Accident Data Recorders (ADR). Literature Review of effects and experiences with use of ADR

Accident Data Recorders (ADR) that monitor and record important details of traffic accidents is available and used since the beginning of 1990. In this report, we have described two different systems accessible on the market. The first has its own sensors and is designed for installing in all kind of vehicles. The second is a system delivered as original equipment by a vehicle manufacturer. Conventional practices for reconstruction and analysing causality may be both time and cost demanding. Utilizing ADR give access to objective information which never have existed before. In this report, based on experience from Europe and USA, we have focused on how the application of ADR can increase the precision when investigating a traffic accident. Another effect by installing ADR in vehicles we have discussed is how ADR affect the driving behaviour and thereby have a favourable influence on traffic risk.