Event data recorder (EDR) data stored in airbag control modules (ACMs) has been available from an increasing number of North American vehicles over the past 19 years and has become a com-mon part of most North American collision investigations. In order to confidently use the collision severity data reported by EDRs, users need to understand the accuracy and the limitations of the data. In this study, we combined data from 1368 low-speed crash tests we have performed with 105 high-speed crash tests performed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Transport Canada in order to evaluate the accuracy of the EDR reported speed change. Over-all, we found that the error in EDR reported speed change was generally less than 5 km/h for colli-sions with a speed change of less than 55 km/h. For collisions with a speed change greater than 55 km/h, there were manufacturer-specific sources of error that can lead to larger errors.

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