Buick 2009 Lucerne - Manual (Page 427)

Vehicle Data Recording and
Privacy
Your GM vehicle has a number of sophisticated
computers that record information about the vehicle’s
performance and how it is driven. For example,
your vehicle uses computer modules to monitor
and control engine and transmission performance,
to monitor the conditions for airbag deployment
and deploy airbags in a crash and, if so equipped,
to provide antilock braking to help the driver control the
vehicle. These modules may store data to help your
dealer/retailer technician service your vehicle. Some
modules may also store data about how you operate the
vehicle, such as rate of fuel consumption or average
speed. These modules may also retain the owner’s
personal preferences, such as radio pre-sets, seat
positions, and temperature settings.
Event Data Recorders
This vehicle has an Event Data Recorder (EDR).
The main purpose of an EDR is to record, in certain
crash or near crash-like situations, such as an airbag
deployment or hitting a road obstacle, data that will
assist in understanding how a vehicle’s systems
performed. The EDR is designed to record data
related to vehicle dynamics and safety systems for a
short period of time, typically 30 seconds or less.
The EDR in this vehicle is designed to record such
data as:
• How various systems in your vehicle were operating
• Whether or not the driver and passenger safety
belts were buckled/fastened
• How far, if at all, the driver was pressing the
accelerator and/or brake pedal
• How fast the vehicle was traveling
This data can help provide a better understanding of the
circumstances in which crashes and injuries occur.
Important: EDR data is recorded by your vehicle
only if a non-trivial crash situation occurs; no data is
recorded by the EDR under normal driving conditions and
no personal data (e.g., name, gender, age, and crash
location) is recorded. However, other parties, such as law
enforcement, could combine the EDR data with the type
of personally identifying data routinely acquired during a
crash investigation.
To read data recorded by an EDR, special equipment
is required, and access to the vehicle or the EDR
is needed. In addition to the vehicle manufacturer,
other parties, such as law enforcement, that have the
special equipment, can read the information if they
have access to the vehicle or the EDR.
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