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Is it possible to rid ones vehicle of the Event Data Recorder (EDR)? Just the thought of this item being in my vehicle (2001 F250) without my permission bothers me.

 

Why does it bother you? Suppose your son or daughter takes the truck, totals it, then tries to lie about how fast he or she was going. The EDR will tell you exactly how fast the truck was moving when the impact occured and when he or she slammed on the brakes. It's not like a flight data recorder where it records everything for that flight. It records in three to five second bursts, and then the only way they anyone can access the data is with your permission. Look at it as a way to save you money on your car insurance down the road.

 

Perhaps a bit but I don't understand this. I'm not a parent, but if I thought for ONE SECOND that someone (anyone) might lie to me about how they had wrecked my truck, there is no way they would get the keys to it, ever.

 

Or how about they're not lying but for whatever reason the witnesses/evidence suggests otherwise.

 

Or how about there are no witnesses, but the truck is totaled. From the data from the recorder it is determined that the vehicle was being driven in a reckless manner. Can the insurance company deny the claim because you were being irresponsible?

Or how about that data is evidence. And evidence can and will be used against you.

 

Why should it bother you having this? After all, given how guilty/lawbreaker/psycho drivers are instant liars at the time of an accident that they are responsible for, this device can prove your innocence. That is, unless your driving habits are such that you are the cause of the accident rather than the other way around........

 

Well, actually, on thinking about it, if my truck had one of these, it could conceivably get me in trouble. I had to put a rebuilt tranny in it, and the gear inside that drives the speedo isn't the same as the one that was in the original transmission, so the truck thinks it's going 18% faster than it really is (and I'm not going to fix it). In other words, when I'm cruising down the highway at 65 (the speed limit) the gauge reads 77 mph.

Now, I realize that this is a pretty unusual circumstance (and probably illegal anyway, because the odo is off, too), but it is possible.

I won't get into my paranoid ramblings about the slippery slope of machines that record what their operators are doing...

 

And these OLD Ford keep looking better and better.....

 

I also hate thoes things. Anything that tells me how to drive (ABS, Traction Control, thoes new sensors that will automatically slow the vehicle down if it gets too close to the one in front of it...)

Something that records everything I do is completely absurd!

If I were you...read through a owners or service manual and see if there is a fuse that controls it. If so...pull the fuse.

If there is no fuse, try to locate the 'box' and disconnect any wires going to it.

Make sure the truck fires up and runs right afterwards though.

 

"Why does it bother you?", simply because it's my right not to have someone monitor me.

Ford gave me no discount for having this and neither did my insurance company. In fact Ford probabably charged me for this. Now if they want to, great, then it will be my option to decide.

What does get me is that not one person has actually answered my question but you, for one, offers an opinion not asked.

One day when your faithful government sticks a tracking device under your skin, monitors your calls and records your every move perhaps you will decide that might be a bit much! Oops, I forgot, they already monitor calls and your cell phone has a tracking device!

pfogle - "the only way they anyone can access the data is with your permission" That is not true. These devices have been used against people without their permission. So, if I have an accident, and it records I was going say 68 in a 65 zone, do you not think the opposing attorney will treat me as a criminal for speeding ? Damn right they will.


Freedom! I fought for it and you should too!

 

I tried...

 

Ditto That

 

Try looking at it this way. If someone else t-bones your ride with your family in it at 100mph, woulnt you want the authorities to be able to find out what really happened?
Stay on the right side of the law and there should be no need to check your EDR.

There's probably laws against disabling or removing the unit anyway.

just a thought.

gw

 

I dont like the idea of them either. It would probably be tied into the ECM though, so disabling it would probably have to be a software/flash/chip function rather than a standalone box somewhere that you can unplug. all that information goes throught the computer anyway, so adding a recording module wouldnt be that hard.

like i said, i dont like them either, and not because i speed and want to keep it under wraps. in fact i rarely go above the speed limit, and in california that means getting passed by 3/4 of the population. i dont like the fact that there is a recording device in my vehicle without my permission, that i cant control or remove.

 

There is not a 60GB hard drive under your hood! The EDR records a few seconds of data as you drive. When you key off (or power goes out) it's the last few seconds of data that is stored, including whether or not you put your transmission in park or hit something at 100mph.