It is a miniature case which has already appeared for several years on American cars and which will be generalized tomorrow on all models sold in Europe.
A small electronic chip capable of recording the speed of your vehicle, the braking parameters and even if you had properly buckled your seat belt in the 30 seconds preceding an impact.
Within a year, from May 2022, the European Parliament has just decided that this "black box" will be mandatory on all new cars, trucks and buses.
In May 2024, even used vehicles will have to be equipped with it.
"This legislation will save thousands of lives in the years to come," said parliamentary rapporteur Roza Thun.
In the United States, where most cars are already equipped, the American authorities estimate that it has reduced accidents by 20% in the space of five years.
Read alsoRoad safety: from belts to radars, these decried inventions that have saved thousands of lives
This is because after a collision, the black box makes it possible to determine for sure whether a motorist was driving too fast or did not brake in time.
This would encourage many drivers to ease off more so as not to be held responsible in the event of an accident involving their behavior.
"It is an essential element of accident prevention and the best way to know the exact circumstances of a disaster, because the black box is in a way the DNA of the accident, underlines the president of the League against violence road, Chantal Perrichon.
While it can sometimes take months or years to prove the responsibility of a driver in a fatal accident, with this box, we will know immediately if the headlights were on, the flashing activated and if the motorist was driving too fast. .
"
"Just modify the software"
The general delegate of the 40 million motorists association, Pierre Chasseray, is of a completely different opinion.
He considers the black box to be a useless "snitch".
“This will not prevent the accident and will not tell if the driver was drunk or driving while on the phone, for example.
And then who will pay to install this box in used cars?
"While the cost of a black box could be around 100 euros (not counting the price of the installation), all eyes are on insurers, believing that it would be up to them to participate in the installation of this supposed device. reduce accidents on the road.
On the side of car manufacturers, we say we are ready to face this new obligation.
Already concerned by the device across the Atlantic, the American Ford says it will put it in place "as soon as it becomes mandatory in Europe.
Its cost will be added to the cost of the vehicle, as previously for the airbags, the ABS brake locking system, the ESP stability control or the pollution control systems.
The French Renault will not install a box, but will use the data systems that already equip its vehicles.
“We will do it without any technical or financial difficulty.
Just modify the software.
There is no need to install specific sensors.
This will have no price impact on the customer.
"
Shorter deadlines for victims or their relatives
For associations of road victims, this little chip will above all be an opportunity to reduce legal delays which can be very long when it comes to determining the responsibility of a driver in the event of an accident. "A black box would have shortened the investigation file by several very painful months after the death of my nephew, knocked down on a sidewalk by a drunk driver at the end of 2019," explains Karine, the victim's aunt. The defense of the accused (
Editor's note: prosecuted for manslaughter
) requested an expertise of the automobile to ensure that it was not a mechanical problem that would have resulted in the loss of control of the vehicle. It thus attempted to minimize the risky behavior of the driver. "
More than the black box, Karine, she campaigns so that all vehicles are eventually equipped with an alcohol ignition interlock device. This would have prevented the driver from starting his car when his blood alcohol level was 2 g / liter of alcohol in the blood (the legal limit being 0.5). The European Parliament wishes precisely that the manufacturers of new vehicles "facilitate from next May" the installation of such a device.
