Research:

MSC is actively engaged in research that benefits our clients and the community. This page discusses some of the projects that we have been and are currently involved in.

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Heavy Truck ECM Testing in Wisconsin

In May 2009, Bill Messerschmidt joined members of the Wisconsin State Patrol for a day of heavy truck ECM and brake testing at Fox Valley Technical College near Green Bay, Wisconsin. Tests were conducted with Detroit Diesel, Caterpillar, and Cummins engines. The goal of the testing was to simulate real-world occurrences (such as power failures and various driver inputs) and document how the event data recorders interpreted them. The results will be presented in part at the Midwest Association of Technical Accident Investigator's Annual Conference in June 2009.

Reseach to Be Included in Transactions 2009

On 21 April 2009, Bill Messerschmidt presented his research paper "A Statistical Analysis of Data from Heavy Vehicle Event Data Recorders" at the 2009 Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress. MSC is pleased to announce that the paper has been selected for inclusion in Transactions, SAE's compilation of the most significant research presented at the Congress.

Truck ECM/Event Data Recorder Field Testing

MSC and ASI Investigations of Hattiesburg, MS have begun a series of tests on the ECM data from late model Mercedes engines. Issues being examined include power failures, multiple hard brake events, and attributes of the Last Stop Record.

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Ambient Light Documentation

Following up on our headlamp testing in March 2009, MSC is conducting testing related to ambient light levels under different typical circumstances.

Analysis of Truck ECM Data

During 2008 and 2009, Bill Messerschmidt of MSC and Jeffery Muttart of the University of Massachusetts studied over 130 cases where Event Data had been captured from crash-involved trucks. Using a series of statistical tests, this research was able to determine trends in the data, which can help an investigator determine when the collision event occurred. The research was submitted to the Society of Automotive Engineers for peer review, and it will be published and presented at the 2009 World Congress in Detroit, MI.

A Visual Approach to CDR Data Logic

In 2006 and 2007, Bill Messerschmidt and Jon Northrup researched the way data limitations interact in the Event Data Recorder function of a General Motors airbag control module. Bill and Jon were able to build ANSI-91a-compliant flowcharts explaining the logic functions that control data storage during and after an accident. The research was presented at the Second Annual CDR User’s Conference in Houston, TX, and it was published in Collision: The International Compendium of Crash Research.