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VEHICLE DATA RECORDERS
Popularly called a "black box," an event data recorder is a device that records certain information from a vehicle immediately before and/or during most serious crashes. Police, crash investigators and others can download the data from the EDR's memory to help them better understand what happened to the vehicle and how the safety systems performed, and in some cases, help establish culpability. Most EDRs are built into a vehicle's airbag control module and record information about airbag deployment. However, some vehicles also record precrash data like engine throttle and vehicle speed from the engine control module. Some airbag and engine control modules store only diagnostic trouble codes and a signal to deploy airbags and belt tensioners. These modules aren't considered to have EDRs so they aren't covered under federal rules. Devices that record vehicle speed before a crash or speed change during impact are defined under federal rules as EDRs.
Currently, EDRs aren't mandatory, but many automakers choose to include them in their cars. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced plans to propose a rule requiring the devices in all new vehicles. In August 2006, NHTSA issued an EDR rule that standardizes the information EDRs collect and makes retrieving the data easier. This rule, which applies to 2013 and later models, requires devices defined as EDRs to record 15 data elements including vehicle deceleration in specific formats. More advanced EDRs may record additional information from the engine control module, antilock brakes and other vehicle systems. Federal rules outline as many as 30 extra data elements that advanced EDRs must log. Vehicle manufacturers must publicly share information about how to download EDR data, and they have to include a statement in the owner's manual telling consumers that their vehicle has an EDR.
As of model year 2013, all EDRs must record:
4. What do advanced EDRs record? For EDRs capable of logging more detailed vehicle information, NHTSA requires the devices to record such things as sideways acceleration, forward or rearward acceleration, engine speed, driver steering input, right front passenger safety belt status, engagement of electronic stability control system, antilock brake activity, side airbag deployment time for driver and right front passenger and seat track positions for both the driver and right front passenger. Occupant size and position for drivers and right front passengers may also be recorded.
NHTSA estimated that about 64 percent of 2005 model passenger vehicles had the devices. By 2005, General Motors, Ford, Isuzu, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Subaru and Suzuki were all voluntarily equipping all of their vehicles with EDRs according to NHTSA. Recent information from NHTSA indicates that 91.6 percent of new passenger vehicles have EDRs, although those EDRs may not include all of the data elements specified in the NHTSA rule.
Some EDRs in recent model vehicles can gather information from frontal, side, rear and rollover impacts. The original EDRs in GM and Ford vehicles, for example, collected information only from frontal and rear impacts.
EDRs can provide information about a crash that can't be obtained through more traditional investigation techniques. Police, crash investigators, automakers, insurance adjusters and highway safety researchers can use this information to analyze what occurred during a crash. The data may help automakers improve occupant restraint systems and vehicle structures. EDRs may be useful in determining culpability. For example, EDR data from a car involved in an August 2002 crash in Florida showed the vehicle was traveling at 114 mph seconds before it struck another vehicle killing two passengers. The EDR data were used to convict the driver of manslaughter.
Yes, useful as EDR data may be to researchers and others, there are limitations. Some EDRs restrict data retrieval to the maker of the vehicle. EDR data may not always survive a crash. The Institute downloaded data from 15 2001-08 GM models and two 2003-05 Ford models after 40 mph frontal offset crash tests. The EDRs in the GM vehicles accurately recorded precrash speeds, airbag deployment times and belt use. They also recorded vehicle decelerations during the crashes, but the EDRs in 7 of the 15 cars stopped recording before the crashes ended. The EDRs in the two Ford models recorded airbag deployment times and belt use, but both stopped recording vehicle deceleration data before the crash was over. Likewise, NHTSA reviewed the results of 37 crash tests in vehicles equipped with EDRs and found that the majority of EDRs didn't record the entire crash event. Data retrieved from newer vehicles subjected to IIHS crash tests, including GM and Ford models, indicate the EDRs are now capable of recording the entire crash event. Retrieving data from EDRs after a crash can be difficult. During 2002 and 2003, NHTSA investigators couldn't retrieve data in about one-third of their attempts. In some cases, the EDR didn't have any data. In other cases, vehicle damage prevented downloading the data, the owner wouldn't provide access to the EDR or technical or training issues got in the way.
EDRs and the data they store belong to vehicle owners. Police, insurers, researchers, automakers and others may gain access to the data with owner consent. Without consent, access may be obtained through a court order. For example, in a Florida criminal case involving a vehicular manslaughter charge, the police obtained a warrant to access the EDR data. For crashes that don't involve litigation, especially when police or insurers are interested in assessing fault, insurers may be able to access the EDRs in their policyholders' vehicles based on provisions in the insurance contract requiring policyholders to cooperate with the insurer. However, some states prohibit insurance contracts from requiring policyholders to consent to access.
Yes, some planes, ships, and locomotives are required by federal or international regulations to have EDRs. Beginning in 1958, some commercial planes had to have flight data recorders that recorded five parameters including speed and altitude. The number of data elements has increased since then, and flight data recorders now must track a minimum of 88 parameters. Since 1967, planes also have been required to have cockpit voice recorders that maintain the last 30 minutes of pilots' conversations prior to a crash. Passenger ships and ships with 3,000 or more gross tonnage built after June 31, 2002 must have a voyage data recorder that records a minimum of 12 hours of data including the ship's position, speed, and heading. The Federal Railroad Administration in July 1993 issued a rule requiring the lead locomotive of any train operating faster than 30 mph to have an in-service event recorder that logs, among other things, the speed, direction, throttle position, and brake application during the past 48 hours. Beginning Oct. 1, 2009, locomotives must have a crash hardened in-service event recorder meeting crashworthiness requirements set by the agency.
Automatic crash notification systems are designed to alert emergency responders, including police and medical personnel, when crashes occur. These systems use data from EDRs, airbag sensors and global positioning systems to identify the occurrence of crashes, their severity and the location of involved vehicles. This information is sent automatically by cell phone to emergency dispatchers or to staff at a private call center who forward it to local 911 operators.
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