Each day across the United States and in states like Ohio, thousands of people commute to work. The majority of Ohio commuters travel via car or truck to work and likely drive on a highway or freeway. Most commute alone and spend an average of 40 minutes in their motor vehicles. Commuting workers make the likelihood that a car accident will occur during congested peak rush hours much more likely.

In an effort to gain more insight into driver behavior and what factors may contribute to car accidents, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently proposed a law which would require light motor vehicles to contain an event data recorder. The proposal has been met with outrage by many who contend such a recording device is a violation of privacy and could effectively allow the government to monitor citizens' whereabouts.

Some highway safety advocates, however, believe EDRs could be beneficial in allowing researchers to monitor drivers' behavior and study what actions may contribute to a driver being involved in a motor vehicle accident. The information recorded and gathered via EDRs, they contend, could be collected using methods that would allow individual drivers to remain private and anonymous.

Officials with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety are in favor of the proposal requiring EDRs citing the information collected could help researchers in understanding potential causes of crashes and how drivers respond. Additionally, they believe the data would be useful in helping highway safety officials develop and institute safety measures to prevent such accidents from occurring.

The debate over EDRs and privacy will likely continue to be waged in the coming months. We'll continue to follow the debate and provide insight into the pros and cons of making EDRs mandatory.

Source: Occupational Health & Safety, "Driven to Distraction," Jerry Laws, April 1, 2013