Thanks to Kevin Jones for a Job Well Done

Effective 03 Jan 2013, MSC’s Kevin Jones will be accepting a position as a Research Crash Investigator with the CIREN program (Crash Injury Research and Engineering Network) at UAB Hospital, in Birmingham, Alabama.

Kevin's responsibilities will include performing crash reconstruction and analysis for this critical government safety program, which seeks to improve the prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation of crash related injuries.

Although Kevin and his strong skill set will certainly be missed, all of us at MSC are happy for our friend and former co-worker’s excellent opportunity and wish him the best of luck in this new endeavor!

Thanks, Kevin!
Bill, Connie, Kelly, and Ben

NTSB’s 10 Most Wanted List – 2012

Kelly Messerschmidt
Technical Communications Manager
MSC

Each year the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) releases a list of 10 most-wanted safety improvements. The agency’s annual list is intended to increase awareness and support for the most critical changes necessary for reducing traffic accidents.

The following are a few of the advocacy priorities that appear on this year’s list:

Eliminate Distraction in Transportation
The NTSB suggests that states and regulators ban the nonessential use of portable electronic devices that don’t directly support a driving-related task. The agency suggests that manufacturers develop technology that disables portable electronic devices within reach of the driver. They also point out that young drivers are especially likely to use portable electronic devices (such as cell phones) when driving, and that antidistraction campaigns specifically directed at teens are important.

Mandate Motor Vehicle Collision Avoidance Technologies
Technologies such as electronic stability control, lane departure warning, and forward collision warning exist to help improve drivers’ reaction time and aid drivers when an unexpected driving condition occurs. Despite the availability of these and other technologies, some are not required or mandated. The NTSB purports that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) should establish standards and mandate certain technologies as standard equipment in cars and commercial motor vehicles.

Improve the Safety of Bus Operations
The NTSB puts forth that an important step in improving the safety of bus operations is ensuring that professional motorcoach drivers are qualified. Methods of helping ensure that a driver can be considered "qualified" include longer and more comprehensive reviews of their driving history, maintaining higher expectations and standards as far as drivers’ undergoing regular medical exams, and limiting drivers’ hours of service.

In addition to these most-wanted improvements, the NTSB lists safety improvements in areas including aviation, rail, and infrastructure.

Read more about NTSB’s most-wanted safety improvements at the agency's website. 

MSC to Host CDR User Training Classes in December 2012 (CDR Version 8.0 & Newly Covered Vehicles)

Kelly Messerschmidt
Technical Communications Manager
MSC

Messerschmidt Safety Consultants (MSC) will host the CDR Systems Operators Class and the CDR Analysis and Applications Class on December 3 – 7, 2012, at The Accelerator at Southern Miss, which is located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The classes will be taught by instructors Brad Muir and Jon Northrup, of Crash Data Specialists LLC. Muir and Northrup will be using the latest version of the Bosch Crash Data Retrieval (CDR) System, version 8.0.

The CDR System allows users to image important vehicle crash data present in the Airbag Control Modules (ACMs) of most late model production vehicles from manufacturers including Chrysler, Fiat, Ford, GM (Chevy, Olds, Buick, Pontiac, Saturn, Cadillac, GMC, Holden, & Opal), Honda/Acura, Isuzu, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan/Infiniti, Saab, Sterling, Suzuki, and Toyota/Lexus/Scion.

Learn more about the vehicle coverage in CDR Software v8.0.

The CDR Systems Operators Class is an eight-hour class that covers the basics of operation, including how to determine if the subject vehicle is supported by CDR, how to select the appropriate connection method to safely image crash data, and how to create reports and save the imaged data for later use. This class serves as the prerequisite for the 32-hour CDR Analysis and Applications Class, which Crash Data Specialists will be teaching Tuesday through Friday (December 4 – 7, 2012).

The CDR Analysis and Applications Class teaches users how to understand the function of the Event Data Recorder (EDR) information present in some ACMs. In this class, users perform line-by-line data analyses, learn how to apply the data to the crash, and receive instruction on delta-v, closing speed analysis, and a variety of additional topics.

