The EU has ruled that all new cars sold beyond July 2024 must be equipped with ‘Event Data Recorders’, following an update of the UN’s World Harmonisation of Vehicle Regulations (WHVR).

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NEW BLACK BOXES?

All new cars sold in Australia could soon record evidence of their drivers breaking the law, thanks to UN regulations in the works that are tipped to be adopted domestically at home.

Since July 2022, new cars launched in countries which are signatories to the United Nations’ World Harmonisation of Vehicle Regulations (WHVR) – such as Australia – have been subject to this agreement.

Event Data Recorder (EDRs) act similarly to an aeroplane’s black box by recording driver inputs, speeds and even seat positions, storing information captured prior to a crash and after an impact.

This can allow crash investigators to determine whether the vehicle involved was at fault in a collision, or demonstrating a driver was exceeding the speed limit in the lead up to a crash – not only making them more likely to face a fine, but be at risk of insurance being voided due to breaking the law.

EU countries are the first to fall, meaning that Australia may set to follow very soon.

The European Union mandated all new cars sold in Europe to be equipped with EDRs starting from 7 July 2024, aimed at ‘improving automotive safety’ and ‘accident research’.

A spokesperson for the Department of Infrastructure and Transport says the federal government is currently investigating whether to make the fitment of EDRs mandatory in Australia.

“It is Australian government policy to harmonise ADRs [Australian Design Rules] with the international standards set by the United Nations to ensure vehicles with the latest safety technologies can be supplied in Australia at the lowest price,” said a government spokesperson.

And people wonder why citizens are concerned about the pandemic treaty?

This is a perfect example of how nations are ‘peer pressured’ via agreements to implement agendas.

The EDR may, it has also been revealed, may be able to record whether a driver has deliberately switched off their traction or stability control system – potentially making them culpable.

“Work has begun examining how UN Regulation 160 can be implemented in Australia.

A range of matters will need to be considered including access to, and the management of EDR data and privacy implications of EDRs within the context of Australia’s privacy laws.”

“Any decision to regulate EDRs in Australia would follow the Australian government’s standard policy on developing regulation, which includes considering different policy options, how those options impact the public and businesses … and the results of public consultation,” the spokesperson concluded.

Big Brother is Watching, drivers of the future.

Yet another dystopian step in the transformation of vehicles, and their ownership.

THE BIG CHANGES

The surveillance creep has been slow and incrementally introduced piece-by-piece for vehicles.

In 2019, we warned that controversial ‘driver assistance technology’, including black-box data recorders, could become mandatory for all new cars in the future after the EU considered a mandate.

The new proposals represent an increasing trend in a shift towards autonomous technology in vehicles, underpinned by monitoring capabilities that can document and record almost all activity in most models.

Currently, new model cars distributed in countries such as China have technology installed that constantly sends information about the precise location of your car to the government.

More than 200 manufacturers, including Tesla, Volkswagen, BMW, Daimler, Ford, General Motors, Nissan, Mitsubishi and US-listed electric vehicle NIO, transmit position information and dozens of other data points to government-backed monitoring centres, according to reports.

And these technologies aren’t even part of UN mandates, rather ‘cool features’.

The Mazda3, for instance, brakes to adopt lower limits when moving into a new speed zone without driver input. Other concepts such as ‘Intelligent Speed Assistance’ are also prominent, which uses both navigation and camera inputs to detect speed limits, then limits the car to that speed.

Andrew Frankel, Drive Nation journalist, expressed his concerns about the technology in an article:

“It’s the data logger that concerns me most. Combined with the sat nav information that determines the speed limit of any given road, your car will retain every detail of your every journey, and you don’t need to be an Orwell scholar to spot something disturbingly Big Brother about that.”

Indeed, he is correct.

Not only can the technology have wide-ranging implications for policing, insurance, and other factors, but the backdoor surveillance allow you and your data to become linked to your vehicle.

In October, we reported on how the Mozilla Foundation found car manufacturers and their privacy conditions to be: “The worst product category for privacy ever reviewed”.

Not only are they being mandated and ‘featured’ with these products, but cars of the future will also be electric, in a path towards driverless, smart-city connected tubes.

From 2035, states like the ACT have already announced they will ban new petrol and diesel cars, and how long will it be before services like insurance are ‘no longer viable’ for ‘older earth-harming models’?

I have been following this shift for years, and the end goal is the end of ownership completely.

What are your thoughts on this new UN-driven black box mandate?

Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comment section below!

Source: https://tottnews.com/2024/02/08/black-box-recorders-un/