All cars and trucks sold in America might soon have brake override systems and black boxes. An auto safety bill that will require black boxes and brake systems, as well as other safety changes, has been sent to the House of Representatives for a vote. The House Energy and Commerce Committee was in charge of writing the bill. The committee has decided that black boxes and brake override systems need to be standard on all cars, according to Automotive News via Autoblog.

Black boxes record information like vehicle speed and driver inputs in the event of a crash, and will help the NHTSA and vehicle manufacturers determine if a crash is due to vehicle malfunction or driver error. The push for black boxes was supported by vehicle manufacturers in part because of the rash of fake unintended acceleration claims that got so much press over the past few months. The bill originally required that black boxes record before and after a crash for a total of 75 seconds, but was rewritten to give the NHTSA power to decide when the black box will record.

Black boxes, like this one from a 2004 GMC Envoy, are standard on many vehicles already.

Brake override systems are also a reaction to the unintended acceleration problem. With a brake override system, when the brake pedal is pressed, the car will automatically cut the throttle. Brake override systems ensure that if a vehicle accelerates unexpectedly and the gas pedal stops responding, the driver can still stop the car.

The bill will also include rules on push-button starts, pedal placement and other auto safety features. The bill is not final yet, and can still be edited by both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Image via Autoblog.