Crash Data Retrieval (CDR)

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, inside a four-inch square metal box called an Airbag Control Module (ACM), is currently installed in most recent vehicles. Beginning with the 2013 year models, all passenger cars, SUV's and light trucks sold in the United States will be required to have downloadable EDRs.

Primarily designed to operate the air bag system in vehicles, the event data recorder can tell traffic crash 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 which dashboard warning lights were on.

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

CDR downloads are completed by  trained technicians. The technician is also a fully accredited traffic crash reconstructionist. It is important that the downloaded information and the physical evidence be considered as a whole, and that 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 Inland NW Traffic Accident Investigation at (208) 771-0611


Crash Data Retrieval