What data does a vehicle's event data recorder (EDR) capture?

Event data recorders, required in vehicles manufactured since September 2014 under NHTSA 49 CFR Part 563, capture a snapshot of vehicle dynamics in the seconds before, during, and immediately after a crash event. Standard EDR data elements include vehicle speed, engine throttle position, brake application status (yes or no, not force), steering wheel angle, seatbelt status for the driver, airbag deployment timing and loop status, and delta-V (change in velocity during the crash event). The specific data elements recorded vary by vehicle make, model, and year. EDR data provides a vehicle-side record of pre-crash conditions that complements physical evidence, witness accounts, and traffic control recordings in accident reconstruction.

How is EDR data downloaded from a vehicle?

For most vehicles, GDF Miami uses the Bosch Crash Data Retrieval (CDR) tool, which is the industry-standard platform for EDR data download, to connect to the vehicle's OBD-II diagnostic port and retrieve stored EDR records. The CDR tool decodes the proprietary data format of each supported ECU module into a standardized report. For vehicles not supported by CDR, GDF Miami uses manufacturer-specific diagnostic tools or performs direct ECU interrogation. In cases involving severely damaged vehicles where OBD port access is not possible, chip-off extraction from the ECU memory chip may be necessary. All downloads are performed under SWGDE digital evidence handling protocols, with documentation of the connection method, tool version, and hash verification of the retrieved data.

What information can be recovered from a vehicle's infotainment system?

Modern vehicle infotainment systems store substantial records of driver behavior and device connections. GDF Miami uses the Berla iVe platform, which supports over 15,000 vehicle models, to extract and decode infotainment data including: paired mobile device records with device names and connection timestamps, call logs from hands-free calls made through the system, SMS message records forwarded to the vehicle, navigation history including destinations searched and routes traveled, GPS track logs with timestamps, Wi-Fi network connection history, and media playback history. This data is highly relevant in accident reconstruction (establishing phone use before a crash), theft matters, domestic disputes, and corporate fleet matters.

Can vehicle GPS and telematics data be used in civil litigation?

Yes. Vehicle GPS and telematics data is admissible in civil litigation where proper chain of custody and authentication are established. GDF's extraction procedures document the complete chain of custody for all vehicle data, from the moment the examiner takes custody of the vehicle or component through each step of the extraction and analysis process. Expert reports present GPS tracks, speed profiles, and location histories with timestamps in formats suitable for use as litigation exhibits. GDF Miami examiners are available to testify regarding the methods used to extract and analyze the data and the reliability of the findings. Applicable considerations include the specific telematics system involved, the data retention policy of the OEM or fleet management provider, and any applicable privacy regulations governing vehicle location data in the jurisdiction.

Vehicle Forensics

Vehicle Electronic Data Recovery for Insurance Defense and Accident Reconstruction

Modern vehicles are rolling networks of sensors and recorders. The EDR captures the seconds around a crash. The engine and transmission ECUs carry fault codes and operating parameters. Telematics devices and OEM connected services record second-by-second position, speed and driver inputs. Infotainment systems carry paired-phone records, navigation history and voice commands. When a collision produces a claim, the electronic record is often the most reliable evidence in the file.

What Vehicles Actually Record

The vehicle’s electronic record is not a single artifact. It is a set of independent recorders that each carry a different view of the same event, and their agreement or disagreement is often the key evidentiary question:

Event Data Recorder (EDR). Regulated pre-crash and crash-event record covering the seconds immediately before and during a triggering event. Recovered through the Bosch CDR system and equivalent OEM-authorized tools.
Powertrain and transmission ECUs. Fault-code history, operating-parameter records, and freeze-frame data captured at the moment of specific events.
Body control and safety-system modules. Airbag deployment records, seatbelt-tension sensor state, occupant classification records, ABS and stability-control event history.
Telematics devices. Second-by-second GPS position, speed, acceleration, brake and throttle position, engine parameters and driver-behavior scoring across the incident window and often across the driver’s recent trip history.
OEM connected-services records. Where the vehicle carries OnStar, FordPass, MyChevrolet, MBrace, ConnectedDrive or comparable service, cloud-side records of vehicle state, driver interactions and crash notifications.
Infotainment systems. Paired-phone records, contact and call history synced from the paired phone, navigation history, voice commands, media use and application state.
Cab and driver-facing cameras. On fleet vehicles, triggered-event video bracketed by pre- and post-event buffers, with associated telemetry synchronized to the video frames.

