Fully self-driving cars remain some years away ... That information is stored in an event data recorder, sometimes called a "black box." It's different from a "black box" in an airliner because ...

These include: Black box insurance is often used by newer drivers seeking to reduce car insurance costs, but any driver who maintains a careful driving record could potentially see savings.

Consumers Union, the advocacy arm of Consumer Reports, has supported standardizing black-box data, so accident investigators can use it to improve the safety of future vehicles and crashes.