Register for the CDR classes online, or register by calling MSC's office at 205.444.0071.

View a printable flyer (pdf).

Apple Files GPS Synchronization Technology Patent

Kevin Jones
Technical Analyst
MSC

In May, Apple filed a patent that aims to allow synchronization between mobile devices and vehicles. This technology would be used to give sharper global positioning tracking and turn-by-turn navigation using Wi-Fi hotspots, cell towers, and sensor data. Location information may be shared between the vehicle and mobile devices to minimize the amount of time it takes for positions to be traced when signals are lost. This technology would allow synchronization of other aspects such as contacts between the mobile devices and vehicles.

To learn more about this, read "Apple Looks to Sync Mobile, Vehicle Devices," at MacNews.

ATRI Releases Roll Stability System (RSS) Analysis

Kelly Messerschmidt
Technical Communications Manager
MSC

Last Friday, the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) released the industry’s first major comparative analysis of Roll Stability Systems (RSS) based on operational data from over 135,000 heavy trucks. The analysis considered factors such as crash rates and costs, as well as technology costs, of Roll Stability Control (RSC) and Electronic Stability Control (ESC), and it compared these data to vehicles that do not use RSS technology. This study is available at ATRI’s website.

The results of ATRI’s study indicated that in addition to RSC installation costs being much lower than ESC installation costs, installation of RSC technology in trucks might result in fewer rollover and jackknife crashes when compared to trucks using ESC.

The release of this analysis is relevant, as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently announced a proposed new federal motor vehicle safety standard that would require ESC on all new tractors and certain buses that have a gross vehicle rating of 26,000 or more pounds.

Alabama to Become 38th State to Ban Texting While Driving

William Messerschmidt
Principal Technical Analyst
MSC

Tomorrow, 01 August 2012, Alabama will become the 38th State to ban texting while driving. This new law was authored by Representative Jim McClendon of Springville. According to the Birmingham News and AL.com, Rep. McClendon (who is a doctor of optometry) worked on this bill for six years prior to seeing it passed.

The law states:

A person may not operate a motor vehicle on a public road, street, or highway in Alabama while using a wireless telecommunication device to write, send, or read a text-based communication. (Read the full text from the Legislature.)

The law offers four exceptional circumstances when it is permitted:

• Dialing a phone number to make a voice call is still permitted. 
• Texting, emailing, and using an Internet browser is permitted if you are parked on the shoulder of the roadway. 
• You may use text communications to obtain emergency services, such as police, fire, paramedics, or other emergency health services.
• You made read the screen of a GPS device while driving, but not program locations and coordinates. 

Violating the new law will be worth two points on a driver’s license, and fines will be $25, $50, and $75 dollars (for the first through third and subsequent offenses), and the law can be enforced by State Troopers, city police officers, and a county’s Sheriff’s office.

Although the author of this post is uncertain how emergency police, fire, or health services would be obtained by text messages and email, the law very likely has the ability to save lives and property. Furthermore, only five states in the US allow drivers to send text messages while driving (technically, there is no state law in Hawaii, but each county in Hawaii has an ordinance against it).

View a map created by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety of states that have banned texting and driving.

Benjamin Smith to Present at North Texas IASIU

Kelly Messerschmidt
Technical Communications Manager 
MSC

Benjamin Smith of Messerschmidt Safety Consultants will present to the North Texas Chapter of the International Association of Special Investigation Units (IASIU), on 20 August 2012, in Dallas, Texas.

The main focus of Smith's presentation will be on proper lighting and flash techniques for low-light environments. The presentation will also include the general principles of forensic photography, digital camera functions, and RAW file processing. Additionally, Smith will discuss modern, high and low dynamic range techniques that can be used for evidence detail enhancement and proper image exposure.

The presentation, titled “Forensic Photography,” is part of the North Texas IASIU’s continuing education program, and Smith’s presentation materials have been submitted for certification by the State of Texas for the Texas Department of Insurance.

