Since 7 July 2024, all new passenger cars registered in the EU must be equipped with an event data recorder (EDR).
The main function of the event data memory in your MINI is to record data in crash situations to help understand how the vehicle systems have behaved.
As soon as the sensors of your MINI register events that indicate an accident, such as a change in speed in a lateral or longitudinal direction (more than 8 km/h within 150 milliseconds), the triggering of belt tensioners, airbags or an active bonnet, the event data memory stores data relating to the driving dynamics and driving safety systems for a short period of up to 30 seconds, e.g.:
- The operating characteristics of various vehicle systems.
- Whether the driver and front passenger were wearing their seatbelts.
- How far down, if at all, the driver had depressed the accelerator pedal and/or the brake pedal.
- The speed at which the vehicle was travelling.
This data can help to better understand the circumstances in which crashes and injuries occur.
The event data recorder continuously records the vehicle data, but only saves it when a serious accident occurs. No personal data is stored, such as name, gender, age and accident location. However, other parties, such as law enforcement agencies, may link the data of the event data recorder to the type of personally identifiable information that is routinely obtained during an accident investigation.
To read out the data recorded by the event data recorder, you need special equipment and access to the vehicle or the EDR. In addition to the vehicle manufacturer, other parties, such as law enforcement agencies that have the specialised equipment, can read the information if they have access to the vehicle or the event data recorder.