Messerschmidt and Austin to Present at the 2012 ARC-CSI Crash Conference

Kelly Messerschmidt
Technical Communications Manager

Bill Messerschmidt of MSC, and Tim Austin of the Wisconsin State Patrol Academy will give a presentation on “Using ECM Diagnostic Data in Crash Reconstruction” at the 2012 ARC-CSI Crash Conference, which will take place June 4-7, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Messerschmidt and Austin’s presentation explores the presence of important, volatile fault data in heavy vehicle Engine Control Modules (ECMs) that are oftentimes ignored, inadvertently erased, or overwritten during the ECM data imaging process.

They will discuss how and when diagnostic records are written, how they can be useful in collision investigations, as well as how the data can be preserved correctly. Messerschmidt and Austin will describe data imaging methods, such as the use of surrogate vehicles and devices like the “Truck in a Box.”

The ARC-CSI Crash Conference takes place annually and—as they have done for the past 10 years—the ARC-CSI Crash Team will conduct multiple, fully instrumented live crash tests of vehicles in real world crash scenarios. Learn more about the crash tests.

The two days that follow crash test day are comprised of technical presentations given by experts from around the world on topics relevant to investigating and reconstructing vehicle collisions. Learn more about the topics and speakers for the 2012 ARC-CSI Crash Conference.

Register to attend this year’s conference.

SAE EDR Symposium: Day 2, Session 2

Bill Messerschmidt
Manager, MSC 

The second session today is "Commercial Vehicle Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) (and Supplier) Perspectives," with speakers from Daimler Trucks, Volvo Trucks, Navistar, and Meritor Wabco.

The first speaker is Paul Menig from Daimler Trucks North America. Mr. Menig is discussing Safety from Start to Finish. He points out that a heavy vehicle has approximately 10 computers (engine, transmission, ABS, and so on). He points out that the general trend in the trucking industry has been for new technology to begin as an aftermarket option and then move toward greater integration (prep package, pre-delivery) until it becomes an OE factory option.

The next speaker is Timothy LaFon from Volvo Trucks North America. Mack and Volvo are headquartered in Greensboro, NC. The major control units on these vehicles are ABS, Airbags, Electronic Stability Control (ESC), EECU and VECU (Engine and Vehicle Electronic Control Units, respectively). There is also a light control module. He points out that ECUs were not developed for accident or crash investigations, and that physical data need to be considered as well as electronic data.

Beginning in 2002, Volvo does have "freeze frame" data associated with fault codes. Mr. LaFon announced that Volvo DOES HAVE INCIDENT LOGGING. The Volvo EDR, which begins in 2010, has two events: one associated with a Last Stop and one associated with a wheel speed trigger of 10mph/sec. There is one fault associated with VECU faults and one with EECU faults. These have 60 seconds of pre-event and 30 seconds of post-event data at 4Hz.

Airbag control units can be downloaded but need to be sent back to Europe. ABS and ESC systems should be downloaded by the supplier (e.g., Bendix or Wabco).

THIS IS THE FIRST OFFICIAL, PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT FROM VOLVO THAT THEIR TRUCKS HAVE AN EDR.

As of now, Mr. LaFon states that all Volvo VECU/EECU downloads must be handled by Tim Cheek (Delta-V Forensic Engineers) or John Steiner (KEVA Engineering). Mr. LaFon states that the reason for this is that they (Volvo) have concerns about data accuracy, evidence spoliation, and that Volvo has no method for selling the EDR Retrieval Tools to the public.

I think it's worth pointing out here that the engineering, research, and crash investigation community have successfully dealt with these very same issues with the other engine manufacturers' EDRs, including self-funding dozens and dozens of research papers over (literally) decades in light vehicle and heavy vehicle EDRs. Ironically, most of that research has been published though SAE.

The third speaker is Alan Korn from Meritor Wabco. Mr. Korn is describing the data monitoring system that Meritor Wabco offers called Safety Direct. This system can monitor and record driver behavior and alert a safety manager of aggressive driving. Safety Direct monitors and records events (10 seconds before and after), and can include video. It can be downloaded directly from the vehicle or it can be uploaded by a telematics system.

The final presentation in this group is from Eric Swenson of Navistar. Mr. Swenson is discussing the electrical, mechanical, space, and power requirements for a J2728-compliant HVEDR.

Visit SAE's page to learn more about the speakers. View the Event Guide for the SAE 2011 Highway Vehicle EDR Symposium (pdf).

SAE EDR Symposium: Day 1, Session 3

Bill Messerschmidt
Manager, MSC 

Session Three of the SAE 2011 Highway Vehicle EDR Symposium has five speakers who are trucking safety professionals discussing their and their companies' experience with Electronic On-Board Recorders (EOBRs) and various Event Data Recorder (EDR) systems.

