2026 Symposium on EDR Research and Testing
April 14th - 16th, 2026
Location: Embassy Suites
2321 Lifestyle Road
Chattanooga, Tennessee 30742
423.602.5100
NAPARS is proud to continue sponsoring top-quality training around the country and the globe, by bringing the third Symposium on EDR Research and Training to Chattanooga TN. Our host facility is the Embassy Suites Chattanooga Hamilton Place, located approximately 5-7 minutes from the Chattanooga (CHA) Airport.
ROOM RATES:
Suite with one King bed: $149/night
Suite with two Queen beds: $169/night
This link takes you directly to the booking page at the hotel:
Embassy Suites Chattanooga Hamilton Place
I encourage everyone to make their reservations early as we have a limited number of rooms, and based on the last two years, they will go fast. The Embassy Suites will offer a cooked-to-order breakfast each morning and lunch will be served all three days. A Ruth's Chris Steak House is on site, and there are dozens of local restaurants within walking distance of the hotel.
SPEAKERS
Brad Muir: Crash Data Specialists, LLC (https://www.cdr-trainers.com)
How to Get the Data!
This presentation examines proven methodologies for properly accessing, documenting, and interpreting event data recorder (EDR) information from current CDR-covered vehicles, as well as
non-traditional platforms, including Tesla and Hyundai/Kia vehicles. Priority is given to correct data acquisition procedures, system limitations, and best-practice workflows necessary to preserve data integrity and technical defensibility. Through practical examples and step-by-step demonstrations, the presentation highlights common challenges, platform-specific considerations, and verification strategies when working across multiple vehicle manufacturers. Attendees will gain a clear understanding of how to navigate differing access methods, evaluate recorded parameters, and integrate EDR data into a comprehensive crash reconstruction framework with confidence and technical rigor.
Greg Russell: JS Held (https://www.jsheld.com/)
Building the Story: Correlating EDR Data to Physical Evidence
Event Data Recorder (EDR) systems capture a wide range of pre-crash and crash-phase information, yet analytical focus is often limited to isolated parameters rather than the dataset as a whole. This presentation examines a structured approach to evaluating available EDR data in its entirety, emphasizing correct interpretation, common pitfalls, and limitations that can compromise analytical accuracy. Through multiple real-world case studies and controlled crash testing, the session demonstrates how speed, acceleration, braking, steering-related, and timing data can be integrated to develop a cohesive understanding of vehicle dynamics and driver inputs. Focus is placed on correlating recorded data with physical evidence and test results to support transparent, repeatable, and defensible crash reconstruction conclusions.
Matt DiSogra: Delta-V (https://www.deltavinc.com/)
Cummins EDR Systems: Capabilities and Limitations
Cummins engine control modules record event data that can provide valuable insight into vehicle speed, engine operation, and driver inputs during critical pre-event intervals. This presentation presents new research that examines the performance characteristics of Cummins EDR systems, including data sampling rates, trigger conditions, recorded parameters, and time resolution. Emphasis is placed on understanding how recorded values respond under braking, acceleration, and dynamic vehicle maneuvers, as well as the limitations and potential sources of error associated with these systems. Practical examples are presented to illustrate appropriate interpretation and defensible application of Cummins EDR data within commercial vehicle crash reconstruction and engineering analysis.
Nick Manz: Toyota Canada
Toyota Safety Sense 4.0 / PCS: Design Evolution, Sensor Logic, and Event Data Access
This presentation expands on Toyota Safety Sense 4.0, Toyota’s latest generation of advanced driver-assistance technology, with a focused examination of the design, architecture, and operational logic of the Pre-Collision System (PCS). The session examines how radar and camera sensor inputs are processed to support collision detection and mitigation, highlights key enhancements over earlier Toyota Safety Sense generations, and discusses known system limitations and activation thresholds. Importance of how safety-related event data is validated, recorded, and accessed using Toyota Global Techstream Software (GTS+). Real-world examples are used to demonstrate how recorded data supports technical analysis and assists with crash reconstruction and system performance evaluation.
Tim Reust: Accident Science, Inc. (https://www.accidentscience.com/)
Three-Part Technical Session: Vehicle Data, Testing, and Validation
This three-part technical session examines the accuracy, limitations, and defensible application of vehicle-based data through a progression of physical evidence interpretation, controlled vehicle testing, and high-speed validation. The first segment addresses observable post-collision indicators—specifically post-impact speedometer and gauge needle positions—using controlled testing during acceleration, braking, and constant-speed conditions with intentional power interruption to evaluate correlation between actual vehicle speed and recorded gauge position.
The second segment explores vehicle testing methodology through a review of both legacy and modern test equipment that underpins published crash reconstruction research. The discussion highlights practical application of instrumentation, data acquisition techniques, and test design in support of validation efforts and in fostering hands-on involvement in vehicle testing and research.
