Very interesting, what specifically does it record?
Most cars use a "loop" and record everything over XX hours of run time. It also has the ability to record and store "Events" These events can trigger service lights, or warnings. The "loop" can record as little or as much as has been programed by the factory..
Possible items:
speed, throttle settings, engine load, wheel spin, engine parameters, transmission parameters (most transmissions are at least as computer tuned as the motors now days) turn signal status, brake status (abs activated, brakes active) Anything electrical can be monitored..
Technically they could tell if you saw someone crossing the street and reacted to it by hitting the gas or the brake or not at all.
They would know how fast you were going when you hit them and if you were turning the steering wheel, hitting the brakes or the car was hit (accelerometers). They will also know if you had your seatbelt on and how many people were in the car.
It is not pretty when you think about incursion into your private domain but it is a car on a public road. The courts can access this data with some work.. Airplanes, trains, big trucks, ships all have real time data logging for crash forensics... I think trains were some of the first??
This aint 1984 (yet)
