Crash Data Recorders

When a traffic crash reconstructionist wanted to know the speed of a car in the seconds before it crashed into the side of a school bus, he found that information, and more, in the car's Event Data Recorder (EDR), a feature quickly becoming standard on all cars. The recorder, a four-inch square metal box, is currently installed in most recent GM, Ford, Chrysler and Toyota vehicles.

Some commercial truck engines also have electronic control modules that will hold vehicle data that can be recovered following a crash.

In some ways similar to data recorders used on airplanes and trains, the car's recorder springs into action as part of the air bag system.

Originally designed to improve air bag performance based on the severity of the collision, the event data recorder can tell traffic accident investigators about the car's speed, engine RPMs, how far the accelerator pedal was pressed, if the brakes were applied, whether the driver’s seatbelt was buckled and what warning lights were on.

When an an air bag deployment collision accident occurs, the data is recorded onto a  computer chip. The data can be retrieved and is presented in a report. 

The data download from the EDR will usually contain 6 to 8 pages of information. A second impact can be recorded in the secondary, or non-deployment, file depending upon the circumstances of the collisions and the time interval between them.

An air bag deployment is not required for information to be recorded. There are circumstances where an air bag deployment command would be issued but the algorithm used to order the deployment determines a deployment is not warranted, such as a driver out of position before deployment is ordered. This is a "deployment level" event. Data may be recorded for "non-deployment" events. This can include rollover, sideswipe and side impact accidents. 

It is also possible no data can be recovered from a data recorder. One situation where this might occur would be a catastrophic loss of electrical power during the collision. In this situation, the entire power reserve in the air bag control module capacitor is used to deploy the air bags; there is none left for the recorder and no data is stored even though the air bags deployed.

Due to the variety of circumstances in any accident and variations in the type and amount of data any device is capable of recording, there are no guarantees of what data may be recorded, or may be recoverable, in any specific case.

Event Data Recorder downloads are completed by factory trained technicians at Harris Technical Services. The technician is also a fully qualified traffic accident reconstructionist. It is important the downloaded information and the physical evidence be considered as a whole and the data between the recorder and the physical evidence be compared before coming to any conclusions.

If you would like more information, or need to arrange the recovery of data from an event data recorder, please contact us. The initial file review and consultation is free and without obligation on any traffic accident case.


Links to additional information:


Vehicles with an EDR on board. 

    Supported vehicles include Acura, BMW, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Ford, Geo, GMC, Holden, Honda, Hummer, Infiniti, Isuzu, Jeep, Lancia, Lexus, Lincoln, Mercury, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Rolls Royce Saturn, Scion, Sterling, Suzuk, Toyota and Volvo.

    Please call us at 772-336-2279 for information on what data is recorded in specific vehicles.


Examples of EDR Files

    These are example files of the recovered data. Not all vehicles will report the same amount or type of information. Please call us at 772-336-2279 for information on what data is recorded in a specific vehicle.

        Chrysler

        Ford (Airbag Control Module)

        Ford (Powertrain Control Module)

        General Motors

        Honda

        Mazda

        Nissan

        Toyota


Electronic Control Module Field Guide (Trucks)

    This guide identifies Caterpillar, Cummins, Detroit, Mack and Mercedes truck engines with recoverable data. This document was prepared by the Wisconsin State Patrol Technical Reconstruction Unit. This information is current as of March, 2010.


EDR Case Law

    United States and Canadian trials where evidence from a Motor Vehicle Event Data Recorder was introduced.


State Statutes on Motor Vehicle Event Data Recorders.

    Full text of all state EDR statutes. The information is current as of February 03, 2013.


Federal Regulation (49CFR563) on Motor Vehicle Event Data Recorders

    This is the August 2006 federal regulation on EDRs.


Analysis of Event Data Recorder Data for Vehicle Safety Improvement

    U.S. Dept. of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, DOT Report 810935, April 2008.


Thinking Outside the Black Box: How creative thinking turned an electronic safety tool into a criminal informant.

     This article is by Mary W. Craig, Associate Professor of Law at Faulkner University’s Jones School of Law in Montgomery, Alabama.


U.S. Dept. of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Final Rule, 49 CFR Part 563, Event Data Recorders, Aug. 21, 2006.

    Final ruling by NHTSA on 49CFR563.


Federal Regulation (49CFR563), NHTSA, Final Rule; Response to Petitions for Reconsideration

    This document responds to several petitions for reconsideration of the August 2006 rule.


Event Data Recorders - State Statutes and Legal Considerations

    This article, by Jim Harris, Harris Technical Services, appeared in the Accident Reconstruction Journal, Vol. 18, No. 1, Jan/Feb 2008.


The Double Edged Sword that is the Event Data Recorder

    A 2006 paper by Andrew (Sandy) Askland, College of Law, Arizona State University, on EDRs and privacy.


Protocols for the Recovery, Maintenance and Presentation of Motor Vehicle Event Data Recorder Evidence (12/05). 

 
Evaluation of Event Data Recorders in Full System Crash Tests, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Paper No. 05-0271.


Searching and Seizing Computers and Obtaining Electronic Evidence in Criminal Investigations, Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, U.S. Dept. of Justice, July 2002. 


Use of Event Data Recorder (EDR) Technology for Highway Crash Data Analysis, National Cooperative Highway Research Program, Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, Project 17-24, December 2004.


A Review of Jurisprudence Regarding Event Data Recorders: Implications for the Access and Use of Data for Transport Canada Collision Investigation, Reconstruction, Road Safety Research and Regulation.