The useful engagement recovers as many of these independent records as apply, on the theory that four agreeing records are harder to argue against than one.

Vehicle Forensics for Insurance-Carrier Defense

Automobile and commercial-vehicle claim work is a growth area for our Miami practice, and the substantive discipline is the same we bring to any forensic engagement: preserve the evidence before it is lost, analyze it against the specific causation questions in the file, and produce a report that survives cross-examination.

Rapid preservation. Vehicle electronic evidence has a short half-life. Impound-yard release, salvage, repair and continued operation of a fleet vehicle all overwrite or destroy the record. Engagement within days of the incident preserves the fullest evidence base.
Coordinated extraction across all onboard sources. EDR, ECU fault codes, telematics device, OEM connected-services subpoena support, infotainment and any cab-mounted recording, treated as one coordinated evidence package rather than a series of unrelated pulls.
Independent verification of the plaintiff’s narrative. The pleadings often precede any electronic record. The record either supports the narrative, contradicts it, or reframes the causation analysis in ways the pleadings had not anticipated.
Reconstruction integration. The electronic record is one input to a defensible reconstruction. Coordination with the reconstruction expert on the scene evidence and the calculated speeds ensures the two analyses agree with each other and with the physical record.
Reports written for motion practice and trial. Two-layer reports (technical + narrative), with the underlying records preserved so the analysis is reproducible and available to plaintiff’s experts.
Testimony by the analyst who did the work. Deposition and trial testimony delivered by the extraction and analysis lead, because the record survives cross-examination best when the witness is the person who performed the acquisition.

EDR and CDR Extraction

Event Data Recorder extraction is performed through the Bosch Crash Data Retrieval (CDR) system for the vehicle makes and modules the tool supports, and through the OEM-authorized equivalent tool where the vehicle falls outside the Bosch coverage. Every extraction is performed against a documented vehicle-specific procedure, with photographic documentation of the connection point, the module identification and the extraction record. Chain of custody documented from the first vehicle contact.

Where the airbag control module has been damaged in the collision, or where the vehicle is no longer capable of powering the module in situ, controlled bench extraction with a dedicated power supply and connector adapter recovers the record from the damaged unit. Where the module has sustained thermal damage from a post-collision fire, chip-off recovery of the underlying storage is performed against the specific memory device family.

Case in point

Commercial-vehicle reconstruction that established defense causation

A commercial tractor-trailer was involved in a fatal collision on a South Florida interstate. The initial narrative in the plaintiff’s pleadings alleged that the truck had been operating well above the posted limit and had failed to brake in a timely manner. The carrier retained us within seventy-two hours of the incident to preserve and analyze the vehicle’s electronic record before the tractor was released from the impound yard.

The engagement produced coordinated extraction from four independent sources on the same vehicle. The engine ECU carried a fault-code and operating-parameter record from the minutes bracketing the collision. The airbag control module carried an EDR record covering the pre-crash window at the resolution defined by the applicable regulation. The onboard telematics device carried second-by-second GPS, speed, brake, throttle and steering-angle records synchronized to satellite time. The cab-mounted forward-facing camera and driver-facing camera each carried their own recorded segments of the incident bracketed by triggered pre- and post-event buffers.

The four independent records agreed on the material facts: the truck’s speed at brake application, the timing and force of the brake application relative to the developing conflict ahead, the steering input the driver made in the same window, and the position of the truck through the sequence. The vehicle was operating within the posted limit. Brake application began at the moment consistent with the appearance of the developing conflict and continued through the collision. Steering input was consistent with the evasive path indicated by the tire marks documented at the scene. The reconstruction and the four independent electronic records produced a coherent picture that the plaintiff’s allegations did not accommodate.

