Computerized method and system of determining right of way and liability for an accident

• US 7,904,318 B2
• Filed: 10/02/2001
• Issued: 03/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Computer Sciences Corporation (DXC Technology Company)
• Original Assignee: Computer Sciences Corporation (DXC Technology Company)
• Inventors: Wahlbin, Stephan, Johnston, Tim
• Primary Examiner(s): Rines; R. D
• Application Number:
  US09/969,017
• Publication Number:
  US 20020082873A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,444 Days
• Field of Search: 705/4
• US Class Current: 705/4
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0283 Price estimation or determination
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation

Abstract

Methods and systems are provided for estimating liability and right of way in an accident. In one embodiment, liability estimation in a vehicle accident may be based on a plurality of characteristics that describe the accident. In addition, right of way estimation in a vehicle accident may be based on the plurality of characteristics that describe the accident. These characteristics may include: the configuration of the roadway, the type of accident, the traffic controls at the vehicle accident scene, and impact points of each vehicle. The characteristics from an actual accident may be compared to those in a past or theoretical accident. Liability may be estimated from a preassigned liability associated with a nearest matching past or theoretical accident. Right of way may be estimated from a predetermined right of way associated with the nearest matching past or theoretical accident. The liability estimate may include a base liability and one or more adjustments due to various factors.

Claims

1. A method of estimating liability for a vehicle accident, comprising:

providing to a computer system a real set of characteristics of a real vehicle accident involving two or more vehicles, wherein the real set of characteristics of the real vehicle accident comprises;

an accident type for the real vehicle accident, wherein the accident type for the real vehicle accident specifies a relationship between two or more vehicles'"'"' paths on a roadway at the time of the real vehicle accident; and

a roadway configuration for the real vehicle accident,

wherein the computer system is configured to access a memory, and wherein the memory comprises sets of characteristics for past or theoretical vehicle accidents, wherein the past vehicle accidents are accidents that actually occurred in the past, wherein the theoretical vehicle accidents are accidents that might occur, wherein the set of characteristics for at least one of the past or theoretical vehicle accidents comprises;

an accident type for the past or theoretical vehicle accident, wherein the accident type for the past or theoretical vehicle accident specifies a relationship between two or more vehicles'"'"' paths on a roadway at the time of the past or theoretical vehicle accident; and

a roadway configuration for the past or theoretical vehicle accident;

wherein each of at least two of the sets of characteristics for the past or theoretical vehicle accidents is associated with at least one base liability;

the computer system automatically determining a right of way in the real vehicle accident from at least one of;

the accident type for the real vehicle accident;

or

the roadway configuration for the real vehicle accident,

and from at least one other characteristic of the real set of characteristics for the real vehicle accident;

the computer system correlating the determined right of way for the real vehicle accident and the real set of characteristics for the real vehicle accident to a right of way for the past or theoretical vehicle accidents and to the sets of characteristics for the past or theoretical vehicle accidents to determine a set of characteristics from the past or theoretical vehicle accidents that most nearly matches the real set of characteristics for the real vehicle accident; and

the computer system estimating a base liability of an insured party associated with at least one of the vehicles in the real vehicle accident based on the correlation by the computer system of the determined right of way for the real vehicle accident and the real set of characteristics for the real vehicle accident to a right of way for the past or theoretical vehicle accidents and the sets of characteristics for the theoretical vehicle accidents, wherein the computer system estimating a base liability comprises the computer system extracting, from a database table, at least one base liability associated with the nearest matching set of characteristics from among the sets of characteristics for the past or theoretical vehicle accidents.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the roadway configuration is selected from the group consisting of a two or more lane road, a divided road with a median that can be crossed, a four-way intersection, a T-angle intersection, a merging of one roadway into another, a curve, a parking lot with two-way traffic, a parking lot with one way traffic, a center turn lane, and a two or more lane road divided by a physical barrier.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined set of accident types includes at least two of:

