General notes
30
can be found in the information directly related to
the functional characteristics in question in their
respective Operator's Manual. This information is
also available online and, depending on the vehi-
cle equipment, digitally.
LLeeggal requirements regarding the disclosure of
data
Generally, the use of these data is temporary;
they will not be stored beyond the period of oper-
ation and will only be processed within the vehicle
If legally required to do so, manufacturers are, in
individual cases, legally obliged to provide govern- itself. Control units oꢀen contain data memories
mental entities, upon request and to the extent
required, data stored by the manufacturer. For
example, this may be the case during the investi-
gation of a criminal oꢁense.
for vehicle keys, for example. Their use permits
the temporary or permanent documentation of
technical information about the vehicle's operat-
ing state, component loads, maintenance require-
ments and technical events or malfunctions.
Depending on the vehicle equipment, the follow-
ing data are stored:
Personal data
Every vehicle is identiꢂed by a unique vehicle
identiꢂcation number. Depending on the country,
this vehicle identiꢂcation number can be used by,
for example, governmental authorities to deter-
mine the identity of the owner. There are other
possibilities to use data collected from the vehicle
to identify the owner or driver, such as the license
plate number.
Governmental entities are themselves, in individ-
ual cases and within the applicable legal frame-
work, authorized to read out data from the vehi-
cle. In the case of an accident, information that
can help with an investigation can, therefore, be
taken from the airbag control unit, for example.
R
Operating status of system components, such
as ꢂll levels, tire pressure or battery status
R
Malfunctions or faults in important system
components, such as lights or brakes
Therefore, data generated or processed by control Operational data in the vehicle
units may be attributable to a person or, under
certain conditions, become attributable to a per-
son. Depending on which vehicle data are availa-
ble, it may be possible to make inferences about,
for example, your driving behavior, your location,
your route or your use patterns.
This is data regarding the operation of the vehicle,
which have been processed by control units.
This includes the following data, for example:
R
System reactions in special driving situations,
such as airbag deployment or the intervention
of stability control systems
R
R
Vehicle status information such as the speed,
Information on events leading to vehicle dam-
age
longitudinal acceleration, lateral acceleration,
number of wheel revolutions or the fastened
seat belts display
In certain cases, it may be required to store data
that would have otherwise been used only tempo-
rarily. This may be the case if the vehicle has
detected a malfunction, for example.
R
Ambient conditions, such as temperature, rain
sensor or distance sensor
