Vehicle Control History: Data from Driver Input and Pre-Collision System Activation Events on Toyota Vehicles 2019-01-5094

Separate from the event data recorder (EDR), which records and stores data from qualifying vehicle crash events, the Vehicle Control History (VCH) on Toyota vehicles records and stores certain vehicle data based on select driver inputs, such as hard acceleration or braking, or upon the activation of certain vehicle dynamic control systems such as antilock braking system (ABS), traction control (TRAC), vehicle stability control (VSC), and the pre-collision system (PCS). In the United States, VCH was first equipped on the 2013 Toyota RAV4 and has been subsequently introduced into other Toyota and Lexus models. Most recently, in addition to VCH data, additional PCS operational data (PCS-O) and image data (PCS-I) may be recorded and stored. The image storage capability may record under certain conditions such as if the system has automatically applied the vehicle brakes. PCS-O and PCS-I data became available with the launch of Toyota Safety Sense (TSS), a grouping of advanced active safety features equipped on many Toyota vehicles generally available in 2017. Multiple dynamic tests with a 2017 Toyota Corolla were performed that caused the VCH, PCS-O, and PCS-I data to record. Both sets of data were then compared to the test driving sequences. The testing, data, and analysis is presented to illustrate the usefulness of the data in understanding and analyzing certain real-world dynamic events.