Collision Data Retrieval Tool

TRL's Bosch Data Retrieval Tool  was recently used when Thames Valley police asked TRL to assist with a case.  Very simply, data required by the airbag control module (ACM) is retained after a deployment or near deployment in an Event data Recorder (EDR) and this information can be downloaded and analysed. In this particular case, the data gathered by our accident investigator, proved that the driver was travelling at 70mph and only started to brake 0.5 seconds before impact.

This data was vital to the success of the prosecution case, and the driver became the first in the country to be prosecuted using evidence recovered from his airbag by a Collision Data Retrieval (CDR) tool.

At present, this scientific analysis is only available for vehicles manufactured in the US, so the number of CDR compatible vehicles on the road in the UK is currently small. The most popular American vehicles that are compatible with the Bosch Data retrieval Tool are Chryslers and Jeeps. Other compatible vehicles include the 2010 Saab 9-5, and the latest version of the EDR software will be able to retrieve data directly from the new 2012 Fiat 500 airbag control module.

From September 2012 any vehicle sold in the US that has an Event Data Recorder function must retain a number of key parameters (e.g. vehicle speed, engine rpm, ABS activation). It is hoped that this legislation in the US and the possibility of further requirements will filter into European vehicles so that we may also have access to this type of data in more vehicles.

To check the compatibility of a vehicle, all that's required is the vehicle VIN number.

For further information on this aspect of our work, please contact:

Incident Investigation & Reconstruction Group
Tel: +44 1344 770892
Email: investigations@trl.co.uk