A determination device includes a single acceleration sensor for measuring
an acceleration of a vehicle and a determination circuit for determining
severity of a collision in an accident. A plastic deformation pulse
detection section and an elastic deformation pulse detection section of
the determination circuit detect a plastic deformation pulse and an
elastic deformation pulse, respectively, from a waveform of measured
accelerations. A severity determination section of the detection circuit
determines the severity of a collision based on a correlation between a
vehicle speed and a plastic deformation pulse, and a correlation between
the vehicle speed, the plastic deformation pulse, and an elastic
deformation pulse.