A recent high-profile story on World News Tonight featured a violent car crash in which the driver of a Corvette crashed into the back of a Ford Escort, killing the driver of the Escort. When investigators arrived on the scene, they wired up a laptop to the so-called "black box" in the Corvette and watched as the computer displayed the critical evidence. The Corvette had been traveling 106-mph; the brakes were applied 2-seconds prior to impact, etc. The evidence was printed and the driver was convicted.
On more recent model vehicles, the airbag system contains a collection of sensors that measure the G-forces that occur during a crash, as well as other information. For example, the vehicle's speed, what the throttle pedal position is and whether the brake pedal has been depressed. In order to predict the magnitude of a crash, the system stores this information in a computer chip housed inside the "black box." The box is commonly located under one of the front seats or under the console of the vehicle.
General Motors has recently made the technology available to read the data stored in the airbag module on many of its 1997 and later model cars, trucks and SUV's. It is believed that other manufacturers will eventually follow suit. Ford has announced that it will soon make their software available.
This evolving technology provides an important tool that can be a critical component in a complete accident investigation and reconstruction. A trained engineer equipped with the proper computer interface is now able to download pre-crash and post-crash data from an increasing number of vehicles.
For more information about black-box technology in cars and a list of downloadable vehicles, contact The Warren Group at 1-888-827-7823 or visit our website at www.warren-group.com.