Valuable evidence regarding the cause(s) of a traffic collision may be acquired in the form of digital data from vehicle systems. As the electronics in motor vehicles have become increasingly complex, greater amounts of key evidence can be found in, and acquired from, these systems.

Drivers of modern vehicles enjoy conveniences that include syncing their electronic devices to automobiles via wired and wireless connections. As a result of this connectivity, significant data in the form of phone logs and device use can be stored in these systems. Available data may include incoming and outgoing phone calls, contacts, and text messaging activity.

The telematics systems in modern automobiles often track vehicle whereabouts and movements. This can occur when a vehicle is being actively navigated or may simply be an ongoing function of the system that requires no active navigation commands. The available information from these systems can include vehicle locations, speed, and bearing. In addition to these data, some systems also monitor events, such as when and where doors were opened, gear selector changes were made, or lights were turned on or off.

The available data from modern systems may be instrumental in cases involving excessive speed, driver distraction, insurance fraud, automobile theft, etc. These data can be acquired utilizing the iVe system, manufactured by Berla Corporation. This system includes a mobile application, hardware kit for system acquisitions, and software for data acquisition and analysis (Figure 1).

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