A bill requiring all new cars to be equipped with "black boxes" or "Event Data Recorders" recently passed the U.S. Senate. The bill is expected to clear the U.S. House too.
According to one news story: "The days of a car crash being one driver's word against another look to be history." Will the tort system see a battle of the black boxes? Will insurance companies hold up claims until the black box is analyzed by their own experts? Will the black boxes be able to record electronic control system defects and malfunctions? One thing is certain - the litigation landscape will change one way or another.
