The Expert Podcast

…What is vehicle forensics like every other type of investigative forensics. It's a process of recovering and then analyzing records. To find the answers which may not be readily available. You think of a forensics examiner of a dead body They're going to look through things like, injuries, drug testing, other types of, medical evaluation. Well you could do the same thing with the vehicle. And vehicle forensics is an extremely valuable method of obtaining information. About activity of the owner And this article talks about from car to court. It's a good illegal. A process to get. a records about a person. there are a few. Items in a vehicle which have valuable information One is what's called the black box. It is a device in a vehicle which controls all of the operational aspects of the vehicle Things like the engine transmission door locks lights horn radio. And all of the control of those goes through this black box It's an ECM or electronic control unit. And that will…sometimes have even things like how hard the brakes were pressed, what the throttle position was. if there are any types of. indications for air bags or antilock brakes that'll show up So it'll give you a good…history of the vehicle. Of how it's operated. Sometimes it's connected to the GPS So you know when and where this happened.

Another related system is the infotainment system This is sometimes connected to the GPS as well, and it has things like the Bluetooth cell phone connections app connections, and it can also give an insight into the. Operators or owners. mobile device So sometimes it'll connect to your text message your emails your phone calls, and all that can be obtained through the infotainment system of the vehicle. Number three is a more specific type of electronic control which is the ECU not the ECM. And this has to do with more mechanical items. And a lot of times these are distributed around the vehicles There may be some on the exhaust system some on the brakes some on the air conditioning system. And what it'll tell you is what the status of all those parts are They connect to the ECM. The electronic control module. And they will be sensors to what is happening with the vehicle. What is the temperature of different systems How fast tires are rotating, how, what's the coolest status of the vehicle And sometimes this can help determine if there was an accident. Sometimes it'll help determine if the door was open. You know we did a divorce case. last year where. the subject said that they were by themselves but when they stopped at a restaurant it showed that the passenger door opened. Right. So this shows that the person was not alone. There's also a sensor on the seat to see if there's somebody sitting on that seat. So that the airbag will activate on that side So it was proven that somebody was sitting on the seat that weighed more than 60 pounds and the door was open. So that was proof That person was not by themselves.

ecall units or another. Segment of the car It's something where it's an emergency system that if their car's in an accident or it senses the collision or a rollover it will automatically dial 9 1 1. It includes the vehicles GPS coordinates direction of travel, the VIN number. Whether or not the seatbelts were fastened. Right. So this is something that collects data as the cars being driven you can also press a button It's like the OnStar system right with the GM has, and all of those records are maintained in the eco unit. Another one is. The key fob nowadays, you know key fobs or the remote controls are very very high tech. They can open doors they can turn on lights They can even start the car remotely. And a lot of those collect information. And have records.

Another thing you can do is if you have a key fob, Which is separate from the car and you're able to pair it or extract data You can find out the VIN number of that vehicle. And also the date and time it was locked or unlocked. And the last thing our cameras. A lot of vehicles now have not just a backup camera but a dashboard camera. And back backup cameras have been. required a new vehicle since I believe 2012. Or 2014 possibly. And these backup cameras collect a lot of information. and there may be portals to submit footage from those two. solve crime So if you have a investigation that's being run for fraud or divorce or financial, and you have access to a vehicle, you may find that there's all kinds of information about that subject contained in their vehicle or within the electronic. Devices in the vehicle Sometimes they collect more information than your phone you know your phone. collect some information about the vehicle, collects everything from GPS lights horn. If the door was locked open closed, and that could be very helpful in determining the activities of a subject or even their location.