ADAC: Black box for cars mandatory from 2024 - and a good addition

Many vehicles are already equipped with an EDR, and from July 7, 2024, the black box will be mandatory for all newly registered vehicles. Airplanes have a black box from which events before and shortly after a crash can be read. The so-called Event Data Recorder (EDR) records a short time span before and after an accident. The ADAC has now published an overview of what the EDR can do and how it handles data protection. The task of the EDR is to gain a better understanding of an accident through the data recorded. The EDR is usually installed in the airbag control unit, where all relevant information from acceleration sensors converges - this information is also used to trigger the EDR's data recording. Data such as speed, engine speed, steering angle, or whether the airbag was deployed are recorded. The recording is triggered within a time window of five seconds before and 300 milliseconds after the crash. The data is stored locally in the vehicle and remains there.

Data Sovereignty Lies with the Driver - Court Must Order

With the help of certain tools, the data can be read via the OBD interface or directly at the airbag control unit. Although, in terms of data protection, the sovereignty of the data from the EDR lies with the driver or vehicle owner. However, in connection with civil or criminal proceedings to find out how an accident occurred, a court or the public prosecutor's office can commission an expert to read the data from the EDR. The data from the EDR should not be used as the sole source for accident reconstruction, warns the automobile club. They see the data as an additional element to the trace pattern at the accident site and the damage to the vehicles involved. Thus, they could support the conventional reconstruction of an accident but not replace it. The EDR only stores data about the own vehicle and not about other road users. Video recordings are also not possible with it.