System and method for automatic information exchange between vehicles involved in a collision

A method of automatically exchanging information between a plurality of vehicles some of which have collided with each other, said method comprising:

• at least a first of said vehicles sensing said collision and forming a first message comprising said first vehicle's identification;
• said first vehicle transmitting said first message to at least a second of said vehicles;
• said second vehicle transmitting a second message in response to said first message, said second message indicating that the driver of said second vehicle is a witness to said collision;
• and
• said second message including the identification of said second vehicle.

A method of automatically exchanging information between a plurality of vehicles some of which have collided with each other, said method comprising:

• receiving a first message from a second vehicle whose collision sensor is triggered;
• transmitting a second message to said second vehicle, said second message comprising an identification of said first vehicle;
• storing said first message in a memory of said first vehicle
• storing said second message in a memory of said second vehicle and;
• at least one of said first and said second vehicles receiving at least one witness message from at least one third vehicle indicating that the driver of said at least one third vehicle is a witness to said collision.

An apparatus for automatically exchanging information between a plurality of vehicles some of which have collided with each other, said apparatus comprising:

• a receiver for receiving a first message from a second vehicle whose collision sensor is triggered;
• a transmitter for transmitting a second message to said second vehicle, said second message comprising an identification of said first vehicle;
• a first storage device for storing said first message in a memory of said first vehicle;
• a second storage device for storing said second message in a memory of said second vehicle;
• and
• wherein at least one of said first and said storage devices comprises at least one memory location for storing at least one witness message from at least one third vehicle indicating that the driver of said at least one third vehicle is a witness to said collision.

A program storage device readable by a controller installed in a first vehicle tangibly embodying a program of instructions executed by said controller to perform method steps for automatically exchanging information between a plurality of vehicles some of which have collided with each other, said method comprising the steps of:

• receiving a first message from a second vehicle whose collision sensor is triggered;
• transmitting a second message to said second vehicle, said second message comprising an identification of said first vehicle;
• storing said first message in a memory of said first vehicle
• storing said second message in a memory of said second vehicle;
• and
• at least one of said first and said second vehicles receiving at least one witness message from at least one third vehicle indicating that the driver of said at least one third vehicle is a witness to said collision.

A method of automatically exchanging information among a plurality of vehicles some of which have collided with each other, said method comprising:

• at least one of said vehicles sensing said collision and forming a message comprising its vehicle identification;
• said one vehicle transmitting said message to at least one other of said vehicles;
• storing said message in a memory of at least another of said vehicles;
• and
• said at least one of said vehicles receiving at least one witness message from at least one other of said vehicles indicating that the driver of said at least one other of said vehicles is a witness to said collision.

An apparatus installed in a first vehicle for exchanging information with other vehicles, said apparatus comprising:

• a sensor for sensing a collision;
• a transmitter for transmitting a first message when said collision is sensed, said first message comprising the identification of said first vehicle in which said apparatus is installed;
• a receiver for receiving additional messages transmitted by said other vehicles, at least one of said additional messages comprising an identification of at least one of said vehicles;
• and
• a memory for storing said additional messages wherein said memory comprises at least one memory location for storing at least one witness message from at least one other of said vehicles indicating that the driver of said at least one other of said vehicles is a witness to said collision.