New cars will be equipped with “black boxes” (1 photo)

According to a new EU requirement, all new cars sold from July 2024 must be equipped with a black box called an “event data recorder” (EDR). This requirement applies to passenger cars of class M1 and commercial vehicles of class N1 with a maximum weight of up to 3.5 tons, including pickups and vans.



Black boxes are designed to help determine what happened during a traffic accident by analyzing the data. The device records certain parameters 5 seconds before a crash and 0.3 seconds after a collision, such as speed, braking, vehicle position and tilt on the road, and the response of safety systems.

The data stored in the black boxes will contain information about the make and model of the vehicle, as well as the installed equipment. All data is collected anonymously to prevent its use by unauthorized persons. However, the last four digits of the VIN number are not saved, including other personal information of the vehicle owner.

Access to EDR data will only be permitted to competent authorities, who will be able to use the information for detailed accident reconstruction. If the OBD (On-Board Diagnostics) port is damaged during an accident, information will be received directly from the black box.