[Bentley]

I was recently in a collision with my 2018 xc90. The police impounded both vehicles and got warrants to download the black box data and maybe the 4 seconds of video.
What do I need to download the data from my xc90?

 

[dbphillips]

The cynic in me says the data is not for the likes of us...

Are black boxes required by law? I think I'd be telling Volvo to turn that s*** off... GM cracks me up, trying to give me "free" connectivity to "compensate" for their products shortcomings, spending so much time int he shop. No thanks, I don't need you selling even more of my data.

 

[Ultrarunner511]

Warrants meant there was probable cause a crime occurred. What were the details of the collision? I’m guessing you’ll have access to the data one of two ways: after you request it through public records once the case is adjudicated. Or once the car is released from evidence after the case is adjudicated.

 

[Tech]

The police will handle it. Are you trying to interfere with the investigation?

 

[DFrantz]

There is not a way to download the information from a police impounded vehicle though... it's in their possession and anything done would be evidence tampering. If charges are brought against you, then generally you would have access to the evidence for review.

Honestly, I'm not sure the Volvo does record video... it wouldn't surprise me if it did, but I don't recalling ever that it did. I'm sure the pre collision computer data is stored though, brake timing and force, steering input, distance to any detected objects, things like that.

 

[Ultrarunner511]

I’m pretty sure Volvo’s 360 cameras record about 3 seconds of video before a collision. I could be wrong, but I swear I read somewhere that’s part of the stored data with Volvo’s.

 

[unodos96]

Fairly sure that it requires some properly special tools/software that may be only accessible to Volvo. Not sure on the exact process but I suspect that the warrant would place volvo in a position which they must provide it.

Volvo Privacy notice says fairly little but: "The legal basis for us to process the data mentioned above is to fulfil our legal obligations. "

If you suspect that you may be subject to prosecution/investigation for something go talk to a defense attorney... like right now lol.

Even if you know that you are innocent and did nothing wrong, go talk to a defense attorney. I would say if the police come to your door but if they have a warrant then you are already aware that an investigation of some form is going on. Innocent People have been arrested or imprisoned because they made poor statements to the police that ended up being used against them

 

[Ultrarunner511]

It’s not necessarily Volvo “handing over data.” Vehicular crimes detectives often have access to hardware that can pull and record the data from the OBD plug and USB. If it’s from a Tesla, for example, the GB’s of data that is stored by Google is almost unbelievable.

Just a friendly FYI, if you ever plugged your phone into the car’s USB, your car is collecting massive amounts of data from your phone without you ever knowing. This is some of the data sought through a search warrant. This is particularly helpful to law enforcement if you were using your phone the moment you were in the wreck. You don’t need to say **** - your data will tell you if you were committing a violation(s). And rightfully so. This is why it’s important to not lie about wtf you were doing or were not doing. Your car and your data will tell a very accurate picture. So although you aren’t required to say anything by law, think twice before saying a word if you want to lie about it.

 

[WhoaVolvo]

It’s not necessarily Volvo “handing over data.” Vehicular crimes detectives often have access to hardware that can pull and record the data from the OBD plug and USB. If it’s from a Tesla, for example, the GB’s of data that is stored by Google is almost unbelievable.

Just a friendly FYI, if you ever plugged your phone into the car’s USB, your car is collecting massive amounts of data from your phone without you ever knowing. This is some of the data sought through a search warrant. This is particularly helpful to law enforcement if you were using your phone the moment you were in the wreck. You don’t need to say **** - your data will tell you if you were committing a violation(s). And rightfully so. This is why it’s important to not lie about wtf you were doing or were not doing. Your car and your data will tell a very accurate picture. So although you aren’t required to say anything by law, think twice before saying a word if you want to lie about it.

I have it with pretty high integrity, plugging in the phone does not do anything " behind the scenes " that you don't authorize it to do. The car does not cache text messages or anything you make on the phone directly. The call history on my AAOS C40 even takes a few moments to populate when using Bluetooth every drive.

The active safety systems, do store some data. I have only heard of a few instances where a literal court order / subpoena was provided. In which case the equipment is removed and then sent to Sweden. It is not common.

Engineering data that you actively consent to, is unrelated and anonymized when collected. Volvo has a very strict policy and position around "we don't sell telematics" data about drivers.

 

[volvogod]

As others have noted, you cannot get the SRS crash info. All cars since air bags, have the capability to pull up SRS data. SRS systems record various info. Seat belts connected, Brake pedal usage, Car speed, inertia data for slowing down or not slowing down ect. As cars and technology improved, so has the SRS recorded data. Most people do not know that the SRS module records data kind of like the airplane black box. The following happened in 2008 or so. We had a 1996 960 Volvo owner who said that the driver air bag deployed for no reason. Customer contacted our dealership and Volvo. Volvo rep came out and pulled the SRS data. The Volvo rep said that he can pull the SRS data but has no ideal about how to read it. It is just a bunch of binary type code. He sent it off to Volvo Corp. The car drove OK. We raised up the car, there was a big scrape mark under the car. A lot of rock type damage at the rear transmission cross member mount support. Whomever was driving the car, ran off road? ran over a big rock? car came to a sudden stop? setting off the driver airbag. We did not get any details from the customer. The airbag had a reason for deploying.
It was turned over to their car insurance company to deal with this.

 

[Ultrarunner511]

I have it with pretty high integrity, plugging in the phone does not do anything " behind the scenes " that you don't authorize it to do. The car does not cache text messages or anything you make on the phone directly. The call history on my AAOS C40 even takes a few moments to populate when using Bluetooth every drive.

The active safety systems, do store some data. I have only heard of a few instances where a literal court order / subpoena was provided. In which case the equipment is removed and then sent to Sweden. It is not common.

Engineering data that you actively consent to, is unrelated and anonymized when collected. Volvo has a very strict policy and position around "we don't sell telematics" data about drivers.

A search warrant for data is a different realm than selling data. Sure, having the physical device will give all the details. But calls made, contacts, GPS data, a lot of that stuff can be stored on modern car operating systems when wired. Especially now with the Google operating systems. This type of data has been used in countless fatal collisions, DUI’s, aggravated assaults, robberies, murders, etc etc.