Collision Sciences

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Spotlight 04 · Four impacts, five ignition cycles — one collision sequence?

Why can a single loss produce several stored impact records?

2 pages · Source updated 2026-10-11
Illustration of a vehicle data module sending hexadecimal data toward a crash report
Vehicle data → clearer evidence Concept illustration
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Four impacts, five ignition cycles — one collision sequence?

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Case question

Why can a single loss produce several stored impact records?

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What the evidence showed

A Toyota 4Runner report showed four “Most Recent” impact records, all associated with the same five-ignition-cycle recency. The sequence included roll motion and lateral impact records of different severities.

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Practical takeaway

Multiple records can belong to one collision sequence. Recency, timing, delta-V direction and restraint data should be reconciled before treating records as separate accidents.

The source evidence exhibit is provided below.

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Related resources

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Related cases

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Evidence exhibit

Source illustration, page 2
Source illustration · PDF page 2 · Enlarge image ↗

Complete Crash Data Records table from the Toyota 4Runner report, including the delta-V recording-limit footnote. Identifying report headers and collection-date banner omitted.

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