The rising prevalence in cars of electronic data monitoring devices could put drivers and their expectations of privacy on a collision course, Professor Kevin Woodson said in an interview that aired on CBS 3-KYW Radio on Aug. 9.

The devices, also called black boxes, collect information about a driver’s behavior. They are distributed by some insurance companies as an incentive to cut rates, and they’ve begun to appear in newer cars.

Those in law enforcement and traffic management “do know an awful lot about us – more than I’d imagine most Americans realize,” Professor Kevin Woodson said.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruling in early 2012 requiring police to obtain a search warrant before installing a GPS tracking device on a suspect’s car represents “a shallow victory,” Woodson said, because it “left the door open for cases where the GPS is already inside the car.”