Event Data Recorder

Event data recorder

Event data recorder (EDR) is a device (an electronic sensor) installed in automobiles for record information related to vehicle accidents. In US, over 90% of all new cars and light trucks are equipped with them, the NHTSA proposing that all light vehicles have EDRs installed in the future. In modern trucks, EDRs are triggered by a sudden change in wheel speed or electronically sensed problems in the engine. An accident can appear because of one or more of these conditions. This device stores the information and the information can be analyze and use for determine what the vehicles were doing before, during and after the crash or event.

The technological evolution of motor vehicle EDRs

First versions of EDR used analog signal processing and recording to analyze and store data, first test by NHTSA in the 1970s. General Motors Corp. installed first commercial EDR on series models in 1974. EDRs have evolved over the past 40 years as motor vehicles have increasingly come to rely on electronic sensors.

Engine control unit (ECU) is a key component in this electronic system. ECU collects and analyzes information about the engine’s operation. EDR accumulates data from a dedicated sensor or, sometimes, from a vehicle network.

Automakers sought ways to evaluate the sensors and make the new systems easier to service, the role of the ECU was expanded to include a diagnostic component which stored data on problems detected through the sensors.

Event Data Recorder is a small box, which is installed, generally, under one of the front seats of vehicle or sometimes in the center console, for passenger vehicle EDRs are usually incorporated within an airbag electronic controller.

A crash-sensing algorithm decides within 15-50 milliseconds (msec) after an impact when the airbag should be inflated, based on model-specific criteria stored in a sensor. When the pre-crash data will recorded is determine by the algorithm. A current NHTSA rule specifies that if the vehicle has an EDR, information on 15 data element must be recorded at the time of crash.

NHTSA regulation specify what intervals must be recorded if a manufacturer black box designed to collect such data.

The memory is the only limit for stored information. The information stored on the EDR cannot be erased or altered. Only exception from this rule is ‘neardeployment’ of the airbag, an accident which does not set off the airbag. In this case the data stored on sensor are cleared from the memory after 250 ignition cycles (about 60 days)

The Event Data Recorder is connected to other sensor. EDR collects data from these sensor an continually replaces previously stored data every five second1. Only the most recent data are retained when airbags are deployed in a crash situation.

In passenger vehicles, Event Data Recorder system, collect a limited range of information than ‘black boxes’ aboard other types of transportation vehicles. For example, flight data recorders aboard aircraft can record hundreds of flight parameters for up to 25 hours, and cockpit voice recorders capture all voices in the cockpit for the duration of a flight. Data recorders in railroad locomotives must preserve information on about 25 different variables over a 48-hour period.1

The EDR data can be useful in a variety of ways:

May be used by law enforcement agentcies

Used to evaluate a driver’s responsibility for crash

Used by automakers to better understand vehicle performance in crash situations ( redesign vehicle and safer automobiles)

Used by state, federal and local highway officials to evaluate road conditions and safety configurations that could be improved to mitigate accidents.

Operation

There are many different patents related to various types of Event Data Recorder. Some EDRs recording data continuously, overwriting the previous few minutes until a crash stops them. Other EDRs are activated by crash (as sudden changes in velocity) and may continue to record until the accident is over or until the recording time is expired. EDRs can record a different types of data elements, such as: the brakes applied, the speed at the impact time, the steering angle, and whether seat belt circuits were shown as “Buckled” or “Unbuckled” at the time of the crash. Current EDRs store the information internally on an EEPROM until recover from the module. Some vehicles can transmit some data, such as an alert that the airbags have been deployed, to a remote location because they have a communications system.

In automobiles and light trucks most EDRs are part of the restraint system control module, which senses impact accelerations and determines what restraints to deploy (seatbelt tensioners and/or airbags). After the deployment (or non-deployment) the data are written in memory. The data downloaded from EDRs usually contain 6 to 8 pages of information depending on the make/model/year of the vehicle being evaluated, newer systems include many more data elements and require more pages. Depending on the EDR type and the circumstances of the collisions and the time interval between them, it may contain either deployment file or non-deployment file or sometimes both.

It is possible that recorded data can not be recovered from EDR. One situation where this thing can happen is in an electrical power loss early in a collision event. In this situation, the power reserve may be spent by the deployment of the airbags, leaving insufficient power to write data to EEPROM. There are other circumstances where a module may fail to record a data file as well.

In heavy trucks case, the EDRs are part of the engine electronic control module (ECM), which controls fuel injection timing and other functions in modern heavy-duty diesel engines. The Event Data Record function mod is different for different engine manufacturers, but most recognize engine events such as coolant loss, sudden stops or low oil pressure. Mercedes-Benz, Caterpillar Inc, Mack Trucks, Detroit Diesel and Cummins engines are among those that may contain this function. When a fault related event occurs, the data is written in memory, when an event triggered by reduction in wheel speed is sensed, the data is written in memory and he can include almost two minutes of data about vehicle speed, clutch application, brake application and cruise control status. The data stored on EDR can be downloaded using the computer software and cables for the specific engine involved. These software tools often allow monitoring of the driver hours of service, idle time, fuel economy, average travel speeds and other information related to the maintenance and operation of the vehicle.

