Anderson Injury Lawyers | October 13, 2025 | Car Accidents
If you are injured in a car accident, bicycle accident, pedestrian accident, or some other type of accident involving a vehicle, the specific cause of the crash can determine who has liability. The black box in your vehicle can provide important information about the crash, and this data can help determine exactly what happened in the moments before your accident.
Read on to learn more about black boxes in cars, including what they are, what kinds of data they capture, and whether or not your vehicle has one.
Do Cars Have Black Boxes?
A black box in a vehicle is also known as an event data recorder (EDR). In the early days of vehicle black boxes, the devices were closely tied to the airbag control module (ACM), and the black box was used to help determine whether the airbags functioned properly during an accident.
The capabilities of the ACM in most vehicles expanded over time, and most airbag control modules have begun to record their own data. Given this fact, most vehicle black boxes are now used to record additional vehicle data related to crashes instead of just information about the airbag functionality.
There are a few misconceptions about black boxes. These devices do not record data for long periods of time, and they also do not record audio or video data. The black box in your vehicle records data only for a few seconds before and after an accident. Keep reading below to learn more about the types of data that this device captures.
What Do Black Boxes Record?
Most black boxes only record about 15 seconds’ worth of data. The data that is captured by the black box can help investigators understand exactly what happened just before and after the accident.
Black boxes generally must record:
- The speed of the vehicle
- Acceleration or deceleration
- Whether or not the brakes were being applied
- The position of the throttle (how hard the gas pedal was being pressed)
- Whether the driver and passengers were wearing a seat belt
- The position of the steering wheel and steering angle
- Whether or not the airbags deployed
- Information related to the force of the impact
- The degree of vehicle tilt during the accident
Black boxes in some newer vehicles are equipped to record even more data. In addition to the data above, some newer black boxes can also record:
- Tire pressure
- Speed of each individual wheel
- Precise GPS location
- Odometer reading
- Gear position
- VIN
As you can see, the data in the black box can be very useful after an accident. When observed together, these data points can paint the picture of exactly what happened during the accident. This can help pinpoint who was responsible for the crash and who may have liability for any resulting damages.
Where Is the Black Box in My Car?
More than likely, you have never seen your car’s black box. In fact, some black boxes might not even be black in color. Since black boxes are designed to capture crash-related information, these devices must be able to withstand substantial impact without damage.
The black box in many vehicles is located underneath the dashboard or center console. Putting the black box in this location can help prevent it from being damaged, even during a severe crash. The specific location of the black box varies from one vehicle to another, so the spot where your black box is located depends on the make and model of your car.
How to Review Data From Your Car’s Black Box
Do not expect to download and review data from your black box without professional help. Unfortunately, most people do not have the proper knowledge or tools to retrieve information from a vehicle’s black box. First, even locating the black box in your vehicle will require some specialized knowledge.
Next, the black box must be carefully removed from the vehicle. Again, special tools and knowledge will be required to remove the black box from the vehicle. Once it has been removed, you will need special equipment to retrieve the data from the vehicle. This generally requires plugging a specialized tool into the port on the black box, such as the Bosch Crash Data Retrieval Tool.
Once plugged in, the data can usually be downloaded and viewed with the appropriate software. There are many black box data retrieval companies that can help you review the data from your car’s black box after a crash. If you are hurt in a car accident, your lawyer might hire an expert to review black box data that can help determine the cause of your accident.
Which Vehicles Have Black Boxes?
Nearly all passenger vehicles manufactured after 2013 have some type of black box.
This includes:
- Acura
- BMW
- Chevrolet
- Chrysler
- Fiat
- Ford
- GMC
- Honda
- Jeep
- Lincoln
- Lexus
- Mercedes Benz
- Pontiac
- Toyota
- Volkswagen
- Volvo
Some vehicles manufactured prior to 2013 do not have black boxes. In addition to passenger vehicles, most commercial vehicles (such as semi trucks) also have black boxes today too. Even planes have a black box that records accident-related data in the event of a crash.
How Can Black Box Data Help My Personal Injury Case?
Crash data retrieved from a car’s black box can help validate your version of the facts. For instance, imagine that you are hurt in a car accident because another driver ran a red light. The other driver states that they attempted to stop, but their car’s black box shows that they were speeding and never hit the brakes prior to the accident. This can help you establish liability and allow you to be successful in your recovery of compensation.
Contact Anderson Injury Lawyers for a Free Consultation
Ultimately, black box data can be a powerful tool in uncovering the truth after a serious accident. While you may never see or access it yourself, the information stored inside your vehicle’s event data recorder can offer objective insight into how a crash unfolded—clarifying disputed facts such as speed, braking, or driver behavior.
Evidence of another party’s negligence can be crucial in proving fault and protecting your right to compensation. An experienced attorney at Anderson Injury Lawyers can secure and interpret this evidence, building your case on the strongest possible foundation. Contact our personal injury lawyers in Fort Worth, Dallas, or Austin today for a free, no-obligation consultation. We proudly serve Tarrant County, Dallas County, and throughout Texas.
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