The first speaker after lunch was Jerry Waddell from Cargo Transporters. Mr. Waddell discussed their positive experience with Critical Event Reporting, especially in notifying management of hard brake events.

The second speaker is Brett Graves from Maverick Transportation. Maverick Transportation is using predictive modeling to enhance the safety of their fleet. Their predictive models have greatly reduced their reportable and preventable rates per million miles.

The third speaker is Michael Baker from Usher Transport. Usher Transport has had ONLY FIVE rollovers in the 27 years that Mr. Baker has been there in safety. WOW!!! Some statistics from his presentation: 1/5 rollovers have two contributing factors: inattention & drowsiness. 1/5 rollovers results from excessive cornering speed. Lowering a trailer three inches increases stability by 10%. More stats: freeway off-ramps account for 7% of rollovers; interstate highways account for about 31%. State highways account for the remaining 68%. Forty-seven percent of rollovers result from lane departures. Only 9% result from cornering too fast.

The fourth speaker is James Burg of James Burg Trucking Company (JBTC). JBTC uses Drivecam Video Event Recorders and hauls normal and oversized loads. JBTC uses Drivecam as a training tool and also in incident and crash investigations. It has helped with company policy compliance, driving safety, and driver training. JBTC really works to make their drivers better drivers.

The fifth speaker is Sam Faucette from Old Dominion Freight Line. Old Dominion is the largest LTL carrier using EOBRs. They use a list of several variables that are monitored in order to evaluate safe, efficient operations. Like the other companies, they are turning "data" into useful information.

All five companies represented have one thing in common. They view safety as a human issue and rely on the EDR systems as tools to help the safety manager make good decisions and improve driver performance. Although they use different techniques and different tools, they are all focused on developing high quality, well-trained, professional drivers.

SAE EDR Symposium: Day 1, Session 1

Bill Messerschmidt
Manager, MSC 

The Institute for Advanced Learning and Research is an awesome facility. One really nice aspect of the room is that seating is at tables with five (comfortable) chairs. There's plenty of space, room for briefcases and backpacks, and the wifi is great! Opening comments from the Hon. Ann Ferro were delivered by video--tough to pull off, but with the technology in this building and the organizers' preparation, it came off quite well.

First speaker is Dr. Gabler from Virginia Tech. Dr. Gabler is discussing the "Big Picture" on light vehicle Event Data Recorders (EDRs). In general, the topic is how he and NHTSA are using EDR data to improve vehicle safety. It's pretty amazing, sitting here today, to think that 10 years ago Dr. Gabler was asked IF EDR data could be used for safety research. Personally, the most fascinating thing in Dr. Gabler's presentation is the use of EDR data for improving triage decisions after serious crashes.

Next speaker is Sandeep Kar. This presentation is about trends in telematics and urbanization. The topic of population growth patterns (mega cities to mega regions and mega corridors) affecting the development of new vehicle types is not a topic I've specifically thought about, but wow! There is incredible potential here for using telematics in a number of ways (including safety and compliance, but also emissions & logistics).

Third speaker is Joseph Kanianthra. Dr. Kanianthra is discussing the future of EDRs in safety. Ninety percent of primary causal factors are related to the operator: recognition errors, decision errors, erratic actions, fatigue, impairment, etc. Only 10% are primarily vehicle or roadway defect-related. The major idea of this presentation is that future injury and fatality prevention will be driven by prevention, more so than enhanced protection.

I think the moderator, John Hinch of NHTSA summed it up well: the big picture is bigger than any one person imagines.

SAE to Hold 2011 EDR Symposium, June 6-8

Click the image to visit SAE's website and learn more about the event.Kelly Messerschmidt
Technical Communications Manager 

The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) will hold an Event Data Recorder (EDR) Symposium at the Institute Conference Center, in Danville, Virginia, June 6-8, 2011.

MSC’s Bill Messerschmidt will be speaking at the EDR Symposium on analyzing driver behavior using HVEDR data, during the second Unique Applications session, on June 8^th. This year’s event marks the fourth EDR Symposium held since 1999.

The SAE 2011 EDR Symposium includes 38 speakers from the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Switzerland, Germany, and Sweden. These 38 speakers include university researchers, government researchers, trucking company executives and safety managers, industry engineers and executives, and consultants. Read about the speakers.

Technical sessions include Video Data Recorder applications, Standards Development, Passenger Car EDRs, International Activities, and Unique Applications.

You can learn more about the 2011 EDR Symposium at the SAE website. The links on the page include registration, travel, and exhibitor information, as well as speaker bios and descriptions of the technical sessions.