Learn more the forensic photography services MSC provides.

In-Vehicle Technologies to Detect Drivers' BAC

Cat Messerschmidt
Summer Intern
MSC

Vehicles are built with improved safety features year to year with the goal of preventing accidents and reducing injuries. However, despite our having safer vehicles, according to the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) website, since 1997, about a third of all drivers who are fatally injured in accidents had blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) at or in excess of the US legal limit of 0.08 g/dL.

In order to help prevent accidents, DADSS has been researching and developing non-intrusive methods for checking a driver’s BAC using in-vehicle technology. The systems they are researching and exploring to measure a driver’s BAC would utilize a touchpad in the steering wheel or gearshift that sends infrared light rays through the driver’s skin, as well as a breathing sensor that is located in the steering wheel. These technologies would prevent the car from being driven when the driver’s BAC exceeds the US legal limit.

According to DADSS, one of the program’s goals is to have a research vehicle available by 2013. However, they anticipate eight-to-ten years as being the earliest that one could expect to be able to see this technology in a consumer-grade vehicle.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)’s Vice President JT Griffin has stated MADD’s views on the subject of in-vehicle alcohol detectors as follows: “Drunken driving costs the U.S. $132 billion each year, and we think that $5 million… is a good use of transportation dollars to potentially eliminate the problem.”

Read a USA Today article (29 June 2012) on this subject.

Adaptive Headlights Crash Avoidance Feature Shown to Yield Benefits

Kevin Jones
Technical Analyst
MSC

Crash avoidance technologies used by auto industry manufacturers appear to be showing some promise, according to insurance claims analyses performed by the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI). Over the past few years, some select manufacturers have been placing features in cars that were designed to help drivers avoid crashes. Some of these features include lane departure warnings, blind spot detection, and adaptive headlights.

Adaptive headlights, which are offered by manufacturers that include Acura, Mazda, Mercedes, and Volvo, were shown to be one of the most promising crash avoidance features when it comes to decreasing dollars spent on auto property damage and injury claims. While regular headlights are stationary, adaptive headlights are designed to respond to driver steering, speed, and other factors, and adjust according the vehicle’s travel direction. Based on data from the study, the HLDI’s expectations for this feature were met and exceeded.

On the other hand, the HLDI analysis showed that some of the crash avoidance features that were added did not yield the results that were expected. More analysis is still necessary to determine why the frequency of collision and property damage claims did not fall with other avoidance features.

To learn more about the study please read an HLDI news release, dated 03 July 2012.

Bruce Gazdick's "Practical Applications of CDR Technology" Class Taught at MSC

Bruce Gazdick's Power Distribution Center (PDC) tool

William Messerschmidt
Principal Technical Analyst
MSC

On June 18th, Messerschmidt Safety Consultants (MSC) hosted "Practical Applications of CDR Technology," at our Pelham, Alabama office. The course was taught by Mr. Bruce Gazdick of L & L Investigations and was attended by the staff of MSC, as well as local law enforcement officers from Hoover and Pelham, AL Police Departments.

It was a great privilege for us at MSC to have Bruce Gazdick teach this fantastic class at our Pelham, AL office. Bruce is a former Jacksonville, Florida Deputy Sheriff who handles products liability investigations nationwide with ESIS and EAA. Bruce also works as an instructor for the Institute of Police Technology and Management, where he teaches "Event Data Recorder Use in Traffic Accident Reconstruction," along with Mr. Richard Ruth and Mr. Bill Wright.

Bruce designed and developed the Power Distribution Center (PDC), which is a tool that facilitates accessing Event Recorder data in heavily damaged passenger vehicles. The eight-hour course, which included lecture, Q&A, and hands-on training focused on using the PDC and preserving diagnostic fault data in airbag modules.

We'd like to thank all of those who attended--and especially our instructor Bruce Gazdick--for an excellent day of training!

