Another component of the highway bill being negotiated on Capitol Hill is a provision to make event recorders mandatory in cars. They would be similar to event recorders used by airlines to collect crash data. The National Motorists Association is concerned about who will “own” the data and is petitioning the White House to protect motorists’ rights.

The NMA is urging its members to sign the White House petition and share the link with others. They need 25,000 signatures by Tuesday, May 22, for the petition to be considered.

The main concern is how data from the event recorders will be used – or abused – in the future, specifically who has access to and control of the data.

An agency developing standards for the black-box equipment has an idea to require a lockable cover to the recorder’s data port. The NMA says that would make the vehicle owner the gatekeeper and protect driver rights.

“Left unchecked, abuse of black box data is inevitable,” National Motorists Association leadership stated online. “Maintaining control of your driving data is critical in combating further infringement on motorists’ privacy rights.”