Technical series: Vehicle wheel loss
‘Telematics’ refers to the technology used to monitor and communicate a wide range of vehicle information including location, speed, acceleration, braking and steering. Initially developed for applications such as fleet management and insurance, in-vehicle telematics are powerful data assets which can assist investigators to eliminate uncertainties and reach more accurate conclusions.
The devices can capture and communicate large amounts of information, providing us with a wealth of evidence and new sources of data. Of greatest value are GPS data from which speed is derived and recordings from high-resolution accelerometers which can combine to provide an accurate picture of how fast a vehicle was being driven prior to a collision as well as the driver’s braking and steering inputs.
Telematic data generally provides two levels of data resolution:
- Lower resolution route tracing and driver behaviour analysis
- Higher resolution collision data from before, during and after a collision event.
Telematics devices and services are often differentiated on the quality of data they capture and their ability to detect collisions. High-resolution data from collision events can be critical in determining the driver’s actions before a collision and what happened to the vehicle during the impact.
As in-vehicle telematics grows in influence, now is the time to learn how to make the most from the data. Estimates suggest that 82% of all new cars sold worldwide in 2024 will be equipped with an embedded telematics system – double the corresponding 41% figure from 2018 .
It can be a complicated jungle to navigate, but the TRL Investigations Team is here to help thanks to our talented team of experts who can analyse a wide range of telematics data. Please contact us to discuss your use of telematics data in road traffic cases and we can advise on how best utilise the data obtained from telematics devices in order to maximise its value.
Get in touch with us today to discuss your telematics data: investigations@trl.co.uk
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