Knowing that a vehicle is equipped with a "black box" could be an incentive for safer driving by motorists who have a tendency to ignore speed limits or engage in other unsafe driving practices.

Hopefully the day will come when all new vehicles will be equipped with such data recorders.

But it's too bad that "black box" technology that currently exists for passenger vehicles isn't designed to reveal whether a driver was talking on a cell phone at the time of a crash. Being able to make that determination conclusively could serve as a foundation for further consideration of whether talking on a cell phone while driving should be prohibited by law.

Having conclusive evidence of whether a cell phone was in use at the time of a crash could be valuable in crash-related court cases.

An article in Monday's Butler Eagle reported on an explanation of the crash data retrieval system that currently is being used. The data system report was provided by state police Cpl. David Fries, a member of the Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Unit at the Butler barracks, during a training program for a statewide "Click It or Ticket" seat belt enforcement campaign under way until June 3.

According to Fries, the data retrieval system in question consists of hardware and software that downloads pre-crash and crash data from a vehicle's air bag module to a computer.

Fries said the data collection modules provide information on such things as seat belt use, the speed of the vehicle up to at least five seconds before impact and whether there was a change in velocity prior to impact.

"We now collect data from every fatal crash that is compatible with the equipment," Fries said.

Prior to being introduced in passenger vehicles, the technology in question was installed only in commercial vehicles. But those who recognized the advantages of also having it in cars have done a huge service to law enforcement authorities and the courts.

The "black boxes" won't lead to elimination of all unsafe driving, of course, but they will cause some motorists to think twice about driving in unsafe and irresponsible ways.

Each time that occurs, roads and highways will be a little safer, and some lives no doubt will be saved.

That's in the best interests of everyone who drives or rides on the nation's highways.