DRACO: a transient recorder for road accidents

The authors describe a transient recorder for road vehicles named DRACO (driving accident coordinating observer). An accident recorder has the basic function of collecting data which relates to the behaviour of a vehicle when it is in an accident. In this sense it simply acts as an on-vehicle observer of that vehicle's movements and internal systems only when it has been subjected to an impact. The recorded data can then be used in the process of accident reconstruction. Accident reconstruction is a formal procedure to determine the events which lead to an accident by analysis of data collected from the accident site. Such information might be used in a criminal or civil action in a court of law.<
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