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Loading ...Our engineers have been assisting attorneys and insurance representatives in investigating accidents since 1990. We have a highly qualified staff of engineers with advanced degrees from top-tier universities who have provided testimony on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants at trial
A vehicle traveling at an excessively high speed T-boned another at an intersection. While traditional reconstruction methods were able to determine the speed at the moment of impact to be 65 mph, the vehicle's anti-lock braking system prevented the creation of any documented tire marks to determine the speed before impact. However, the information downloaded from the EDR showed that prior to impact the driver of the speeding car was going nearly 80 mph and had moved his foot from the accelerator to the brake seconds before the crash which slowed his vehicle down to 65 mph at the moment of impact. Without the EDR report, the reconstruction could have only concluded that the speed at the moment of impact was 65 mph.
The EDR report from a single car crash indicated a high speed which was used to attribute blame to the driver. However, since the collision involved an airborne phase and multiple impacts, the accuracy of the EDR speed was in question. EDR’s typically can only save data for a limited number of impact “events” and when there are multiple impacts or multiple EDR events, it is not always obvious which impact correspond to which EDR event. In addition, EDR speed data is based on wheel rotational speed but when a car becomes airborne, the wheel speed and the car's actual speed may no longer be the same. In such cases interpretation of the EDR data must be done with great care. EDR’s aren’t infallible, and require a skilled accident reconstructionist for proper interpretation.
