Although I remain a strong supporter of personal privacy, I believe that black box technology in automobiles is an excellent idea that should be used in the United States, too. Why? Because there are far too many dangerous drivers who know they can get away with unsafe driving habits simply because no one's watching. Furthermore, public roadways are not a "private" venue in my book.
Public awareness of automobile black boxes surged recently when a Canadian teenager driver who collided with another vehicle (killing the occupant) was busted by black box data that revealed he was traveling at 157kph. Canadian courts accepted the black box data as evidence, and the teen was convicted.
This is a good thing. When dangerous drivers are caught by smart technology, convicted of their crimes, and taken off the streets, the world is a safer place for us all. If anything, good drivers should want black boxes in their vehicles to prove their own innocence in automobile accidents.
By the way, these black boxes aren't tracking devices. They don't upload data to the police or satellites. They simply record the vehicle's speed, acceleration and other data, just like airplane black boxes. They can only be analyzed AFTER the fact, where they can be used to bolster the driver's claims of what really happened. Much the same can be accomplished with a car video camera, too.
Vehicle black boxes represent good technology that offers the potential for greatly improving the safety of public roadways without violating the privacy of drivers. People who drive dangerously do not have the right to keep that fact private, since they are publicly endangering the lives of other drivers. Likewise, people who speed or who run red lights do not have the right to keep those driving practices secret. It should all be on the record as far as I'm concerned.
About the author: Mike Adams is an award-winning journalist and holistic nutritionist with a passion for teaching people how to improve their health He is a prolific writer and has published thousands of articles, interviews, reports and consumer guides, and he has created several downloadable courses on survival and preparedness, including his widely-downloaded course on personal safety and self-defense. Adams is a trusted, independent journalist who receives no money or promotional fees whatsoever to write about other companies' products. In 2010, Adams co-founded NaturalNews.com, a natural health video sharing site that has now grown in popularity. He's also the founder and CEO of a well known email mail merge software developer whose software, 'Email Marketing Director,' currently runs the NaturalNews email subscriptions. Adams volunteers his time to serve as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and practices nature photography, Capoeira, martial arts and organic gardening. Known on the 'net as 'the Health Ranger,' Adams shares his ethics, mission statements and personal health statistics at www.HealthRanger.org
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Thursday, July 22, 2004
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