Some EDRs only keep track of the car’s speed along its length and not the speed going sideways.1 Analysts generally look at the energy, momentum, crush damage and then compare their speed estimates to the number coming of the Event Data Recorder to creat a complete view of the accident.

Data from the Eaton VORAD Collision Warning System

Many commercial trucking firms used the Eaton VORAD Collision Warning System to aid drivers and improve safety. This system includes a radar sensor (forward and side truck sensor) to detect the proximity, presence and the movements of the vehicles around the truck and then alert the truck driver. In moment when the sensor determine that a nearby vehicle is potentially hazardous or the truck is closing on a vehicle ahead too quickly, the VORAD system gives the driver a visual and audible warning. This system monitors various parameters of the truck including turn rate plus the status of vehicle systems and controls and the vehicle seed. This data is recorded and stored by the VORAD system and also this data can be extracted and analyzed in case of an accident event. Accident investigators and forensic engineers can used this data to show the movement and speed of the vehicle plus the position and speeds of other vehicles prior to the incident. The VORAD system is a step above the EDR systems in accident reconstruction because the VORAD monitors other vehicles relative to the host vehicle and EDR’s only record data about the host vehicle.

Practice

American open-wheel championship CART introduced Event data recorder in the 1993 season and the Formula One World Championship in 1997. This thing allowed to study crashes and later, based on this study develop new car rules and track safety measures that reduce damages.

The EDR is used in road vehicles varies widely from manufacturer to manufacturer. While Ford and General Motors implement the technology on most of their recent models, Audi and Mercedes-Benz do not use EDR. 40 million vehicles equipped with this devices in 2003. Many emergency service vehicles and police vehicle in UK are fitted with accurate and detailed version on EDR produced by on of several independent companies. City of London police and Metropolitan police use EDRs of a long time and have used the data recovered after an incident to convict both police officers and members of the public.

Some module can be downloaded “on the bench” after removal from the vehicle or another method is downloading an airbag module in most vehicles is best accomplished by connecting the appropriate scanning tool to the Diagnostic Link Connector (DLC) usually found under the vehicle’s dashboard near the driver’s knees.

Bosh Diagnostic’s Cash Data Retrieval System is the only system capable of downloading commercially available crash data in North America.

NHTSA’s Event Data Recorder Ruling

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), from 1998 to 2001, sponsored a working group specifically tasked with the study of EDRs. NHTSA released, after years of evaluation, a formal Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in 2004. In this notice, NHTSA, declared intent to standardize EDRs. In August 2006, NHTSA released its final ruling (49 CFR Part 563). The ruling was lengthy, 207 pages, and this ruling consist not only definitions and mandatory EDR standards, but also acted as a formal replay to the dozens of petitions received by NHTSA after the 2004 notice.

Since there a considerable increase in the number of voluntary EDR installation, the ruling did not require manufacturers to install EDRs in vehicles produced for North America. NHTSA estimated that by 2010, over 85% of vehicles would already have EDRs installed in them, based on its analysis, but warned that if the trend did not continue, the ruling to change and possibly make installation a requirement.

The mandate provide a minimum standard for the data type that EDRs would be required to record at least 15 crash data types. Some require crash data include engine throttle, pre-crash speed, brake use, drive safety belt use, measured changes in forward velocity (delta-V), airbag warning lamp status and airbag deployment times.

NHTSA also set standards for 30 other data types if Event Data Recorder were voluntarily configured to record them. Example: if manufacturer configured an Event Data Recorder to record ABS activity or engine RPMs, then the EDR would have to record 5 second of those pre-crash data in half-second increments.

Besides the requirement that all data be able to survive a 30 MPH crash and be measured with defined precision, NHTSA also required that all manufacturers make their Event Data Recorder data publicly available. As of October 2009, only Ford, General Motors and Daimler Chrysler had released their EDR data to be publicly read.

NHTSA set a time table for all vehicle manufacturers to be compliance with the new Event Data Recorder standard in the August 2006 ruling. Originally the compliance data set for all vehicles manufactured after September 1, 2010. NHTSA has since updated its ruling (49 CFR Part 563 Update) to give vehicle manufacturers until September 1, 2014 to be in compliance with the original ruling.

Privacy concerns

In spite of alerts and warnings in their vehicle owner’s manual, many drivers are not conscious of their vehicle’s recording capability. Privacy groups and civil liberty groups have raised concerns about the implications of data recorders ‘spying’ on users car, in particular the issue of ‘who owns the data’ has not yet been fully resolved and there has been some controversy over the use of recorder data for insurance claims against the driver of crashed vehicle or as evidence in court cases. As they become more accepted as a source of evidence in civil and criminal court cases, using data provided by EDR is growing. Fourteen states have statutes specific to EDRs, generally, restrict access to the Event Data Recorder or limit the use of recovered EDR information.

Use as evidence in courts

In US and Canada we have a number of cases involving EDRs. As a result of Event Data Recorder, drivers have been convicted or exonerated by the judge.