The report and the underlying record were structured for use in motion practice and at trial. The carrier’s exposure was resolved on terms consistent with the electronic record rather than the pleadings.

Telematics and Fleet-Data Recovery

Commercial fleet vehicles typically carry a purpose-built telematics device installed by the fleet operator or its telematics provider. Consumer vehicles carry OEM connected-services capability that produces a comparable data set on the provider’s cloud infrastructure.

On-vehicle telematics extraction. Direct acquisition from the telematics device where it survives the incident, including devices from Geotab, Samsara, Verizon Connect, Motive (formerly KeepTruckin), Omnitracs and comparable fleet platforms.
Cloud-side data acquisition. Coordination with the telematics provider on preservation letters and subpoena responses covering the full data set for the vehicle and driver across the relevant window.
OEM connected-services records. OnStar, FordPass, MyChevrolet, MBrace, BMW ConnectedDrive, Toyota Connected, Nissan Connect and comparable services carry cloud-side records that survive independent of the vehicle’s own state.
ELD and hours-of-service records. For commercial drivers subject to the electronic logging device rule, the ELD record integrates with the reconstruction and often bears directly on fatigue and duty-cycle questions.

Infotainment Forensics

Infotainment systems accumulate a rich record of the driver’s interaction with the vehicle and with the connected devices carried by the driver and passengers. Extraction is performed through Berla iVe, MSAB XRY and comparable vehicle-forensics tools, with fallback to embedded systems extraction techniques where the vehicle falls outside the commercial tool coverage.

The infotainment record typically includes paired-phone identifiers, contact and call history synced from paired phones, text-message metadata, navigation destinations and routes, voice commands and search history, media playback state and application-level records for platforms integrated with the vehicle. In matters where paired-phone conduct is at issue (e.g. was the driver on a call at the moment of impact) the infotainment record is often more reliable than the phone’s own record because it is not accessible to the user for editing.

Where Our Miami Vehicle Practice Runs Deepest

Commercial vehicle accident defense for insurance carriers

Tractor-trailer, commercial fleet, delivery vehicle and heavy-equipment incidents. Coordinated preservation and analysis across EDR, ECU, telematics, ELD, OEM connected services and any onboard camera. Coordination with retained reconstruction experts on the physical scene evidence.

Passenger-vehicle claim defense

EDR, infotainment and OEM connected-services extraction for passenger-vehicle claims where the pleaded narrative does not obviously agree with the physical record and the electronic record is the tiebreaker.

Product-liability matters

Where a claimed defect in the vehicle’s electronic systems is alleged to have contributed to the incident, coordinated ECU and safety-system analysis to determine whether the alleged defect actually existed in the vehicle, whether it was active at the moment of the incident, and whether the outcome is consistent with the defect being causal.

Rideshare and delivery-platform matters

Coordination between the vehicle’s own record, the driver’s paired-phone record and the platform’s server-side record on trip state, driver status and passenger presence.

Marine, motorcycle and heavy-equipment adjacent matters

The same acquisition and analysis discipline extended to non-automobile powered vehicles that carry equivalent electronic recorders.

Cross-border matters

Vehicles registered or operated across the South Florida logistics gateway to Latin America, with coordination on the specific evidentiary standards of the receiving jurisdiction and bilingual reporting where required.

Standards and Standing

Methodology follows 49 CFR Part 563 for EDR data elements and preservation, SAE J1698 for EDR common data output format, SWGDE best practices for vehicle electronic evidence, and NIST SP 800-101 mobile device forensics guidance where the infotainment or telematics device is treated as a mobile device. Analysts hold Bosch CDR certification, Berla iVe certification, and digital-forensics credentials (SANS GCFE, GCFA). Reports are structured for authentication under Fla. Stat. § 90.901 and Federal Rules of Evidence 902(13) and 902(14). The analyst who performed the extraction is available for deposition and trial testimony.

Last updated: September 4, 2026

Preserve the Vehicle Record Before It Is Lost

Vehicle electronic evidence has a short half-life. Impound release, salvage, repair and continued fleet operation all overwrite or destroy the record. Engagement within days of the incident preserves the fullest evidence base.

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