The Vehicle Object

A Vehicle represents a vehicle involved in an accident. Vehicles are nested within a Case and can have associated crash parameters computed from damage analysis.

Object Structure

{
  "id": "veh_abc123",
  "role": "plaintiff",
  "make": "Toyota",
  "model": "Camry",
  "year": "2020",
  "vin": "4T1B11HK5LU123456",
  "type": "sedan",
  "weight_lbs": 3500,
  "airbag_deployed": "yes",
  "deployed_airbags": ["driver_frontal", "driver_knee"],
  "edr_file_id": null,
  "image_file_ids": ["file_img1", "file_img2", "file_img3"],
  "files": [
    {
      "id": "file_img1",
      "name": "front_damage.jpg",
      "size": 245000,
      "type": "image/jpeg",
      "category": "vehicle_photo",
      "url": "https://storage.silentwitness.ai/...",
      "uploaded_at": "2024-01-15T10:35:00Z"
    }
  ],
  "crash_parameters": {
    "delta_v_min": 8.5,
    "delta_v_max": 12.3,
    "delta_v_method": "ml",
    "pdof_degrees": 180,
    "crash_pulse_min_ms": 12,
    "crash_pulse_max_ms": 100,
    "calculated_at": "2024-01-15T12:00:00Z"
  }
}

Attributes

Core Fields

Attribute	Type	Description
id	string	Unique identifier with veh_ prefix
role	string	Vehicle role: plaintiff or defendant
make	string	Manufacturer (e.g., "Toyota", "Ford")
model	string	Model name (e.g., "Camry", "F-150")
year	string	Model year (e.g., "2020")
vin	string	Vehicle Identification Number (17 characters)
type	string	Vehicle type: sedan, suv, truck, van, motorcycle, other
weight_lbs	integer	Curb weight in pounds. Auto-estimated during report generation when absent; a manually set value is never overwritten by the estimator. On updates, send 0 to clear the stored weight (re-enables auto-estimation); omit the field to leave it unchanged. Accepted range: 0–100000.

Airbag Deployment

Attribute	Type	Description
airbag_deployed	string	Summary status for the whole vehicle: yes, no, partial, or unknown. Recommended on every request; if omitted, the API infers it from deployed_airbags (see below).
deployed_airbags	array	Optional list of the specific airbags known to have deployed

These fields answer two different questions:

• airbag_deployed answers: did any airbag deploy in this vehicle?
• deployed_airbags answers: which specific airbags are documented as deployed?

Use airbag_deployed even when you do not know the exact airbag types. Use deployed_airbags only when the source material identifies specific deployed airbags.

Status Values

airbag_deployed value	Meaning	deployed_airbags behavior
yes	One or more airbags deployed	May contain specific deployed airbag codes, or [] if the exact airbags are not known
partial	The record indicates partial deployment or incomplete deployment detail	May contain known deployed airbag codes, or [] if no specific airbags are known
no	No airbags deployed	Stored as []
unknown	Airbag deployment status is not known	Stored as []

An empty deployed_airbags array does not always mean "no deployment." It means "no specific deployed airbag detail was captured." Use airbag_deployed to determine the vehicle-level status.

Recommended Request Shapes

When creating or updating a vehicle, prefer sending both fields when you have both pieces of information:

{
  "airbag_deployed": "yes",
  "deployed_airbags": ["driver_frontal", "driver_knee"]
}

If you only know that airbags deployed, but not which ones:

{
  "airbag_deployed": "yes",
  "deployed_airbags": []
}

If the source says deployment was partial, but does not identify specific airbags:

{
  "airbag_deployed": "partial",
  "deployed_airbags": []
}

If no airbags deployed:

{
  "airbag_deployed": "no",
  "deployed_airbags": []
}

If deployment status is unknown:

{
  "airbag_deployed": "unknown",
  "deployed_airbags": []
}

For updates, omit deployed_airbags to leave existing detail codes unchanged. Send deployed_airbags: [] to clear existing detail codes.

For backward compatibility, if deployed_airbags is sent with one or more values and airbag_deployed is omitted, the API infers airbag_deployed: "yes" unless the existing vehicle is already marked partial. Even with that compatibility behavior, new integrations should send airbag_deployed explicitly.

If airbag_deployed is explicitly no or unknown, the API stores deployed_airbags as [] even if detail codes are included in the request.

Allowed deployed_airbags Values

Seating area	Allowed values
Driver	driver_frontal, driver_knee, driver_side_curtain, driver_side_torso
Front passenger	front_passenger_frontal, front_passenger_knee, front_passenger_side_curtain, front_passenger_side_torso
Rear driver-side	rear_driver_side_curtain, rear_driver_side_torso
Rear passenger-side	rear_passenger_side_curtain, rear_passenger_side_torso

File References

Attribute	Type	Description
edr_file_id	string	File ID of uploaded EDR data (null if not uploaded)
image_file_ids	array	Array of file IDs for uploaded damage photos
files	array	Full file objects with metadata and URLs (for display)

File Object

Attribute	Type	Description
id	string	File identifier
name	string	Original filename
size	integer	File size in bytes
type	string	MIME type (e.g., "image/jpeg")
category	string	File category (e.g., "vehicle_photo")
url	string	Signed URL for file access
uploaded_at	string	ISO 8601 upload timestamp

Crash Parameters

Attribute	Type	Description
crash_parameters	object	Computed crash analysis data (null until calculated)

See Crash Parameters for the full object structure.

Vehicle Types

Value	Description
sedan	Standard passenger car
suv	Sport utility vehicle
truck	Pickup truck
van	Minivan or cargo van
motorcycle	Motorcycle
other	Other vehicle type

Related Endpoints

• Create Case - Create vehicles with case
• Update Case - Link files to vehicles
• Get Case - Retrieve vehicles with crash parameters