As you probably know if you follow automotive news closely, our new cars are increasingly connected. And what even goes hand in hand with connected devices? Data protection.

And in this matter, the European Union seeks to become a “leader” in this field. That is why the European Council has just passed a new law harmonize rules on fair access and use of data.

This law aims to make data more accessible to everyone, stimulate the internal market, allow copying and transfer from one service to another, protect it from illegal use and share it with third-party companies such as garages and insurance companies. .

From theory to practice

But how will this translate into practice for motorists? There can be many examples. Using millions of vehicle location data and cameras can, for example, solve some of the parking problems in city centers.

In other words, the data collected by the vehicles can be used to directly feed applications and systems aimed at facilitating traffic, indicating, for example, in real time whether there is a parking space in a certain location or not, and where it is. better to park for hours without coming back.

There is also interest from a security point of view. Then it will be possible to record data about the severity of the accident and damage to the car in real time. So, in addition to an automatic emergency call, help could be alerted immediately, car swaps could be automatically booked, spare parts could be ordered without any human intervention and a workshop appointment could be made immediately.

A law that could lower (or increase) your insurance?

Insurance premiums may also change because companies would calculate offers based on the driver and not other parameters beyond our control, as we explained to you in a previous thread on Auto Plus.

Insurance companies can also use data from car safety systems, sensors and cameras to better reproduce the dynamics of an accident.

The data law will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and will enter into force in 20 days. However, as specified in the EU statement, the simplified data access obligations for new products will apply to related products and services placed on the market 32 ​​months after the date of entry into force of the regulation.

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