Black Box Clocked Fatal Speed

[joeunderdog]

Three seconds before smashing into Yacine Zinet's car, Eric Gauthier was driving 157 kilometres per hour down Ste. Catherine St. in his new Pontiac Sunfire.

But the black box retrieved from Gauthier's car was unequivocal: the recording device, which stores data on how a car is driven in the last five seconds before a collision, showed that four seconds before impact, the gas pedal was floored.

A spokesperson for the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec had never heard of black boxes in cars, while Canadian Automobile Association spokesperson Claire Roy said all 11 chapters of the CAA are looking to see what their position would be toward the recording devices.

In the United States, meanwhile, black box information on speed, acceleration and the use of brakes, air bags and seatbelts has already been presented in several cases, including one last week in Dallas.





http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/story.asp?id=468F2AB6-4891-456A-AF26-D84E923A0BE0

[stevedeshazer]

1. I've heard of rental car companies using this

Exceed a certain speed, and you are charged extra for violating the fine print in your rental agreement.