Hi...

RJT>I've not had a *lot* of experience in this area,  but I've had *some*.  The
   >was one incident,  back about 1980,  where I was in a curve,  and when I we
   >to turn the wheel back to straight at the end of the curve the car kept on
   >curving.  I'd apparently lost something in the steering linkage.  The car t
   >had a close encounter with a utility pole,  lost the driver's side front wh
   > did a 360 while going back across the road,  and ended up in a ditch.

RJT>I don't think I ever exceeded 40-45 MPH during that whole process,  since I
   >in an area that I wasn't terribly familiar with and it was a drizzly kinda 

RJT>But that's _not_ what the speedometer said,  when I came to rest.  It was *
   >up there,  and thta's why I say that what the car thinks was going on is
   >nonsense,  and may or may not have any bearing on the reality of the
   >situation...

You're absolutely right...  imagine if in your incident
you hadn't completely rotated 360 degrees, but instead
happened to stop rotating at 180 degrees.  Quite
likely you'd have indicated a negative speed - or
perhaps zero.

Try another scenario...  (touch wood)

Drive 60 mph and run into a young tree, one that
will snap or bend completely over, but still
deploy the air bags.  Speed will be recorded
at virtually 60 mph.

Drive 60 mph and run into a million ton
bridge abutment.  The stop will be instantaneous,
and the speed will be recorded as zero mph.

Info in these cases is pure garbage, of no
interest or value.

I *think* what they're doing in the tattletale
systems is streaming data; recording
several seconds of first in/first out
information.  That *would* be of value
in reconstructing the event.

Take care.

Ken

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