Data recording

As part of Volvo's commitment to safety and quality, certain information is recorded regarding vehicle operation, functionality and incidents.

US market only:

EDR

This vehicle is equipped with an "Event Data Recorder" (EDR). The main purpose of an EDR is to record, in certain crash or near crash-like situations, such as an air bag deployment or hitting a road obstacle, data that will assist in understanding how a vehicle's systems performed. The EDR is designed to record data related to vehicle dynamics and safety systems for a short period of time, typically 30 seconds or less. The EDR in this vehicle is designed to record such data as:

  • How various systems in your vehicle were operating;
  • Whether or not the driver and passenger safety belts were buckled/fastened;
  • How far (if at all) the driver was depressing the accelerator and/or brake pedal; and,
  • How fast the vehicle was traveling.

These data can help provide a better understanding of the circumstances in which crashes and injuries occur. NOTE: EDR data are recorded by your vehicle only if a non-trivial crash situation occurs; no data are recorded by the EDR under normal driving conditions and no personal data (e.g., name, gender, age, and crash location) are recorded. However, other parties, such as law enforcement, could combine the EDR data with the type of personally identifying data routinely acquired during a crash investigation.

To read data recorded by an EDR, special equipment is required, and access to the vehicle or the EDR is needed. In addition to the vehicle manufacturer, other parties, such as law enforcement, that have the special equipment, can read the information if they have access to the vehicle or the EDR.

ASDR

This vehicle is equipped with an Active Safety Data Recorder (ASDR). This data recorder can record information related to the usage of the car, functional errors and active safety actuations (e.g. auto brake). The information saved is used by technicians for service and maintenance to diagnose and repair possible faults that has occurred in the vehicle and to fulfil certain legal requirements. The registered data can also, in congregated form, be used for research- and product development –purposes to continuously improve the safety and quality of Volvo Cars. For more information contact your local Volvo retailer.

Canadian market only:

This vehicle is equipped with an “Event Data Recorder” (EDR). The main purpose of the EDR is to register and record data in traffic accidents or accident-like situations, e.g. if an airbag deploys or if the vehicle hits an obstacle in the road. This data is recorded in order to help understand how the vehicle's systems perform in these types of situations. The EDR is designed to record data related to vehicle dynamics and safety systems for a short period of time, usually 30 seconds or less.

The EDR in this vehicle is designed to record data in traffic accidents or accident-like situations such as:
  • How the various systems in the vehicle performed;
  • Whether the driver and passenger seat belts were tightened/buckled;
  • The driver's use of the accelerator/brake pedal;
  • How fast the vehicle was moving.

This data can help provide a better understanding of the circumstances in which traffic accidents and injuries occur. The EDR records data only if a non-trivial accident situation occurs. EDR does not record any data during normal driving conditions. The system also never registers data on who is driving the vehicle or the geographical location of the accident or near-accident. However, other parties, such as law enforcement, could combine the EDR data with the type of personally identifiable information that is routinely acquired during an accident investigation. Special equipment and access to either the vehicle or the EDR is required to read this recorded data.

In addition to the EDR, the vehicle is equipped with a number of computers that continuously control and monitor the vehicle's performance. These computers may record data during normal driving conditions, particularly if they detect a fault relating to the vehicle's operation and functionality or upon activation of the vehicle's active driver support functions (e.g. City Safety or the auto-brake function).

Some of this recorded data is required by technicians performing service and maintenance in order to diagnose and rectify any faults that may have occurred in the vehicle. The recorded information is also needed to enable Volvo to fulfill legal and other regulatory requirements. Information registered in the vehicle is stored in its computers until the vehicle is serviced or repaired.

In addition to the above, the recorded information may be used in aggregated form for research and product development purposes in order to continuously improve the safety and quality of Volvo vehicles.

Volvo will not provide this information to any third parties without the vehicle owner's consent. However, national legislation and regulations may require Volvo to disclose this type of information to law enforcement or other authorities that can claim a legal right to the information. Special technical equipment, which Volvo and workshops that have entered agreements with Volvo have access to, is required to read and interpret the recorded data. Volvo is responsible for ensuring that information provided to Volvo in conjunction with service and maintenance is stored and handled securely and in compliance with applicable legal requirements. For more information, please contact a Volvo retailer.

Vehicle Connectivity Module (VCM High)

Vehicles equipped with VCM High can collect data on the vehicle's safety functions as well as other functions in the vehicle. This data is collected for product development, quality follow-up, safety work and to improve and monitor the vehicle's quality and its safety functions. Data is also collected in order to manage Volvo Cars' warranty commitments and to comply with legal requirements related to engine emission data.

 Note

When collecting data, Volvo may use a small portion of the vehicle's data plan, up to 10 MB a month.