Handling of data collected by Event Data Recorder

Certain information about the car's status and operation is recorded in its Event Data Recorder. It can provide information for understanding the circumstances around traffic accidents involving the car.

Event Data Recorder (EDR)

This vehicle is equipped with an event data recorder (EDR). The main purpose of an EDR is to record, in certain crash or near crash-like situations, such as an air bag deployment or hitting a road obstacle, data that will assist in understanding how a vehicle's systems performed. The EDR is designed to record data related to vehicle dynamics and safety systems for a short period of time, typically 30 seconds or less. The EDR in this vehicle is designed to record such data as:

  • How various systems in your vehicle were operating;
  • Whether or not the driver and passenger safety belts were buckled/fastened;
  • How far (if at all) the driver was depressing the accelerator and/or brake pedal; and,
  • How fast the vehicle was traveling.

These data can help provide a better understanding of the circumstances in which crashes and injuries occur. NOTE: EDR data is recorded by your vehicle only if a non-trivial crash situation occurs; no data is recorded by the EDR under normal driving conditions and no personal data (e.g., name, gender, age, and crash location) is recorded. However, other parties, such as law enforcement, could combine the EDR data with the type of personally identifying data routinely acquired during a crash investigation.

To read data recorded by an EDR, special equipment is required, and access to the vehicle or the EDR is needed. In addition to the vehicle manufacturer, other parties, such as law enforcement, that have the special equipment, can read the information if they have access to the vehicle or the EDR.

Additions

In addition to the EDR, the car is equipped with a number of computers designed to continually check and monitor the function of the car. They can record data during normal driving conditions, but in particular register faults affecting the vehicle's operation and functionality, or upon activation of the vehicle's active driver support function.

Some of the recorded data is required to enable service and maintenance technicians to diagnose and remedy any faults that occurred in the vehicle. The registered information is also needed to enable Volvo to satisfy legal requirements laid out in laws and by government authorities. Information registered in the vehicle is stored in its computer until the vehicle is serviced or repaired.

In addition to the above, the registered information can be used in aggregate form for research and product development with the aim of continuously improving the safety and quality of Volvo cars.

Volvo will not contribute to the above-described information being disclosed to third parties without the vehicle owner's consent. To comply with national legislation and regulations, Volvo may be forced to disclose information of this nature to the police or other authorities who may assert a legal right to access such. Special technical equipment which Volvo and workshops that have entered into agreements with Volvo have access to is required to be able to read and interpret the recorded data. Volvo is responsible for ensuring that the information, which is transferred to Volvo during servicing and maintenance, is securely stored and managed and that its management complies with relevant legal requirements. For further information, contact a Volvo dealer.