Most of us have heard of the infamous “black boxes” found on all airplanes. They are a critical tool for investigators in the event an airplane crashes. Those little black boxes record and store huge amounts of critical flight data they can help explain what went wrong in the event of a crash. Most people, however, are unaware that many late model vehicles also have a version of the “black box” hidden away inside the vehicle. For instance, many Toyota manufactured vehicles are equipped with a black box.
These “black boxes” – technically known as event data recorders or EDR’s – have raised more questions then they have answered in lieu of the recent recalls issued by Toyota Motor Corporation. The first question is exactly what do these EDR’s record? Reports from Toyota have been less than consistent as to what the EDR’s report and for how long the data is stored. One report states that they record data from five seconds before to two seconds after an air bag deploys. The data that is recorded is also unclear. Reports are that the EDR collects information about the vehicles speed, accelerator angle, angle of the driver’s seat, gear shift position and whether the seat belt was being used at the time. The big question remains whether the EDR’s collect information regarding the brakes and whether or not they were depressed just before a collision. What has made added to the little black box mystery is that – at least until recently – there was apparently only one computer in the United States that was capable of reading the data collected by the EDR’s. Toyota manufactured vehicles have been equipped with EDR’s as far back as 2001, yet no one was able to access the information contained in the boxes. Other vehicle manufacturers that use the same type of devices, however, regularly share their data with law enforcement agencies and government regulators.
The little black box mystery has added to the speculation that Toyota knew about defects in their vehicles for a significant amount of time before they issued the first recall. Under United States law, a manufacturer must make reasonable efforts to investigate any potential defects in their product and once they become aware of a defect they must notify consumers as well as the proper regulating authority. The manufacturer must then either repair, replace or refund each consumer that purchased the product. While Toyota has issued recalls and is in the process of instituting repairs for the defective vehicles, questions remain as to when they knew about the defects and what they did about that knowledge.
If you have been involved in an accident and you believe that a Toyota manufactured vehicle was entirely or partially at fault for the accident, then you may be entitled to compensation for any injuries that you have suffered as a result. For a free and detailed evaluation of your potential Toyota recall case, please feel free to call California Toyota recall attorney Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associated at 1-800-300-0001 or visit him online at www.ledgerlaw.com.
