Black boxes or event data recorders (EDRs), which store data on vehicle speed, seatbelt use and braking input, are already fitted to 65 per cent of new cars sold in the US.
There remains uncertainty as to the number of cars in Ireland fitted with these devices, but with the globalisation of car manufacturing and the use of the same non-visible components across a wide range of models, it is probable that EDRs are already fitted to some new cars sold here.
Indeed, carmakers have been fitting these devices since before 1991, when the US authorities first began investigating their use. Because of the high level of black box use, America¹s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has now passed a rule forcing manufacturers to tell US car buyers if an EDR is fitted in their new car.
The ruling also stipulates what information they must store and the standards they must meet to prevent damage in a crash.
These devices will make it easier for investigators to determine a driver's actions immediately prior to a crash, as the information stored by black boxes will also become standardised across all marques.
The US ruling comes just weeks after a court in Australia allowed the police there to download information stored in a Peugeot car's EDR to help the prosecution's case after the car was involved in a fatal collision.
While the US administration remains in favour of the voluntary fitting of EDRs, Ireland may be moving towards the compulsory fitting of black boxes.
If the recommendations of the Joint Oireachtais Committee Report on road safety are implemented, Ireland will be the first country to make the fitting of EDRs compulsory.
The report said that if EDRs were fitted, there would be an immediate impact on driver behaviour: "Drivers would have a sense of being supervised and know that, if an accident happens, the full reasons for the accident, including driver behaviour, will be recorded."
However, this would be difficult to achieve says GM, which manufacturers Opel, Saab and Chevrolet cars for the European market.
It says that: "No GM vehicle sold in Europe contains any event data recording device. This pertains to vehicles being manufactured in Europe as well as to vehicles that are imported from elsewhere (including the US). Secrecy obligations and protection of individual data, as existing to various degrees in most of the European countries would not allow to gather information stored in black boxes."
In the US, however, all GM cars are fitted with EDRs. With the move in the US to standardise the information stored by EDRs in the interests of improving road safety, it can only be a matter of time before manufacturers are urged to fit black boxes to cars on this side of the Atlantic.
Following the NHSTA ruling, black boxes must be able to retain data for at least 10 days after a crash and must store information on 15 critical elements, including the use of the brakes, accelerator and seatbelts as well as airbag deployment severity. Some cars' EDRs will also store information on ABS and stability control activity, the driver's steering input and even the driver's weight.
It is estimated that the costs of this ruling will average just 15c per vehicle because of the high number of cars that are already equipped with EDRs. The US authorities estimate that more than two-thirds of new vehicles sold there already have black boxes fitted, although many drivers will be unaware of this.
Commenting as the new ruling was being drafted, both GM and Ford - two of the world's biggest car makers - actually called for EDRs to be made compulsory in all new vehicles, citing concerns that some manufacturers will opt out under the voluntary approach.
Under the rules, carmakers must insert a notice in the owner's handbook of all new cars with black boxes sold in the States after 2011, warning that: "The EDR in this vehicle is designed to record such data as how various systems in your vehicle were operating; whether or not the driver and passenger safety belts were buckled; how far (if at all) the driver was depressing the accelerator and/or brake pedal; and how fast the vehicle was travelling."
It goes on to warn that: "In addition to the vehicle manufacturer, other parties, such as law enforcement, that have the special equipment, can read the information if they have access to the vehicle or the EDR."
GM and Toyota already fit their cars sold in the US with EDRs that record pre-crash data. All other vehicle manufacturers, most of whom fit EDRs, will need to update their systems to meet the new rules.
In 1998, the US considered making black boxes compulsory but backed down after discovering that most manufacturers were already fitting them.