Black boxes for cars to be mandatory

By Kim Da-ye

The installation of video recording devices or “black box video data recorders” in all vehicles may be mandatory in the next couple of years, a government auto policy advisor said Monday.

Currently, the devices are optional but are a great deal of help in clarifying who is to blame in a traffic accident. Taxis are installing them in a greater number.

“Fitting a video recorder into a vehicle is expected to be mandatory in a matter of years,” Kim Pil-soo, professor of Daelim University, said, adding that discussions are already underway, led by a special government committee set up last year.

Kim said that the United States is moving to make the recorders compulsory next year at the earliest. Any big change in the U.S. in terms of auto policy is often followed by Korea and other countries at an interval of two or three years.

Kim is widely known as one of top auto experts, being sought by the government and the media for his advice.

Traffic accidents are one of the major problems in Korea, which was ranked fifth in number of car accidents after the U.S., Japan, Germany and Italy among the then-29 OECD member countries in 2008. In 2009, nearly 1 million car accidents were reported here with 5,838 fatalities.

Demand for the device is growing. The sales of data recorders increased from some 50,000 in 2009 to 130,000 in 2010. About 300,000 vehicles in use are estimated to have video recorders fitted or built-in.

A milestone in making data recorders mandatory for all vehicles is creating a national standard consisting of minimum requirements for the devices, as some poorly made products have spawned complaints.

Kim said that Korean Agency for Technology and Standards, an agency of the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, set up a special committee for black box recorders in vehicles in April last year, and businesses and experts met this April for final discussions. The agency will announce the national standard in June.

The requirements would include the minimum angle of the camera and the minimum data storage space as well as the durability of the device.

The auto expert added that a national standard could help foster a data recorder industry which has strong potential globally thanks to Korea’s advanced information technology.

“A national standard would contribute greatly to consumers’ satisfaction over manufacturers. And improved quality of the devices may boost exports,” Kim said.

The biggest hurdles against making video recorders mandatory are privacy issues. Kim said that he has presented the need for recorders at the National Assembly, but concerns over invasion of privacy overwhelmed the call for safety.

In Korea, several “black box recorder communities” popped up, sharing information on devices and actively filming vehicles driven illegally.

Videos of drivers violating traffic rules can be uploaded and the police impose fines on identified offenders with the evidence.