a rear ender, a left turn crossing traffic, a left turn across traffic, a left turn entering traffic, a right turn entering traffic, dual turns to same lane, concurrent left turns, a U-turn, a parked vehicle merging into traffic from right, a parked vehicle merging into traffic from left, a merge from left, a merge from right, concurrent merges to a single lane, a collision with a parked vehicle, a collision while backing, a head on, and a straight cross traffic collision.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the real set of characteristics comprises an impact point for a vehicle in the real vehicle accident.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the impact point is selected from the group consisting of right front corner, right front fender, right middle, right rear quarter-panel, right rear corner, rear middle, left rear corner, left rear quarter-panel, left middle, left front fender, left front corner, and front middle.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the real set of characteristics comprises a traffic control.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the real set of characteristics comprises a traffic control, and wherein the traffic control is selected from the group consisting of a red light, a yellow light, a green light, a left turn arrow, a right turn arrow, a stop sign, a yield sign, a flashing red light, a flashing yellow light, a police officer signaling stop, a police officer signaling proceed, a crossing guard signaling proceed, a crossing guard signaling stop, a flagger signaling proceed, a flagger signaling stop, another person signaling proceed, another person signaling stop, an emergency vehicle, and a school bus.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one other characteristic comprises a traffic control.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one other characteristic comprises a jurisdiction.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one other characteristic comprises a jurisdiction, and wherein the jurisdiction comprises a state or a territory of the United States.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one other characteristic comprises a traffic control.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one other characteristic comprises a traffic control, and wherein the traffic control is selected from the group consisting of a red light, a yellow light, a green light, a left turn arrow, a right turn arrow, a stop sign, a yield sign, a flashing red light, a flashing yellow light, a police officer signaling stop, a police officer signaling proceed, a crossing guard signaling proceed, a crossing guard signaling stop, a flagger signaling proceed, a flagger signaling stop, another person signaling proceed, another person signaling stop, an emergency vehicle, and a school bus.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one other characteristic comprises at least a traffic control and a jurisdiction.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one other characteristic comprises at least a traffic control and a jurisdiction, and wherein the jurisdiction comprises a state or a territory of the United States.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one other characteristic comprises at least a traffic control and a jurisdiction, and wherein the traffic control is selected from the group consisting of a red light, a yellow light, a green light, a left turn arrow, a right turn arrow, a stop sign, a yield sign, a flashing red light, a flashing yellow light, a police officer signaling stop, a police officer signaling proceed, a crossing guard signaling proceed, a crossing guard signaling stop, a flagger signaling proceed, a flagger signaling stop, another person signaling proceed, another person signaling stop, an emergency vehicle, and a school bus.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one other characteristic comprises at least one impact points of each vehicle involved in the real vehicle accident.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one other characteristic comprises at least one impact points of each vehicle involved in the real vehicle accident, and wherein each of the impact points comprises one of the following:

right front corner, right front fender, right middle, right rear quarter-panel, right rear corner, rear middle, left rear corner, left rear quarter-panel, left middle, left front fender, left front corner, and front middle.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the base liability is a proportion of the liability of the insured party, wherein the base liability is independent of the actions of the drivers, the conditions of the drivers, the conditions of the vehicles in the accident, and the environmental conditions common to the accident, the method further comprising:

estimating an effect on liability of the insured party of at least one of;

the actions of the drivers,

the conditions of the drivers,

the conditions of the vehicles in the accident, and

the environmental conditions common to the accident;

wherein the effect on the liability of the insured party is a numerical value that increases or decreases in the liability of the insured party relative to the base liability;

and

determining an estimate of liability of the party by mathematically combining the estimate of the base liability with the estimated effect.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein estimating the effect comprises estimating an effect of the actions of the drivers in the accident on the liability of the insured party.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein estimating the effect comprises estimating an effect of the conditions of the drivers in the accident on the liability of the insured party.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein estimating the effect comprises estimating an effect of the condition of vehicles in the accident on the liability of the insured party.

22. The method of claim 18, wherein estimating the effect comprises estimating an effect of the environmental conditions common to vehicles in the accident on the liability of the insured party.

