Most Wisconsin residents are aware of the use of black boxes to find out what happened after a plane crash, but many people are surprised to learn that cars also have data recording devices. The use of electronic data recorders in cars is relatively new and one tragic car accident case may determine whether courts in some states will allow the admission of black box data into evidence during trials.

The black box data case involves a 21-year-old driver who killed three of his passengers, ages 18 to 20. Car accidents are the leading killer of young adults and many of these accidents are attributable to driver inexperience. In this case, authorities say that the 21-year-old driver was driving at speeds over 100 mph at the time of the deadly accident.

The driver's defense attorney says that the car was airborne at the time of the accident and could have been going under the 50 mph speed limit when it crashed. The defense argues that this accident was caused by black ice and not reckless driving.

Data from the black box indicates that the car was traveling 106 mph when it crashed. The data was recorded in the five seconds before the airbags deployed. The admissibility of the black box data may play an important role in other cases and begin to establish credibility for the black box device. Data from these devices may be particularly useful in personal injury cases in which the car drivers either die or have different versions of how an accident occurred.

Source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, "Ruling delayed in fatal Parkway West wreck," Bobby Kerlik, Feb. 9, 2012