Using Event Data Recorders in Collision Reconstruction

This paper will give an overview of the information available from different types of vehicle data recorders, and ways the data can be used in the analysis of vehicle collisions. Reference will be made to current research relating to Event Data Recorders (EDR's). The methods used in downloading the data will be presented. Preservation of this evidence and admittance into court will be discussed. Traditional uses of this data in the determination of collision severity, seat belt use or non-use, and supplemental restraint system functionality will be discussed. Examples will be provided of additional, less traditional, uses involving the correlation of data recorded by EDR's during collision events with the results of reconstructions based on accident scene and vehicle crush data. Topics will include Delta-V, pre-crash vehicle motions and operation, driver perception/reaction times, driver actions, and vehicle acceleration/deceleration. Analysis of the pre-impact motions of vehicles with antilock brakes, impacts involving vehicles with prior damage, and chain-reaction accidents will be discussed.