Data recorders, commonly known as black boxes, collect vehicle information in the moments leading up to an accident (certain units record afterwards, too). Though the devices are not required by law, automakers use them to analyze crashes and they are currently installed in 91.6 percent of U.S. vehicles.
The Alliance of Automotive Manufacturers had petitioned to delay the new rules, which were first proposed in 2006, until September 1 2013 to allow automakers extra time to coordinate with OEMs to ensure that their black boxes will comply. However, the NHTSA declined to push back the standards, noting that it had already delayed their implementation and also revised them to make compliance easier.
For its part, the Alliance argues that some automakers may be forced to disable their older-generation data recorders until new, compliant systems are ready in order to avoid breaking the NHTSA's rules. GM told The Detroit News that it plans to temporarily disable certain aspects of data collection in its Chevrolet Malibu sedan and GMC Savanna van, although it won't shut the systems down entirely.
As data recorders aren't federally mandated, switching them off isn't against the NHTSA's rules.
The NHTSA has previously sought to require all vehicles to carry data recorders as part of a wide-reaching transportation bill known as "Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century," but the final version of the legislature that passed over the summer carried no mention of such a mandate. The agency has also tried to put the measure into effect through the executive branch, but the White House Office of Management Budget has yet to comment on the issue in the six months following the proposal.
