Event Data Recorder (EDR) Links: The following links are offered as resources pertaining to current EDR and other related information.
EDR CASE LAW: EDR data has been admitted successfully in many criminal and civil proceedings. Data was excluded in one case because it could not be proven that it was from the event of interest due to a discrepancy between the key cycles at event and the key cycles at the time of readout. In another case, the court said that the data could not be used as evidence alone without expert testimony to validate or interpret it. The court has stricken some purported experts as not being experts.
NHTSA EDR RULE: Highlights::
Light vehicles built after Sept. 1, 2012 must comply with 49 CFR Part 563 , which states it if any one of the items in Table 1 is recorded then they all must be recorded and in accordance with the requirements in Table 1 and Table III. If the manufacturer records any data element in Table II then it must be recorded in accordance with the requirements in Table II and Table III. The recorder must survive in NHTSA’s FMVSS 208 frontal and FMVSS 214 side compliance crashes. The manufacturer must release the ability to read the data to a tool available for purchase by the public within 90 days of the first public sale of the vehicle. The manufacturer may specify the readout procedure. The NHTSA rule defines an EDR as something that records a time series of data, it does not technically require a manufacturer to have an EDR, you can comply by having no EDR data (time series data). However, 90% of all manufacturers had some kind of an EDR in their 2012 model year vehicles which would imply the vast majority must comply with the new rule for 2013 model year.
2012 NHTSA response to industry petitions for reconsideration of 2011 version of EDR rule
https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=NHTSA-2012-0099-0001
NHTSA PROPOSED a regulation to require EDR’s and change from reg to FMVSS 405, but never implemented it. https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=NHTSA-2012-0177-0001
BOSCH CRASH DATA RETRIEVAL SYSTEM: The equipment to read passenger vehicle Event Data Recorders was formerly known as the Vetronix Crash Data Retrieval System. Vetronix was acquired by Bosch several years ago, and effective January 2008 the equipment was rebranded as the Bosch Crash Data Retrieval System. Approximately 30% of the vehicles on the road, and about 50% of all new vehicles, are supported by the Bosch tool – including most GM products since 1994, some selected 2001 and later Ford products, and some Chrysler vehicles 2005 and later. The list of vehicles which are already publicly supported can be viewed at the Bosch Diagnostics website at the link below. Other manufacturers are expected to partner with Bosch and the remainder will be required in the future by NHTSA to release the ability to read their data to at least one publicly available provider.
Bosch Supported Vehicles List
boschdiagnostics.com – for latest software, supported vehicle list and hardware checklist
CDR Hardware Checklist
boschdiagnostics.com – for latest software, supported vehicle list and hardware checklist
FORD VEHICLES NOT CURRENTLY SUPPORTED BY BOSCH:
Under some circumstances Ford or Ford’s suppliers may be willing to download EDR’s for Ford vehicles that are not supported by Bosch. Please refer to my recent presentation on getting data from unsupported Fords on this website. If you still have questions, contact me for a free consultation on whether data is available and the best way to get it. During our initial consultation I will advise you of your options and recommend the option most likely to produce results in the timeframe you need. As the retired Ford EDR guy, I know Fords off the top of my head, but I have made it my business to learn as much information as is available on other manufacturers.
OTHER VEHICLES NOT CURRENTLY SUPPORTED BY BOSCH:
If the vehicle you are interested in is not currently supported by Bosch, it does not mean that there is not any data available. Many manufacturers have data in older models but do not readily acknowledge it. Most manufacturers will co-operate with law enforcement, fewer will respond to private parties, some will respond to private parties only if there is a court order. I may be able to assist you in how to fashion your discovery request to be more likely to get a response. Other manufacturers have their own tools different than the Bosch Crash Data Retrieval System. I have specialty equipment for Kia, Hyundai, Subaru, Mitsubishi, and Tesla vehicles. Contact me for a free consultation.
CDR Operator/Analyst Training:
Rick’s Teaching/Training Partner is Bill Wright of Florida Reconstruction LLC
http://floridareconstruction.com/
NHTSA has multiple crash investigation databases that can be helpful to the EDR analyst. Many times you may want to look at an EDR file from a similar make/model/model year to one you are investigating
The older NASS system allows searching on manufacturer, model and model year and will contain any EDR data gathered (if any). You may have to look at several files before finding one with an EDR– for our EDR research purposes it is not as “user friendly” as the newer CISS database, but it has A LOT of cases in it. The NASS system can be found at
https://crashviewer.nhtsa.dot.gov/LegacyCDS/Search
It will show you the case with how many vehicles are involved. See the vehicles listed along the left edge, then expand your vehicle of interest, expand “vehicle exterior”, expand “EDR”. You can view the data that was transcribed from the EDR and print it. It is NOT in Bosch CDR report format. Data can be downloaded in XML format. Pictures of the crash vehicles may also be viewed
The newer CISS system is MUCH user-friendlier to the EDR researcher. It also allows searching on manufacturer, model and model year, but allows a “filter search” with the ability to select ONLY crashes where EDR data is available.
https://crashviewer.nhtsa.dot.gov/CISS/SearchIndex
To find the EDR report, click on the Vehicle within the crash, expand “Exterior Vehicle”, expand “EDR”, then click on “Summary”. You will see a link to download the .CDRx file. Pictures of the vehicle can also be downloaded.
As of January 2017, only the 2016 calendar year investigations are uploaded, but NHTSA is expected to upload 2017 calendar year investigations soon.