Examples of cases:

In New South Wales, Australia, a female teenage was convicted of dangerous driving in 2005. The evidence provide from the Peugeot’s EDR showed that the car was driving over the limit speed.

In Quebec, Canada, the driver of a car who passed a red light, crashing another car and killing the driver, was convicted of ‘dangerous driving’ in 2001 after information from Event Data Recorder showed that the fault was his, not the other car driver, who was speeding. There were no other witnesses to the crash.

The first case for use of Event Data Recorder evidence in the UK was at Birmingham Crown Court during the trial of Antonio Boparan-Sigh who crashed the Range Rover Sport he was driving into a Jeep in 2006. The EDR information allowed investigators to determine the Range Rover speed was 72 mph in a 30 mph zone. The drive , aged 19, was sentenced to 21 months in prison, and the accident left a baby girl paralyzed.

This is a list of the oldest vehicles with an EDR installed by manufacturer and some new vehicles with this device.

Legislation

Cars

US

The US has implement technical requirement for EDRs if the are fitted to vehicles since 1 September 2010. In Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 49 Part 563 ( Part 563) is define the requirements for EDR. The regulation aimed at standardize data obtained by EDR to ensure that the data can be put to most effective future use. Part 563 applies to passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, buses and trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 3,855 kg or less and an unloaded vehicle weight of 2,495 kg or less (light vehicles) that are voluntarily equipped with an EDR.

Because the light vehicles are required by FMVSS208 to have frontal airbags and the Airbag Control Module (ACM), EDRs have been defined for this type of vehicles. ACM is implicitly required by this rule can be used as the basis of the EDR.

NHTSA estimated the fitment rate of EDRs in new US-fleet light vehicles as 64% in 2006 [DOT, 2006] and 92% in 2013 [DOT, 2012b], and it is expected that this will be close to 100% by the end of 2014.1

Japan

According to Ishikawa [2009], the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism have also proposed technical requirements for the application of EDRs to light vehicles (3500 kg GVWR or less) [J-MLIT, 2008]. The Japan proposal is apparently comparable to the US Part 563, but in Japan legislation are added two data elements: the pre-crash warning and the pre-crash brake operating status.

Korea

The NPRM for FMVSS 405 [DOT, 2012c] notes that ‘Korea has expressed an interest in the development of an EDR standard under the International Standards Organization’.

Other jurisdictions

In 2005 in Canada , Transport Canada investigated whether a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with vehicle manufacturers would be a suitable way to deal with the safety of in-vehicle telematics devices, which included EDRs [Rudin-Brown, 2005].

The Australian Transport Council’s National Road Safety Strategy 2011-2020 makes no mention of potential legislation on EDRs, although eCall is mentioned. Australia has no EDR legislation and no current plans for EDR legislation is confirmed by The Australian Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development. An Australian GM brand, Holden, specifically mention EDRs in their Privacy Policy, but no legislative activity was identified.

The Hong Kong Director of Audit reviewed accident investigation and law enforcement aspects of road safety [HKDA, 2006] and recommended that ‘the Commissioner for Transport should, in consultation with the Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works and the Commissioner of Police, monitor the development and application of vehicle EDR by car manufacturers.’ It was noted that the recommendation was accepted by the administration.

Light Goods Vehicles

US

The US approach to EDRs (and other vehicle safety legislation) categorises all vehicles as either ‘light’ or ‘heavy’. Part 563 applies to passenger cars, trucks, multipurpose passenger vehicles and buses with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 3,855 kg or less and an unloaded vehicle weight of 2,495 kg or less. The US regulation will therefore cover many light goods vehicles and minibuses.

Japan

The proposed legislation in Japan would apply to vehicles with a GVWR of 3500 kg or less. This is slightly lighter than the definition used in the US, but would still cover many light goods vehicles and minibuses.

Other Jurisdictions

NHTSA noted that they had priority the definition of EDRs for light vehicles because these vehicles are required by FMVSS 208 to have frontal airbags, and the Airbag Control Module (ACM) which is implicitly required by this rule can be used as the basis of the EDR. In Europe, most LGVs have for many years been equipped with a driver’s steering wheel airbag, and the associated airbag control module could similarly form the basis of an EDR.

Heavy Goods Vehicles, Buses and Coaches

In many jurisdictions, heavy goods vehicles and coaches are required to have tachograph that are used to record parameters such as distance, driver activity and speed vehicle. The primary purpose of the tachograph is the monitoring and enforcement of regulations governing drivers’ working hours, although they are also used to provide information in accident investigations.

Originally tachographs was analogue device. This device use styli drawing lines on a paper disk that rotated throughout the day and the disk had to be replaced daily to ensure correct recording. Since August 2005, EU regulation 1360/2002 has required all applicable new vehicles to be fitted with a digital tachograph which record data a 1Hz, although some models provide 4Hz data for collision investigation.

Analogue and digital tachographs record very little information about a collision compared with the EDRs often fitted to cars. In the US, NHTSA started working on EDRs for heavy goods vehicles and buses at around the same time that it started work on EDRs for cars, via the NHTSA Truck and Bus EDR Working Group [DOT, 2002].

Accident investigation