What is a bit surprising is that the usual set of small mechanical backup instruments will not be present. Klein is an attorney and president of the Times' San Fernando Valley and Ventura County Editions. Brown is professor of law emeritus at USC and chairman of the board for the National Center for Preventive Law. Most court cases about auto accidents involve disputes about facts, not the law. That means lawyers argue mostly about how fast a car was going, who didn't stop at the red light, whether a driver crossed over the double yellow line, and similar questions.
Less time is spent debating legal niceties, such as jury instructions or rules of evidence.
Weston offered his proposal in a legal publication, the Los Angeles Daily Journal. The black box would include a running video camera that would record events just the way the driver sees them. A black box could also record speed, acceleration, braking, turn signals, and even whether the seat belt was fastened. Perhaps the device that triggers the air bag could tell the black box that an accident has occurred, Weston noted. In fact, there is such a device, invented by Joseph A. Michetti, who lives in Ventura.