Vehicle Driver Responsibility Factor Assessment and Broadcast

• US 20170039848A1
• Filed: 08/07/2015
• Published: 02/09/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Hakeem, Mohannad Abdullah
• Granted Patent: US 9,679,480 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/016 Personal emergency signalling and security systems emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/08 using communication transmission lines G08B13/19658, G08B21/0286, G08B25/016 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0112 from the vehicle, e.g. floating car data [FCD]
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/052 with provision for determining speed or overspeed speed measuring in general G01P
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/205 Indicating the location of the monitored vehicles as destination, e.g. accidents, stolen, rental
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/7243 with interactive means for internal management of messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/60 logging of communication history, e.g. outgoing or incoming calls, missed calls, messages or URLs logging of telephone numbers H04M1/56, H04M1/57

Abstract

A vehicle includes one or more controllers that, in response to identification of an accident involving the vehicle, transmit a parameter indicative of a degree to which a driver of the vehicle is at fault for the accident. The parameter is based on data collected by another vehicle that was within a predetermined distance from a location of the vehicle at a time of the accident.

Claims

1. A vehicle comprising:

at least one controller configured to, in response to identification of an accident involving the vehicle, transmit a parameter that is based on data collected by an other vehicle that was within a predetermined distance from a location of the vehicle at a time of the accident, wherein the parameter is indicative of a degree to which a driver of the vehicle is at fault for the accident.

2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the data includes a speed of the other vehicle at the time of the accident, a profile of speed of the other vehicle within a predetermined window of time encompassing the time of the accident, or a profile of braking force of the other vehicle within a predetermined window of time encompassing the time of the accident.

3. The vehicle of claim 2, wherein the parameter is further based on a difference between the speed of the other vehicle and a speed limit at the location and time of the accident.

4. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the parameter is further based on infotainment data collected within a predetermined window of time encompassing the time of the accident, wherein the infotainment data includes mobile device signals indicative of operation of a mobile device.

5. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the parameter is further based on infotainment data from the other vehicle collected within a predetermined window of time encompassing the time of the accident, and includes a log of text messages transferred to a phone electrically coupled to an infotainment system in the other vehicle, a log indicative of key presses to a user interface of the infotainment system, a signal indicative of phone activity, or a signal indicative of hands-free operation of the phone.

6. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein identification of an accident involving the vehicle includes identification of deployment of an airbag.

7. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the parameter is further based on a state of a traffic light proximate to the location of the vehicle within a predetermined window of time encompassing the time of the accident.

8. A vehicle comprising:

at least one controller configured to, in response to identification of an accident involving the vehicle, transmit a parameter indicative of a degree to which a driver of the vehicle is at fault for the accident that is based on a number of key presses of a mobile device keypad within a predetermined time before the accident, wherein the keypad is coupled with an infotainment system in the vehicle.

9. The vehicle of claim 8, wherein the parameter is further based on data collected by an other vehicle that was within a predetermined distance from a location of the vehicle at a time of the accident.

10. The vehicle of claim 9, wherein the data includes a speed of the other vehicle at the time of the accident, a profile of speed of the other vehicle within a predetermined window of time encompassing the time of the accident, or a profile of braking force of the other vehicle within a predetermined window of time encompassing the time of the accident.

11. The vehicle of claim 10, wherein the parameter is further based on a difference between the speed of the other vehicle and a speed limit at the location and time of the accident.

12. The vehicle of claim 9, wherein the parameter is further based on infotainment data collected from the other vehicle within a predetermined window of time encompassing the time of the accident, wherein the infotainment data includes mobile device signals indicative of operation of a mobile device.

13. The vehicle of claim 9, wherein the parameter is further based on infotainment data collected from the other vehicle, and includes a log of text messages transferred to a phone electrically coupled to an infotainment system in the other vehicle, a log indicative of key presses to a user interface of the infotainment system, a signal indicative of phone activity, or a signal indicative of hands-free operation of the phone.

14. The vehicle of claim 8, wherein identification of an accident involving the vehicle includes identification of deployment of an airbag.

15. A method of broadcasting data associated with an accident of a vehicle comprising:

receiving infotainment data, recorded at a time of an accident and a predetermined time prior to the accident, from an other vehicle in a vicinity of the vehicle; and

transmitting, via an RF transmitter, a fault assessment based on the infotainment data and indicative of a degree to which a driver of the vehicle is at fault for the accident.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising receiving infrastructure data from a vehicle infrastructure indicative of at least one characteristic of a roadway in a vicinity of the vehicle, wherein the fault assessment is further based on the infrastructure data.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising receiving, from the other vehicle, vehicle data that includes a speed of the other vehicle at the time of the accident, a profile of speed of the other vehicle within a predetermined window of time encompassing the time of the accident, or a profile of braking force of the other vehicle within a predetermined window of time encompassing the time of the accident, wherein the fault assessment is further based on the vehicle data.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the infotainment data includes a log of text messages transferred to a phone electrically coupled to an infotainment system in the other vehicle, a log indicative of key presses to a user interface of the infotainment system, a signal indicative of phone activity, or a signal indicative of hands-free operation of the phone.