agency)
a. record information (from the CanBus??) about the engine status as well as that of the critical functions of the car- such as brake fluid levels, AND transmit it every few mins to a remote service which monitors your car status and alerts not just YOU but also the nearest authorized service centre should something be about to happen to you or your car.
This is especially necessary on a long drive out of town
B. Share this information with the car owner. When you purchase a car, you agree to purchase it as is, i.e. with all the bugs in the design. But from then on, the car is yours and you have a right to know what you have done to it, or what has happened to it.

[1100D]

Originally Posted by wizardofid

There are many companies doing this sort of stuff but for some reason the Auto Majors aren't biting. I think it is vital that the car company (or an independent agency)
a. record information (from the CanBus??) about the engine status as well as that of the critical functions of the car- such as brake fluid levels, AND transmit it every few mins to a remote service which monitors your car status and alerts not just YOU but also the nearest authorized service centre should something be about to happen to you or your car.
This is especially necessary on a long drive out of town
B. Share this information with the car owner. When you purchase a car, you agree to purchase it as is, i.e. with all the bugs in the design. But from then on, the car is yours and you have a right to know what you have done to it, or what has happened to it.

This sort of a thing is available with Maybach and would involve substantial amount of investment before it can be implemented for mass produced cars. Infact on long drives, forget vehicle monitoring, dont our Mobile phones go out of connectivity!

Anyway on recall notifications, manufacturers in in US have to issue notices and even publish recall notifications on

Vehicle Recalls | Cars and Light Trucks | US EPA

There after if an owner later sees that there was a recall issued on his vehicle the notification of which he did not receive from the manufacturer directly, the owner can sue them. Infact owners look for every opportunity by which they can sue the car companies, so the car companies too are very careful. But thats because they beleive in "justice delayed is justice denied" in the courts in US unlike in India where not only car companies every other manufacturer of every other commodity takes the consumer for granted knowing fully well that they can get away with it.

[rangaraj]

The upper end cars tend to have these - they plug it into a computer and it can tell you a whole load of things and the history of the vehicle. I know the Merc's have it for sure across their product line. The other cars then to have it at a smaller scale. I remember posting a thread on high speed momentary loss of steering in the NHC some time ago.. This appeared on the honda service engineer's computers, so they must be having a buffer to store this kind of information for a period of time..

[subbarao]

Study Finds Device Cut Fatal Mishaps By 10%


Steven Swinford




The European Union is drawing up plans for aircraft-style black box recorders to be fitted to all cars to help the police identify who is responsible for crashes.
A £2.4 million, three-year study commissioned by the European commission’s transport arm has recommended the mandatory installation of the boxes in all cars. They will record 20 types of data, including speed, the car’s most recent movements and whether the driver braked or indicated.
The information will be used by police and insurance firms to reconstruct crashes and determine who was at fault. It could then be used in court cases. Researchers believe the technology will improve safety. The study, called Project Veronica, found drivers with black boxes were 10% less likely to be involved in a fatal accident, and their repair bills fell by as much as 25%. Ralf Schmidt-Cotta, director of the study, which is being carried out at the German car-parts group Continental, said: “The technology is like an independent, neutral witness. For police and insurance companies, it will be invaluable.
“It will also revolutionise road safety because of the psychological impact of having the boxes installed. Drivers know they cannot get away with simple excuses after an accident because their movements are recorded. They therefore drive more carefully.”
The boxes, which cost about £500, are a little bigger than a pack of cards and are fitted behind the dashboard or under the floor. They are connected to sensors that monitor the car’s movements. They are triggered by sharp changes in speed or the inflation of an airbag, allowing them to record collisions with pedestrians and cars. SUNDAY TIMES, LONDON


Source Welcome

[muni]

I think it will be a very useful thing to have as the black box would record the driver's actions. 500 pounds is a bit costly though but am sure will reduce in the days to come once it starts getting implemented.

