Cars have had electronic data recorders for quite a few years now but I’m curious if any motorcycle manufacturers have thought about adding them. Originally installed to help deploy airbags, they have grown in sophistication and amount of data recorded. Although the government does not mandate their use, if installed, they do require EDRs to record quite a bit of information. I don’t see any immediate need for them in motorcycles but if the gov’t ever does get around to making them mandatory in cars you can bet they’ll be required in motorcycles as well.
Privacy advocates are not very comfortable with these boxes, especially if owners aren’t aware of their presence. They probably are helpful when trying to find out what went wrong in an accident, sort of like an airplane’s black box, but they might be used for purposes not intended like an insurance company deciding you’ve habitually driven over the speed limit so your rates go up. The time frame of recorded data is limited now but there’s no reason it has to remain so.
via Wired