Technical development and implementation of event data recording in the road safety policy

The study provides an analysis of the technical developments and implementation of Event Data Recorders (EDRs) in cars or commercial transport vehicles. EDRs are devices able to record information related to vehicle crashes or accidents. They have been used since the 1970s by US car manufacturers to investigate accident causation and to improve vehicle design; at present, increasing applications in the insurance market and public and private fleet management are emerging. The EU is giving increasing attention to these and other Intelligent Transport System devices as they could help meet road safety targets set in the 2011 Transport White Paper. This study provides an overview of existing application of EDRs in the EU, Switzerland and the US, presenting evidence on their scope of application, technical features, data processing system and outcomes achieved. It concludes with recommendations on factors that should be considered when shaping policies to sustain effective implementation of EDRs in the EU.