‘black boxes’ for Taxis and Buses Being Proposed By The EU
The EU is planning to introduce black boxes in commercial vehicles with an aim to reduce the deaths toll on the roads throughout the union by half within the coming decade. The European Commission’s latest Action Plan for road safety included proposals to use the black metal boxes, referred to as event data recorders. The Commission spent about 4.2 million pounds to to test the effectiveness of the technology in a scheme called “Project Veronica”.
With the help of black boxes, it is believed that the police can certainly find out the exact happenings at the site of an accident. The installation of these event data recorders will help to ease the process and analysis of the investigation that follows any accident. For example, when a car meets in an accident, the black box will reveal to the police the actual cause of the accident, looking at things like the speed at which it was traveling and the direction relative to other vehicles. The Commission was ready to spend money to make sure that a similar device is installed in cars, which created fears in the minds of many. Later the Commission denied the possibility of any such happenings.
Those who are against the installation of the black boxes argue that it would lead to state supervision. On the other hand, the supporters say that it will help to save the lives of innocent drivers who are blamed for no fault of theirs. Those who drive safely have no reasons to fear the installation of black boxes. The use of other safety devices being proposed includes the installation of an automatic brake system for lorries and buses and the electronic stability control for cars. These safety devices have been proven to have helped in saving the lives of about of 80000 people.
Inspite of the advancement in the road safety measures, it cannot be said that the work is done. The EU has a long way to go keeping in mind the death toll of 35000 lives lost in road accidents last year.
If the installation of these devices will help in reducing the number of accidents on the road, then it cannot be such a bad thing.
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