US Senate Passes Bill 1813 Mandating Event Data Recorders (EDRs) in Passenger Vehicles by 2015

Benjamin Smith
Principal Technical Analyst
MSC MS

Earlier this month, in the 2nd Session of the 112th congress, the United States Senate passed Bill 1813, which mandates the presence of event data recorders (EDRs) in all vehicles sold in the US by 2015. Additionally, the US House of Representatives is considering similar legislation.

Section 31406, titled “Vehicle Event Data Recorders,” indicates that Part 563 of Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, will be revised with new regulations centered on the implementation, capabilities, ownership, and accessibility of EDRs in passenger vehicles available in the United States.

Furthermore, Part D (revisions) of Section 31406 requires that EDRs record data for a “reasonable” amount time before, during, and after an airbag deployment or rollover and that these data be accessible by means of “commercially available equipment” in a “specified data format.”

Read the document (pdf) regarding Senate Bill 1813 released by the Government Printing Office (GPO).

Messerschmidt and Austin to Present at the 2012 ARC-CSI Crash Conference

Kelly Messerschmidt
Technical Communications Manager
MSC

Bill Messerschmidt of MSC, and Tim Austin of the Wisconsin State Patrol Academy will give a presentation on “Using ECM Diagnostic Data in Crash Reconstruction” at the 2012 ARC-CSI Crash Conference, which will take place June 4-7, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Messerschmidt and Austin’s presentation explores the presence of important, volatile fault data in heavy vehicle Engine Control Modules (ECMs) that are oftentimes ignored, inadvertently erased, or overwritten during the ECM data imaging process.

They will discuss how and when diagnostic records are written, how they can be useful in collision investigations, as well as how the data can be preserved correctly. Messerschmidt and Austin will describe data imaging methods, such as the use of surrogate vehicles and devices like the “Truck in a Box.”

The ARC-CSI Crash Conference takes place annually and—as they have done for the past 10 years—the ARC-CSI Crash Team will conduct multiple, fully instrumented live crash tests of vehicles in real world crash scenarios. Learn more about the crash tests.

The two days that follow crash test day are comprised of technical presentations given by experts from around the world on topics relevant to investigating and reconstructing vehicle collisions. Learn more about the topics and speakers for the 2012 ARC-CSI Crash Conference.

Register to attend this year’s conference.

AL Governor Bentley Signs Law to Prohibit Texting While Driving

Kevin Jones
Technical Analyst
MSC

On Tuesday, 08 May 2012, Alabama governor Robert Bentley signed a bill that outlaws texting while driving. The law goes into effect on 01 August 2012. The law doesn’t prohibit dialing a phone; however, it does ban texting, instant messaging, and sending emails while operating an automobile.

Alabama is the 38th state to make texting while driving illegal. Under the new law, if a person is ticketed for a texting-while-driving offense, he or she could be fined up to $75 and receive violations on his or her driving record. Gov. Bentley compared the new law to Alabama’s seatbelt law, which is also a measure to prevent fatalities in motor vehicle crashes.

Read a news article about Alabama’s new law banning texting while driving.

DOT Launches Creative Icon Contest for Teens: the "Distracted Driving Design Challenge"

Kelly Messerschmidt

Technical Communications Manager

MSC

This week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released new findings indicating that teenagers are the least likely vehicle passengers to speak up when drivers are texting or talking on a cell phone. Read more about this recent research in NHTSA's April 2012 “Traffic Safety Facts: Research Note" document.

In order to encourage teens to tell distracted drivers that cell phone use behind the wheel is dangerous, the Department of Transportation (DOT) has launched a new social media icon contest, called the "Distracted Driving Design Challenge." The contest is open to US teens, ages 13-18. The winning graphic will be incorporated into DOT’s official campaign to end distracted driving and will appear in numerous social media outlets.

The DOT invites teens to submit an original, creative icon, measuring 180 x 180 pixels, in either JPG, TIF, PNG, or GIF image format that sends the clear message that cell phones and driving don’t mix.  Learn more about the contest; then submit an entry between the dates of April 16 – July 31, 2012. The winner will be announced on September 4, 2012.

Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for American teens. Because texting requires a driver’s visual, manual, and cognitive attention, it is a particularly dangerous distraction.

FMCSA Releases Research on Benefits of Speed Limiters in Large Trucks

Benjamin Smith
Principal Technical Analyst
MSC MS

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) released research this week on the benefits of using speed limiters (SLs), also known as speed governors, in large trucks. For more information, view the FMCSA's document, titled "Speed-Limiters."

SLs are a technology that allows trucking fleets or truck owners to program a preset maximum speed of travel. Many trucking fleets use SLs not only to increase safety by reducing their trucks’ top speed, but also to reduce tire wear, extend the life of the brakes and engine, improve fuel economy, and so on.

In January 2011, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) proposed limiting the speed of all heavy trucks to 68mph. NHTSA stated its intent to initiate the rulemaking process on this issue in 2012. Read NHTSA's notice in the Jan. 3, 2011 Federal Register.

Viewpoints differ on the issue of mandating the use of SLs in heavy trucks. Agencies and groups such as the American Trucking Associations (ATA), Road Safe America, and the Truckload Carriers Association, have stated their support for SLs in large trucks for reasons including reduced severity of crashes and various economic benefits. However, critics of government-mandated SLs, such as the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), have stated their opposition for reasons such as the potential for speed-governed trucks to become “rolling roadblocks” when operating in faster flows of traffic.

Research published in the American Journal of Public Health in March 2009, titled “The Effect of State Regulations on Truck-Crash Fatalities,” examines the effects of certain traffic safety policies and restrictions on fatality rates in truck-involved crashes.

AAA Survey: Parents Responding Postively to Car Seat Compliance

Kevin Jones
Technical Analyst
MSC

According to a new survey by AAA, outreach efforts to educate parents of children under age 13 regarding child safety seat use have yielded positive results. Nearly a year ago, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) updated its recommendations regarding the use of rearward-facing seats for children over the age of one, recommending that children remain in rearward-facing car seats until age two—or until the child exceeds the height and weight limits of the child seat. Read our earlier blog post, "New Child Seat Recommendations from the AAP and NHTSA" to learn more.

AAA found that over 90% of the parents with children under age 13 heard of the new guidelines by the AAP. Several parents heard of these guidelines from their child’s pediatrician. AAA also found that one in three of the parents surveyed changed how they allowed their child to travel in the vehicles.

Seventy-seven percent of parents with children younger than age two who did not make any changes based on the AAP’s recommendations reported that they were already meeting or exceeding these guidelines. However, there were other parents who were allowing their children to graduate to bigger seats or seatbelt use prematurely for reasons such as discomfort.

AAA’s article, "AAA Survey Reveals 'Boost' in Car Seat Compliance," reinforces the need for parents to follow the guidelines set forth by the AAP in order to help reduce serious injuries and death among children in automobile crashes. The article can be found in AAA's "Newsroom."

Bendix ABS Research by Ben Smith Forthcoming at SAE 2012 World Congress

Kelly Messerschmidt
Technical Communications Manager
MSC

Messerschmidt Safety Consultants (MSC) is proud to announce that Benjamin Smith, in conjunction with Timothy Austin of the Wisconsin State Patrol and Mike Farrell of Fox Valley Technical College, will have their most recent research published at the upcoming Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) 2012 World Congress in Detroit, Michigan, April 24-26.

Their technical paper, “An Examination of Diagnostic Event Data in Bendix Antilock Brake System Electronic Control Units,” will be presented during the Event Data Recorders (EDR) section of the Occupant Protection session.

The paper pertains to the function and accuracy of the Bendix EC-60 and EC-30 ABS controllers in real-world crash scenarios. In particular, the study focuses on the diagnostic event recording and reporting functions within the electronic controllers of Bendix ABS systems.

