Citation

Messerschmidt W, Smith B, Dunn A. Collision 2011; 6(1): 50-56.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, Collision Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Although the accuracy of heavy vehicle event data recorder (HVEDR) data has been repeatedly tested and validated, all of these studies have been conducted in controlled environments with well-maintained test vehicles. The current study examines HVEDR data and physical evidence from an actual crash in order to correlate controlled research data with real-world data, physical evidence and human factors research. In the accident under consideration, a 2001 Freightliner FLD-120 pulling a refrigerated trailer collided with a passenger vehicle crossing the highway. The Freightliner had deficiencies with its air brake system. The Freightliner was equipped with an electronic control module (ECM), which was downloaded after the crash. The data included two hard brake reports and one last stop record. The ECM data was analyzed to determine if data matched the physical evidence. Significant discrepancies were found between the data and the physical evidence. These discrepancies could be due to vehicle condition, driver response behavior and other case-specific factors. These findings show how ECM data should be correlated with physical evidence for accurate accident reconstruction.