The NHTSA has standardized the event data recorder in vehicles in response to the investigation and issues that occurred during the US Toyota brake pedal acceleration problem.
The data to be included is the following
The forward and lateral crash force.
The crash event duration.
Indicated vehicle speed.
Accelerator position.
Engine rpm.
Brake application and antilock brake activation.
Steering wheel angle.
Stability control engagement.
Vehicle roll angle, in case of a rollover.
Number of times the vehicle has been started.
Driver and front-passenger safety belt engagement, and pretensioner or force limiter engagement.
Air bag deployment, speed, and faults for all air bags.
Front seat positions.
Occupant size.
Number of crashes (one or more impacts during the final crash event).
To access the event data recorder requires physical access. Authorization is controlled by access codes that the vehicle owner should control.
However, any knowledgeable technician with physical access is able to also read the event data recorder as long as they have the proprietary cables.
The question then becomes of privacy. How does a vehicle owner control what data is access and what is released? Who gets to ultimately decide?