23. The method of claim 18, wherein the estimated effect of one or more factors comprises a proportion of liability for each of one or more actions of the drivers, one or more conditions of the drivers, one or more conditions of the vehicles in the accident, and one or more environmental conditions common to the vehicles in the accident, wherein determining the estimate of liability comprises adding or subtracting to the base liability the proportion of liability associated with one or more actions of the drivers, one or more conditions of the drivers, one or more conditions of the vehicles in the accident, or one or more environmental conditions common to the vehicles in the accident.

24. The method of claim 18, wherein determining the estimate of liability of the party comprises multiplying the base liability by the sum of the estimated effects of one or more actions of the drivers, one or more conditions of the drivers, one or more conditions of the vehicles in the accident, and one or more environmental conditions common to the vehicles in the accident.

25. The method of claim 18, wherein combining the estimated base liability with the estimated effect on the liability of the party comprises shifting a portion of the liability for the vehicle accident from the party to another party or shifting a portion of the liability for the vehicle accident to the party from another party.

26. The method of claim 1, wherein the accident type for the real vehicle accident is one accident type selected from a set of two or more predetermined accident types, wherein the right of way in the real vehicle accident is determined based on which accident type is selected from the set of predetermined accident types.

27. The method of claim 1, wherein the accident type for the real vehicle accident is one accident type selected from a set of two or more predetermined accident types, wherein determining the right of way in the real vehicle accident comprises determining whether an intersection is present or not present for the real vehicle accident based on which accident type is selected from the set of predetermined accident types.

28. The method of claim 1, wherein the roadway configuration for the real vehicle accident is one roadway configuration selected from a set of two or more predetermined roadway configurations, wherein the right of way in the real vehicle accident is determined based on which roadway configuration is selected from the set of predetermined roadway configurations.

29. The method of claim 1, wherein the roadway configuration for the real vehicle accident is one roadway configuration selected from a set of two or more predetermined roadway configurations, wherein determining the right of way in the real vehicle accident comprises determining whether an intersection is present or not present for the real vehicle accident based on which roadway configuration is selected from the set of predetermined roadway configurations.

30. The method of claim 1,

wherein each of at least two sets of characteristics for the past or theoretical accidents is associated with a first base liability corresponding to a first vehicle in a past or theoretical accident having the right of way in the past or theoretical accident and a second base liability corresponding to a second vehicle having the right of way in the past or theoretical accident;

wherein the computer system estimating the base liability comprises the computer system extracting, from a database table, at least one of the first base liability or the second base liability associated with the nearest matching set of characteristics for the past or theoretical accidents, wherein the estimated liability for the vehicle in the real vehicle accident is based on the first base liability if the insured party had the right of way, wherein the estimated liability for the vehicle in the real vehicle accident is based on the estimate of the second base liability if the insured party did not have the right of way.

31. The method of claim 1,

wherein the real set of characteristics for the real vehicle accident further comprises:

a pair of impact points for the real vehicle accident, wherein one of the impact points of the pair is an impact point for a first vehicle in the real vehicle accident and the other impact point of the pair is an impact point for a second vehicle in the real vehicle accident,

the method further comprising the computer system searching, from within a database table having pairs of impact points for the past or theoretical accidents, for a pair of impact points associated with the roadway configuration for the real vehicle accident and the accident type for the real vehicle accident that is the nearest match to the pair of impact points for the real vehicle accident,

wherein the estimate of the base liability for the real vehicle accident is based at least in part on a base liability associated with the nearest matching pair of impact points.

32. A system for estimating liability for a vehicle accident, comprising:

a CPU;

a data memory coupled to the CPU; and

a system memory coupled to the CPU, wherein the system memory is configured to store one or more computer programs executable by the CPU, and wherein the computer programs are executable to implement a method for estimating liability, the method comprising;

providing to the computer system a real set of characteristics of a real vehicle accident involving two or more vehicles, wherein the real set of characteristics of the real vehicle accident comprises;

an accident type for the real vehicle accident, wherein the accident type for the real vehicle accident specifies a relationship between two or more vehicles'"'"' paths on a roadway at the time of the real vehicle accident; and

a roadway configuration for the real vehicle accident;

