The dawn of a new day brings another gadget onboard the automobile. Behold the Black Box, or, more accurately, the automotive event data recorder (EDR)—a nondescript piece of technology that spends most of its functional life waiting for an electronic wakeup call from a car’s airbag safety system to fulfill its mission.

Its anonymous cladding, though, obscures a controversy. This little piece of technology recently has been troubling consumers, the courts, insurance carriers, lawyers and regulators. Even while it promises answers to automotive claims, it’s also triggering questions about judicial admissibility, insurance coverage, privacy rights, regulatory concerns and technological capabilities. Many of the questions can be answered with a better understanding of the technology and its implications, while others will be resolved over time as the EDR technology matures.

As a frontline representative for your carrier, you’re not only a consumer concerned with the personal ramifications of the technology, but you must present your company’s perspective as well. Here we’ll take a look from both sides.

Big Brother
Ever since George Orwell released his classic novel 1984 in which he described a totalitarian society where it was announced that “Big Brother is Watching You,” people have been leery about losing control of their privacy. The big question is: Can the EDR spy on me as I drive? No. The EDR is a data-gathering module located in your car’s airbag control system that is designed to collect specific data in case of deployment—no microphones, no cameras. The EDR is unlike OnStar by GM or similar products that have communications, in-vehicle security, GPS and remote diagnostics capabilities. Their satellite and real-time monitoring make them more vulnerable to questions of privacy invasion than the EDR.

When airbags don’t function as designed, automakers become liable for the injuries sustained by drivers and passengers. The EDR was developed to collect operational information about airbags so performance could be improved. It was a very short jump then to apply the technology to the needs of regulatory agencies like the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) which require real-world crash statistics for highway safety research. Then, add accident investigators, attorneys and insurance carriers who want access to accident data for their own purposes, and suddenly the EDR becomes a child caught in a custody battle among groups with conflicting needs and interests.