Browse Publications Technical Papers 2004-01-1214
2004-03-08

The Accuracy of Crash Data Saved by Ford Restraint Control Modules in Lowcspeed Collisions 2004-01-1214

Crash data recorded by the restraint control module (RCM) installed in newer Ford passenger vehicles have recently become available to investigators. To quantify the accuracy of the crash data in low-speed collisions, two RCM-equipped vehicles were exposed to 84 aligned frontal barrier collisions with speed changes up to 13.5 km/h. The accuracy of the speed change reported by the RCM ranged from an underestimate of 1.8 km/h to an overestimate of 0.3 km/h. The error varied with speed change. The RCMs were mounted on a linear sled to investigate their sensitivity to specific collision pulse parameters. For both RCMs, the first eight acceleration data points were duplicated at the end of the data and the record of the crash pulse was often incomplete. Based on the results of this study, crash investigators need to carefully interpret the RCM-reported acceleration and speed change data before using it to reconstruct low-speed collisions involving Ford vehicles.

SAE MOBILUS

Subscribers can view annotate, and download all of SAE's content. Learn More »

Access SAE MOBILUS »

Members save up to 16% off list price.
Login to see discount.
Special Offer: Download multiple Technical Papers each year? TechSelect is a cost-effective subscription option to select and download 12-100 full-text Technical Papers per year. Find more information here.
We also recommend:
TECHNICAL PAPER

The Accuracy and Sensitivity of 2003 and 2004 General Motors Event Data Recorders in Low-Speed Barrier and Vehicle Collisions

2005-01-1190

View Details

TECHNICAL PAPER

Frontal Crash Characteristics of Compact Car at a High Speed Collision

980553

View Details

TECHNICAL PAPER

Trends in Sensing Frontal Impacts

890750

View Details

X