wherein the data memory comprises sets of characteristics for past or theoretical vehicle accidents, wherein the past vehicle accidents are accidents that actually occurred in the past, wherein the theoretical vehicle accidents are accidents that might occur, wherein the set of characteristics for at least one of the past or theoretical vehicle accidents comprises;

an accident type for the past or theoretical vehicle accident, wherein the accident type for the past or theoretical vehicle accident specifies a relationship between two or more vehicles'"'"' paths on a roadway at the time of the past or theoretical vehicle accident; and

a roadway configuration for the past or theoretical vehicle accident;

wherein each of at least two of the sets of characteristics for the past or theoretical vehicle accidents is associated with at least one base liability;

automatically determining a right of way in the real vehicle accident from at least one of;

the accident type for the real vehicle accident;

or

the roadway configuration for the real vehicle accident,

and from at least one other characteristic of the real set of characteristics for the real vehicle accident;

correlating the determined right of way for the real vehicle accident and the real set of characteristics for the real vehicle accident to a right of way for the past or theoretical vehicle accidents and the sets of characteristics for the past or theoretical vehicle accidents to determine a set of characteristics from the past or theoretical vehicle accidents that most nearly matches the real set of characteristics for the real vehicle accident; and

estimating a base liability of an insured party associated with at least one of the vehicles in the real vehicle accident based on the correlation by the computer system of the determined right of way for the real vehicle accident and the real set of characteristics for the real vehicle accident to a right of way for the past or theoretical vehicle accidents and the sets of characteristics for the past or theoretical vehicle accidents, wherein estimating the base liability comprises the computer system extracting, from a database table, at least one base liability associated with the nearest matching set of characteristics from among the sets of characteristics for the past or theoretical vehicle accidents.

33. A computer-readable storage medium comprising program instructions stored thereon, wherein the program instructions are computer-executable to implement a method for estimating liability for a vehicle accident, the method comprising:

providing to a computer system a real set of characteristics of a real vehicle accident involving two or more vehicles, wherein the real set of characteristics of the real vehicle accident comprises;

an accident type for the real vehicle accident, wherein the accident type for the real vehicle accident specifies a relationship between two or more vehicles'"'"' paths on a roadway at the time of the real vehicle accident; and

a roadway configuration for the real vehicle accident;

wherein the computer system is configured to access a memory, and wherein the memory comprises sets of characteristics for past or theoretical vehicle accidents, wherein the past vehicle accidents are accidents that actually occurred in the past, wherein the theoretical vehicle accidents are accidents that might occur, wherein the set of characteristics for at least one of the past or theoretical vehicle accidents comprises;

an accident type for the past or theoretical vehicle accident, wherein the accident type for the past or theoretical vehicle accident specifies a relationship between two or more vehicles'"'"' paths on a roadway at the time of the past or theoretical vehicle accident; and

a roadway configuration for the past or theoretical vehicle accident;

wherein each of at least two of the sets of characteristics for the past or theoretical vehicle accidents is associated with at least one base liability;

automatically determining a right of way in the real vehicle accident from at least one of;

the accident type for the real vehicle accident;

or

the roadway configuration for the real vehicle accident,

and from at least one other characteristic of the real set of characteristics for the real vehicle accident; and

correlating the determined right of way for the real vehicle accident and the real set of characteristics for the real vehicle accident to a right of way for the past or theoretical vehicle accidents and the sets of characteristics for the past or theoretical vehicle accidents to determine a set of characteristics from the past or theoretical vehicle accidents that most nearly matches the real set of characteristics for the real vehicle accident; and

estimating a base liability of an insured party associated with at least one of the vehicles in the real vehicle accident based on the correlation by the computer system of the determined right of way for the real vehicle accident and the real set of characteristics for the real vehicle accident to a right of way for the past or theoretical vehicle accidents and the sets of characteristics for the past or theoretical vehicle accidents, wherein estimating a base liability comprises the computer system extracting, from a database table, at least one base liability associated with the nearest matching set of characteristics from among the sets of characteristics for the past or theoretical vehicle accidents.