There are many uses for the vehicle event data recorders (EDR). What many fail to realize is that vehicles event data recorder downloads or cars black box data recovery are very useful for insurance companies, attorneys, and even police officers after a car accident. After the General Motors predicament, a case inspected by Applied Technical Services, the term “black box” or “black box data” was thrown around repeatedly but many didn’t know much if anything about the vehicle event data recorders (EDR). The black box data or vehicle event data recorders are used in all passenger vehicles manufactured after 2014, but some vehicles were equipped with black box data recorders starting in 1994.
There are many terms that people use, and although some are correct and some might be technically incorrect, nevertheless others get the idea of what they are referring to: Vehicle Crash Data Recorders (CDR), black box download, data, crash data, imaging, EDR download, car crash box, car EDR, crash data analysis, Vehicle Event Data Recorder (VEDR), event data recorder removal, event data recorder download, event data retrieval, data recovery, recovery, crash data recovery, forensic data collection, etc.
Vehicle Data Image Capturing
During the occurrence of a car accident, the event data recorder or black box archives five seconds of data prior to the impact provided that the collision is strong enough to “wake up” the system. That information can be read using the proper equipment and software program. The black box data is always there, as long as it is captured within a certain amount of time.
The information on the black box or black box data is recorded and permanently saved if the air bags deploy. If a collision occurs and the air bags do not deploy, there may be data saved in what is known as a near-deployment event. Near-deployment events are not permanent and can be overwritten over time. The five seconds of data prior to the collision are the same for deployment and non-deployment events. This black box data is very useful in understanding what was occurring just prior to the impact such as: vehicle speed, engine rpm, percent throttle, brake application, and seat belt usage. Newer vehicles may also include steering input, yaw rate, individual wheel speeds, tire pressures, and gear selection.
What to Expect
There are many factors that can be reported from a data imaging extraction. Some of the information could be whether the occupants were wearing seatbelts, how fast the vehicle was traveling, did the airbags deploy, and even whether the driver was able to apply the vehicle brakes before the incident. Any of these details can be detrimental or tremendously valuable in court to prove vehicle defect, as the GM dilemma mentioned before. It could also show driver’s negligence or recklessness while driving, or even if the occupants were not utilizing proper safety equipment such as their seat belts.
The black box data extracted from the event data recorder (EDR) removes or rejects all bias evidence and the “he-said/she-said” court testimonies, and produces concrete evidence. Many plaintiffs’ firms on behalf of accident victims and even insurance companies examine the data from the black box as a stipulation or provision prior to the processing of any litigation or a claim.
If you are a law firm and have a product liability litigation case that deals with a vehicle or an accident victim’s case in need of the data information recorded, Applied Technical Services can help you. We are an independent investigation group.
Other Services Available
- Half or Full Day Lab Rental for Inspections and Testing
- Evidence Storage
- Vehicle Indoor/Outdoor Secured Storage
- Outdoor Storage
- Aircraft/Commercial Vehicles Indoor Storage
- Chemical Analysis
- Professional Engineers
- Dimensional Inspection Services
- Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)
