ehicle system forensics: Event data recorders (EDR)

Here's what event data recorders can tell you

Event data from an EDR is the second of three sources of information that can be obtained directly from a vehicle. The most popular tool used to extract this information is the Bosch Collision Data Retrieval (CDR) tool, although like many tools, the Bosch CDR system is not universal to all cars and so there are other systems on the market.

Some of those systems are manufacturer dependent, such as the GIT system for Hyundai and Kia's and others are generic.

EDRs record on two occasions. The first is obvious, when a collision occurs and the airbags deploy, the second however, is during a near miss. But what is a near miss? It is any event where the vehicle detects that it might need to deploy the airbags, but circumstances change meaning the deployment of the airbags is not necessary.

There is some commonality in the data recorded by the various EDR systems, and generally includes information such as road speed, engine speed, whether the brake is being applied or not and how hard the accelerator is being depressed (to name a few). But just because there is some commonality, you never really know what information the system will offer until you download it.

How long does the data remain stored? When the airbags deploy, the information is generally retained indefinitely (although not always). Near miss events are a different kettle of fish though, with some recording the information indefinitely and some only recording for a specified time.

Our advice in respect of EDR data is to access it and download it as soon as possible, as the longer it is left, the risk of losing that data increases.

Driven Forensics have several years of experience downloading and analysing EDR data for use in civil and criminal investigations and we are able to produce a Court compliant report detailing our findings.

t. +44 (0)113 534 8708 | e. enquiry@drivenforensics.co.uk | w. www.drivenforensics.co.uk