Ya'll need to know about what they are doing with data recording in cars these days. Of course most of you realize that with hardware costs shrinking and people expecting more and more performance, the average car today probably has as much computing power on board as the Apollo moon shots did.
So several car companies, urged on by the rental car outfits, have put data recorders in the vehicles to keep track of speed, throttle position, brake activation, transmission settings and steering input - kinda like they have in commercial airliners. Same sort of arrangement in that it just keeps the last fifteen minutes or so, until you turn the car off, or until you have an air bag deployment. That way they can get some idea of what was going on before an accident. You can see where rental companies would be particularly fond of this idea.
Well if the vehicle is from GM, and it is equipped with the OnStar system, then cabin voice recording becomes part of the deal, which seems like a terrible invasion of privacy, but when you hear the recordings that happen before an air bag deployment, it is kind of interesting.
The most common voice records before a crash are cell phone conversations, fast food purchases, parents yelling at kids, exclaimations like "Oh God" / "Oh @#$%" / "Oh no" / just plain "OH!", and so forth.
Except in Alabama, Georgia, and some parts of Northern Florida, where the most common words spoken immediately before an air bag deployment are -
"Here - hold my beer and watch THIS!"
gbinga
So several car companies, urged on by the rental car outfits, have put data recorders in the vehicles to keep track of speed, throttle position, brake activation, transmission settings and steering input - kinda like they have in commercial airliners. Same sort of arrangement in that it just keeps the last fifteen minutes or so, until you turn the car off, or until you have an air bag deployment. That way they can get some idea of what was going on before an accident. You can see where rental companies would be particularly fond of this idea.
Well if the vehicle is from GM, and it is equipped with the OnStar system, then cabin voice recording becomes part of the deal, which seems like a terrible invasion of privacy, but when you hear the recordings that happen before an air bag deployment, it is kind of interesting.
The most common voice records before a crash are cell phone conversations, fast food purchases, parents yelling at kids, exclaimations like "Oh God" / "Oh @#$%" / "Oh no" / just plain "OH!", and so forth.
Except in Alabama, Georgia, and some parts of Northern Florida, where the most common words spoken immediately before an air bag deployment are -
"Here - hold my beer and watch THIS!"
gbinga