I had posted a similar idea on having onboard video cameras in the cars/vehicles to record and store data in some secure box for future evidence incase of crash/ insurance claim etc.

I am sure its just a matter of time before these tracking devices make their way into our cars.

the link is here

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifti...-feedback.html

[akj53]

I read this news in today's Times of India. It is an extremely good idea to install it in all vehicles especially for India, where road laws are idiotic and nobody obeys them. It will at least put some fear in minds of drivers.

The cost mentioned in the news paper is USD 500 and not GBP. Any how for volume production, cost can be brought down and it must be made mandatory for India.

[neel385]

A great idea and a must for the chaotic Indian roads. I would love to see it in 2 and 3 wheelers as well as they cause the maximum nuisance in big cities.

The real test of the device will be in the way the data is used for verification of incidents, or else, it might just become a weapon in the hands of insurers to turn the insured away!

[Sudan_NFS]

Originally Posted by neel385

A great idea and a must for the chaotic Indian roads. I would love to see it in 2 and 3 wheelers as well as they cause the maximum nuisance in big cities.

The real test of the device will be in the way the data is used for verification of incidents, or else, it might just become a weapon in the hands of insurers to turn the insured away!

Insurers cannot turn the insured away in an accident though it be might his fault.This data will be useful for third party claim.i.e which insurer has to bear the cost of the accident.

[darklord]

Your vehicle will soon come with a black box — like in an aeroplane — and other intelligent transport systems to make your ride smoother.

Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways C.P. Joshi mooted the need for the induction of technology at his meeting with CEOs of automobile manufacturing to avoid controversies relating to insurance claims and misuse of power by those checking overloading, besides ensuring a better transportation system.

The idea of a black box will be to record whether the driver had applied the brakes and the speed of the vehicle at the point of impact in the case of an accident, among other details, and, thereby, help establish the cause (or culprit ) of the mishap.

The Hindu : News / National : Cars may soon come with telltale black boxes

[R2D2]

While this sounds good on paper as we have one of the highest %age of road accidents in the world, I have some queries for Mr Joshi:

a) if there's an additional cost, as I expect it to be, why should a consumer bear it? A car is not a complicated transport vehicle like an aircraft

b) In a country where roads are bad and most accidents are caused by truckers and people carriers like buses, mini buses et al, who do not follow rules or indulge in drunken driving or drive pathetically maintained vehicles, why is the minister forcing this on all vehicles?

c) Is there any other country that has had this implemented? If yes, what are the results? How has this prevented any further accidents from happening..like it does in the case of aircraft where findings are used to make aircraft more reliable and safe

[rohanjf]

No, there are no such mandatory rules in the developed world. However, many models come with a microchip that keeps track of various parameters, which can determine what was going on for 30 seconds before impact.

This makes no sense for India, because 99% percent of the times, the accident site clearly reveals what went wrong and how it could have been avoided!

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by rohanjf

No, there are no such mandatory rules in the developed world. However, many models come with a microchip that keeps track of various parameters, which can determine what was going on for 30 seconds before impact.

This makes no sense for India, because 99% percent of the times, the accident site clearly reveals what went wrong and how it could have been avoided!

+1

As always our politicos are holding the wrong end of the stick. The aim in India should be prevention of accidents and I think there are primarily 2 ways of doing this - inculcating traffic discipline by strict enforcement AND better roads

The chip that you refer to is the ECU board - operational variables are stored in read/write flash memory. The ECU uses these variables to fine tune engine ignition timing/fuel injection/valve timing performance and emissions. The ABS and restraint system also have controller units of their own.

To clear the flash memory we generally to an ECU reset by disconnecting the battery cable for 20-30 mins and other model specific methods detailed here on TBHP.

Getting this data from the car's internal systems should be easy once the car mfr is brought in to help.

[riturajsharma19]

Instead of that black box, why not make ABS and Airbags mandatory. Now who will bell the cat?