The final segment extends validation efforts into high-speed environments, presenting results from braking and dynamic tests conducted above 95 mph, including 360-degree spin events, to evaluate the accuracy of EDR-reported speed data under extreme conditions. Together, these segments provide a comprehensive, technically rigorous examination of how vehicle data is generated, measured, tested, and applied—supporting accurate, transparent, and defensible crash reconstruction analysis.
Shawn Gyorke: Crash Data Services, LLC (https://crashdataservices.net/)
Advancements in Hyundai and Kia EDR Data: 2025 GIT Tool and Parameter Updates
In 2025, the GIT Tool used for event data recorder (EDR) retrieval from Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis vehicles underwent substantive software and hardware updates that directly affect data access and interpretation. Additionally, beginning with model year 2025 vehicles, new parameters were added to the data recorded by these platforms. Building on prior testing and field experience, this presentation will review the latest GIT Tool changes, outline newly available data elements, and discuss validation testing performed on select parameters. Real-world crash scenarios and exemplar datasets will be presented to demonstrate how these updates influence EDR acquisition, analysis, and integration into the crash reconstruction process.
Gary Johnson: VEAR (https://vearinc.com/)
Applied Use of Recorded Yaw Rate and Speed Data in Crash Reconstruction
Many modern vehicle Event Data Recorders (EDRs) record yaw rate at relatively high sampling frequencies, commonly 10 Hz over a five-second interval, along with associated speed data, producing datasets well suited for automated processing. This presentation examines applied methods for converting recorded yaw rate and speed data into scaled vehicle trajectories for use in CAD-based crash reconstruction.
Practical, repeatable workflows are discussed that leverage the uniform structure of these datasets to reduce manual data handling, minimize transcription error, and improve analytical consistency. The presentation outlines methods for transforming recorded EDR data into coordinate-based point sets for direct use in commonly used reconstruction and diagramming software.
Capabilities and limitations associated with the use of recorded yaw and trajectory data are discussed, including common pitfalls, assumptions, and constraints that must be considered for defensible application. The presentation emphasizes appropriate use of recorded data in conjunction with traditional reconstruction principles, professional judgment, and scene-based evidence in both engineering analysis and advanced law enforcement investigations.
Bill Rose: Bosch
Bosch Crash Data Retrieval (CDR) Tool: Past Developments, Current Capabilities, and Future Direction
This presentation provides a comprehensive current overview of the Bosch Crash Data Retrieval Tool, focusing on its evolution, current functionality, and anticipated future developments. The session will review key historical and recent updates to both hardware and software, highlighting how changes have expanded supported vehicles, data elements, and acquisition capabilities over time. Attention will also be given to future, horizon-level updates, offering insight into planned enhancements and emerging directions for the CDR platform. The presentation will conclude with an interactive question-and-answer session, allowing attendees to engage directly with the Bosch management on technical considerations, implementation questions, and real-world application of the CDR Tool in crash reconstruction.
Weston Brown: Weston Forensics (https://www.westonforensic.com/)
Calculating Lateral Displacement Using EDR Precrash Data
This presentation examines methods for calculating vehicle lateral displacement using pre-crash Event Data Recorder (EDR) information. Using case examples involving a Police Interceptor Ford Explorer Police Interceptor and a Ram 1500, the session demonstrates how recorded precrash parameters such as speed, yaw rate, and steering-related data can be applied to estimate lateral vehicle movement over time. Focus on practical calculation techniques, assumptions, and limitations associated with converting recorded EDR data into lateral displacement estimates. The presentation also addresses common pitfalls and validation considerations to ensure appropriate and defensible use of these methods within crash reconstruction and advanced law enforcement investigations.
Wade Bartlett: Mechanical Forensics Engineering Services (https://mfes.com/)
Limitations of Focusing on the Final Speed Value
Event Data Recorder (EDR) analysis is often reduced to a single reported speed value, despite the availability of a much richer dataset. This presentation examines how precrash speed, acceleration, braking, throttle, and steering-related parameters can be evaluated collectively to provide a more complete understanding of vehicle dynamics and driver inputs. Emphasis is placed on interpreting data trends and timing relationships rather than isolated values, improving context and analytical reliability. Practical examples demonstrate how full-dataset EDR analysis can be integrated with traditional reconstruction methods to support accurate and defensible conclusions.
Steve Anderson: Forensic Training Group
Bendix SafetyDirect Data in Heavy Vehicle Crashes
This presentation introduces Bendix SafetyDirect and the types of commercial-vehicles airbrake, ABS, and stability-related data that may be available to investigators and reconstructionists today. Attendees will learn what information SafetyDirect can provide now, common pathways for obtaining and preserving that data (including practical request workflows and documentation considerations), and the real-world limitations that affect interpretation—such as sampling rates, event triggers, connectivity gaps, and fleet/permission constraints. The session will close with reconstruction-focused case integration, showing how SafetyDirect data can be correlated with physical evidence and other sources (ECM/EDR, video, telematics, scene measurements, and driver statements) to support braking timelines, speed/behavior inferences, and system-status interpretation while maintaining defensible analytical boundaries.
