What's Hot Tuesday: Salt Trucks, Car Black Boxes

By Katie DeLong

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Every day on Live at 3:00, we have a segment called “What’s Hot,” where we talk about stuff that really is hot, and we have you talking. Tuesday on Live at 3:00, Newsradio 620 WTMJ’s Jeff Wagner and Tracy Johnson from TEMPO Milwaukee appeared to talk about whether road crews throughout the Milwaukee area failed miserably Monday afternoon by failing to salt the highways in a timely fashion. There were numerous accidents Monday afternoon and evening after a dusting of snow fell and black ice covered overpasses and bridges. They also discussed whether car black boxes are helpful or an invasion of privacy. Event Data Recorders, or EDRs work similar to the black box in an airplane, providing police with what can be crucial information after an accident. Legislation passed this year will eventually require EDRs 15 pieces of information, including speed, whether the brakes were used and if the driver was wearing a seatbelt. Most record for a few seconds before and after a crash, but some advanced versions can track driving habits for days at a time. By 2010, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates 85 percent of new cars will have an EDR. Click on the video link to see the discussions.