DRACO: a transient recorder for road accidents

The authors describe a transient recorder for road vehicles named DRACO (driving accident coordinating observer). An accident recorder has the basic function of collecting data which relates to the behaviour of a vehicle when it is in an accident. In this sense it simply acts as an on-vehicle observer of that vehicle´s movements and internal systems only when it has been subjected to an impact. The recorded data can then be used in the process of accident reconstruction. Accident reconstruction is a formal procedure to determine the events which lead to an accident by analysis of data collected from the accident site. Such information might be used in a criminal or civil action in a court of law