Citation

Gabler HC, Hinch J. Proc. Int. Tech. Conf. Enhanced Safety Vehicles 2009; 2009.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, In public domain, Publisher National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This paper investigates the feasibility of using event data recorders (EDRs) to characterize the crash avoidance behavior of drivers involved in rear end collisions. The study is based upon the records of 112 crashes from NASS/CDS 2000-2007 with associated EDR pre-crash data and of sufficient severity to deploy the frontal air bag. The study examined three factors affecting driver response to an impending rear collision: driver age, driver alcohol use, and road lighting condition. Crash avoidance actions of the drivers were inferred from the pre-crash EDR records of vehicle speed, throttle position, engine speed (RPM), and service brake status five seconds prior to impact. Factors considered included time of brake application prior to impact, peak braking deceleration, and the time history of throttle position. For these cases, this study combined EDR pre-crash records with NASS/CDS case records including scene diagrams and site photos to determine driver crash avoidance actions. The full text of this paper may be found at: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/esv/esv21/TOC.pdf