This research is unique, as it is the first time that Bendix ABS systems have been formally explored as a source of crash event data in the investigations of motor vehicle crashes. The underlying research for this paper was conducted in the spring of last year on late-model Volvo and International commercial vehicles in Appleton, Wisconsin.

National Sleep Foundation 2012 Poll: Transportation Professionals' Sleep Habits, Work Performance

Kelly Messerschmidt
Technical Communications Manager
MSC

National Sleep Awareness Week is currently being observed in the US (March 5-11, 2012). According to the National Sleep Foundation 2012 poll--the first to ask transportation professionals about their sleep habits and work performance--11% of pilots, train operators, and bus/taxi/limo drivers, and 8% of truck drivers are "sleepy." Read the press release.

The poll also found that 14% of truck drivers, and 12% of bus/taxi/limo drivers polled reported having had a "near miss" due to sleepiness. Although individuals' sleep needs vary, most research assumes that normal adults sleep for 7-8 hours per night.

In NHTSA's "Drowsy Driving and Automobile Crashes" report, shift-workers whose sleep is disrupted by working at night, or working long or irregular hours, are categorized as being one of the three population groups at highest risk for "drowsy-driving" crashes. According to the National Sleep Foundation 2012 poll, a significant number of the transportation workers said their schedules do not allow enough time for sleep.

NHTSA Proposes Guidelines Against “Excessively Distracting Devices”

William Messerschmidt
Principal Technical Analyst
MSC

On 02/24/12, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) proposed new guidelines for auto manufacturers that cover original-equipment, in-vehicle devices that augment or facilitate “secondary tasks” in which visual information is received and a physical action is performed in response to that information.

By “secondary tasks,” NHTSA means actions that we perform while we operate or control the vehicle, which are not part of the primary task (driving), such as entertainment and communication. For example, the timely prompt from your GPS device to “in a half mile, make a right turn,” is considered part of the primary task (driving), but texting a friend your arrival time is a secondary task.

Almost all drivers engage in secondary tasks while driving (such as adjusting climate control, changing radio stations), and often there is very little decrease in their safety. However, as technological advances make more and more options accessible to the driver, the potential exists to build in dangerous devices. For example: your in-dash GPS display isn’t a distraction under most circumstances, but imagine if that same display showed your Facebook News Feed! [Please note that absolutely no manufacturer has ever proposed this extreme example.]

In order to differentiate between the less extreme (and more realistic) examples of safe versus unsafe technology, researchers considered variables such as the type of information displayed, the manner in which it is displayed, and the type of manual response elicited by the information.

The NHTSA guideline describes five types of displays or devices that are always unsafe. They are:

• Photographic or video images not immediately related to driving (images such as blindspot cameras, GPS navigation, and weather information are considered directly related to the driving task);
• Photographic or graphical static visual images that are unrelated to driving (such as album art and personal photos);
  
• Automatically scrolling text;
• Manual text entry of more than six key presses;
• Reading more than 30 characters (not including spaces and punctuation).

You can read a short summary of the new NHTSA Guidelines at Occupational Safety Online, or view the document in its entirety in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, Issue 37.

NHTSA to Use New "10 Year Old Child" Crash Test Dummy

An adult crash test dummy (photo by Ben Smith)

Benjamin Smith
Principal Technical Analyst
MSC of MS

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced last week that they will be using a newly developed "10 year old child" crash test dummy. According to NHTSA, this new crash test dummy was created so that boosters and child safety seats designed for children over 65 pounds could be tested in the most effective manner possible. Read the full press release dated 02/21/12.

The new dummy will allow NHTSA to assess the risk of injuries using head and knee excursions and chest acceleration. The expanded testing capabilities will also allow for the evaluation and certification of higher weight booster seats (designed for children weighing 65-80 pounds), in compliance with recent rule changes issued by NHTSA.

Currently NHTSA recommends that children be seated in a car seat with a harness (up to the specifications of the seat) until they are large enough to fit properly in a seat belt, which they say is generally when the child is between 8-12 years and about 4'9" tall. Read more about properly fitting seat belts for children ages 8-12 years.