Methods of determining accident cause and/or fault using telematics data

Abstract

In systems and methods for facilitating fault determination, accident data associated with a vehicle accident involving a driver may be collected. The accident data may include vehicle telematics and/or other data, and/or the driver may be associated with an insurance policy. The accident data may analyzed and, based upon the analysis of the accident data, fault (or lack thereof) of the driver, other drivers, road or weather conditions, construction, or other external factors or environment conditions for the vehicle accident may be determined. The determined fault may be used to handle an insurance claim associated with the vehicle accident, and to adjust, generate or update one or more insurance-related items, including (i) parameters of the insurance policy; (ii) a premium; (iii) a rate; (iv) a discount; or (v) a reward. As such, drivers not at a fault for an accident may realize insurance-cost savings and/or may not be unfairly penalized.

1 .- 20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . A method implemented by a system comprising one or more processors and one or more memories, the method comprising:
 collecting, by one or more sensors, accident data associated with a vehicle accident involving a driver of a vehicle, the accident data including driver acuity data and vehicle telematics data before, during, and after the vehicle accident, the driver acuity data comprising at least one selected from a group consisting of phone usage data, audio data, image data, and video data, the vehicle telematics data comprising data indicating movement of the vehicle;   time-stamping at least a part of the driver acuity data by associating the driver acuity data with time information;   determining a time of the vehicle accident;   selecting the driver acuity data during the vehicle accident based on the time information associated with the driver acuity data and the time of the vehicle accident;   analyzing, by the one or more processors, the selected driver acuity data to determine a driver acuity of the driver during the vehicle accident;   analyzing, by the one or more processors, the vehicle telematics data to determine a sequence of movements of the vehicle preceding and during the vehicle accident; and   determining, by the one or more processors, fault of the driver for the vehicle accident based upon the determined sequence of movements of the vehicle preceding and during the accident and the determined driver acuity of the driver during the vehicle accident.   
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the vehicle telematics data further comprises data indicating at least one selected from a group consisting of operation status of the vehicle, braking, a brake light status, turning, a turn signal status, and air bag status. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22 , further comprising:
 analyzing, by the one or more processors, the accident data to determine driver behavior of the driver before, during or after the vehicle accident.   
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 23 , further comprising:
 analyzing the accident data to determine driver behavior of another driver involved in the vehicle accident before, during or after the vehicle accident.   
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the accident data further comprises environmental condition data, the environmental condition data including data indicating at least one selected from a group consisting of a road condition, a weather condition, and a traffic condition. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25 , further comprising:
 analyzing, by the one or more processors, the environmental condition data to determine a condition that is associated with a location of the vehicle accident before, during or after the vehicle accident, the conditions including at least one selected from a group consisting of road conditions, weather conditions, traffic conditions, and construction conditions.   
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 25 , further comprising:
 analyzing, by the one or more processors, the environmental condition data and data associated with other vehicle accidents that occurred at the location of the vehicle accident to determine the fault of the driver, wherein the fault of the driver includes a percentage representing the fault of the driver.   
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein collecting accident data further includes collecting data generated by the vehicle or a computer system of the vehicle. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein the accident data further at least one selected from a group consisting of data associated with a vehicle other than the insured vehicle, data received via vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, and data collected from roadside equipment or infrastructure located near a location of the vehicle accident. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the one or more sensors include one or more sensors mounted on the vehicle. 
     
     
         31 . A system comprising:
 one or more processors;   one or more sensors configured to collect accident data associated with a vehicle accident involving a driver of a vehicle, the accident data including driver acuity data and vehicle telematics data before, during, and after the vehicle accident, the driver acuity data comprising at least one selected from a group consisting of phone usage data, audio data, image data, and video data, the vehicle telematics data comprising data indicating movement of the vehicle; and   one or more memories storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
 time-stamping at least a part of the driver acuity data by associating the driver acuity data with time information; 
 determining a time of the vehicle accident; 
 selecting the driver acuity data during the vehicle accident based on the time information associated with the driver acuity data and the time of the vehicle accident; 
 analyzing the selected driver acuity data to determine a driver acuity of the driver during the vehicle accident; 
 analyzing the vehicle telematics data to determine a sequence of movements of the vehicle preceding and during the vehicle accident; and 
 determining fault of the driver for the vehicle accident based upon the determined sequence of movements of the vehicle preceding and during the accident and the determined driver acuity of the driver during the vehicle accident. 
   
     
     
         32 . The system of  claim 31 , wherein the vehicle telematics data further comprises data indicating at least one selected from a group consisting of operation status of the vehicle, braking, a brake light status, turning, a turn signal status, and air bag status. 
     
     
         33 . The system of  claim 32 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 analyzing the accident data to determine driver behavior of the driver before, during or after the vehicle accident.   
     
     
         34 . The system of  claim 33 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 analyzing the accident data to determine driver behavior of another driver involved in the vehicle accident before, during or after the vehicle accident.   
     
     
         35 . The system of  claim 31 , wherein the accident data further comprises environmental condition data, the environmental condition data including data indicating at least one selected from a group consisting of a road condition, a weather condition, and a traffic condition. 
     
     
         36 . The system of  claim 35 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 analyzing the environmental condition data to determine a condition that is associated with a location of the vehicle accident before, during or after the vehicle accident, the conditions including at least one selected from a group consisting of road conditions, weather conditions, traffic conditions, and construction conditions.   
     
     
         37 . The system of  claim 35 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 analyzing the environmental condition data and data associated with other vehicle accidents that occurred at the location of the vehicle accident to determine the fault of the driver, wherein the fault of the driver includes a percentage representing the fault of the driver.   
     
     
         38 . A method implemented by a system comprising one or more processors and one or more memories, the method comprising:
 collecting, by one or more sensors, accident data associated with a vehicle accident involving a driver of a vehicle, the accident data including driver acuity data and vehicle telematics data before, during, and after the vehicle accident, the driver acuity data comprising at least one selected from a group consisting of phone usage data, audio data, image data, and video data, the vehicle telematics data comprising data indicating movement of the vehicle;   time-stamping at least a part of the driver acuity data by associating the driver acuity data with time information;   determining a time of the vehicle accident;   selecting the driver acuity data during the vehicle accident based on the time information associated with the driver acuity data and the time of the vehicle accident;   analyzing, by the one or more processors, the selected driver acuity data to determine a driver acuity of the driver during the vehicle accident;   analyzing, by the one or more processors, the vehicle telematics data to determine a sequence of movements of the vehicle preceding and during the vehicle accident; and   determining, by the one or more processors, one or more causes of the vehicle accident based upon the determined sequence of movements of the vehicle preceding and during the accident and the determined driver acuity of the driver during the vehicle accident, at least one of the one or more causes being attributed to the driver.   
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 38 , wherein the vehicle telematics data further comprises data indicating at least one selected from a group consisting of operation status of the vehicle, braking, a brake light status, turning, a turn signal status, and air bag status. 
     
     
         40 . The method of  claim 39 , further comprising:
 analyzing, by the one or more processors, the accident data to determine driver behavior of the driver before, during or after the vehicle accident.