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Posted on 06/12/2002 4:21:37 PM PDT by Excuse_My_Bellicosity
By 2020, vehicular crashes will be the third leading cause of injury and death, according to the World Health Organization.
Manufacturers have improved vehicle safety -- but conflicting eyewitness statements, inconsistent accident reports between police jurisdictions and the lack of uniform data collection systems can make determining the cause of an accident speculative at best.
"No two crashes are the same and investigators often rely on subjective information to determine what transpired," said IEEE member Tom Kowalick of Click, Inc. Transportation Safety Technologies in Southern Pines, North Carolina, USA. "Objective, uniform, scientific data is missing about what actually happened during the crash."
Consistent data collection
Autos, motorcoaches and trucks are the only modes of transportation without standardized recorders. This prompted the IEEE Standards Association to start to begin developing the first international standard for motor vehicle event data recorders, similar to "black boxes" that monitor aircraft. The IEEE P1616 "Motor Vehicle Event Data Recorders" standards project will help manufacturers develop onboard tamper- and crash-proof memory devices for all vehicles. The standard will identify the data to be captured such as date, time, speed and number of occupants, and define how that information should be obtained, recorded and transmitted.
"Open access to recorded vehicle information will benefit investigators, insurance companies, manufacturers and vehicle occupants, and greatly improve our highway transportation system," explained Kowalick, who is the P1616 Working Group chair.
Vehicle event data recorders (EDRs) already exist. Nearly all late-model cars have some type of sensing diagnostic module but the information storage method and the means to retrieve it varies among manufacturers.
There also are aftermarket event data recorders that owners can install. In 1993, Siemens VDO Automotive of Germany was the first company to mass-produce EDRs. Primarily used in Europe, these recorders capture 14 data elements and measure sensory information at 256 hertz per second. The units can record nine separate events on a digital chip using a ring of continuous memory.
"The real advantage for consulting engineers reconstructing a multi-vehicle accident is that they can very quickly determine a solution for one vehicle so finding the data for the others is that much faster," said Tony Reynolds, VDO's product manager.
In Europe, onboard recording devices are mandatory on motorcoaches and commercial vehicles weighing more than 3.5 metric tons. But in the United States there is no requirement for EDRs on any class of vehicle.
In an effort to characterize the U.S. crash environment and to develop better regulations to improve motor vehicle and highway safety with this information, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) collects data on approximately 5,000 accidents a year.
NHTSA plans to seek public comment to determine whether to require event data recorders in all vehicles and to collect the data in a standardized format.
"EDRs will allow us to collect better data because we will have an 'eye witness' onsite that sees what happens in the crash," said John Hinch, NHTSA special assistant.
NHTSA is a P1616 Working Group participant and is sharing information from its working groups investigating event data recorders in light vehicles, trucks and motorcoaches. Their findings show that EDR technology has potential safety applications for all motor vehicles classes, and access to this data will help researchers, crash investigators and manufacturers improve highway safety. Studies in Europe and the United States have shown that driver awareness of an onboard EDR reduces the number and severity of crashes.
Who owns the data?
The privacy, ownership and access of this information is being debated. Although these issues are not within the scope of the standard, Kowalick agreed that data ownership questions must be resolved.
Currently, most manufacturers of event data recorders possess the information, not vehicle owners, Kowalick said. Siemens VDO Automotive gives vehicle owners possession of their data, according to Reynolds.
But vehicle owners cannot protect the privacy of this information, according to both experts. Insurance policy holders who read their contracts carefully will find that those who wreck an insured vehicle must provide assistance with all accident inquiries -- including information from event data recorders.
Meeting the challenge
"The health care costs caused by accidents are a financial burden that must be reduced," Kowalick said. "The challenge lies in integrating communication and information technology to improve transportation safety, and the IEEE is well positioned to bring these areas together."
For more information about the P1616 standards project, visit http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/ 1616/home.htm.
Does anybody here want the cops to have the ability to plug a laptop computer into your car's 'black box' during a traffic stop and see everywhere you've gone, at what time, and how fast? Think it can't happen? A lot of people thought that law enforcement would never have the ability to stop all or random cars at "DUI checkpoints" because the 4th Amendment provides protection.
I know, the government should just install a few thousands more cameras at intersection, freeways, etc etc. Oh, and lets install then in front of our driveways, pointing at our houses, as many accidents happen while backing out of driveways.
After the cars, then bikes and shoes. Lest anybody goes barefoot, here comes the chip implant.
It's even easier than that. It might as well be a wireless standard. All the cop has to do is sit by the side of the road and collect all the logs from the cars as they drive by. Wouldn't that just be swell?
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