Accident Factors

Vehicular accident reconstruction requires a thorough understanding of the movement of vehicles at various speeds. Often the scientific requirements of this type of analysis mandate the reconstructionist know the laws of physics for bodies in motion, possess a well developed background in human factors and a perceptive nature as to the nuances of driver behavior, and not just the ability to plug measurements into pre-programmed computer formulae.

Scientific accident reconstruction can provide clients with opinions regarding:

• Vehicle speed at impact.
• Travel direction and momentum
• Perception-reaction time
• Effect of roadway and environmental conditions
• Skid mark analysis
• Line of sight and obstacles
• Occupant movement at impact
• Seat belt usage and injury patterns
• Vehicle movements pre and post impact
• Effect of human factors in determining cause
• Visualization of pedestrians and bicyclists
• Traffic signal timing and patterns
• Adequacy of highway warning signs
• Critical speed on curves and off-road movements
• Headlights on-off analysis and filament deformation
• Vehicle right-of-way regulations
• Adequacy of police reports and diagrams
• Vehicle crush analyses and impact diagrams
• Data recorder analysis

There is a significant amount of scientific evidence in each and every accident recontruction. These points of information and data cannot be judged independantly to determine cause, but must be analyzed collectively. They should not be placed into a fixed formulae or computer program without a scientific determination as to the adequacy of that process. Engineering education provides a critical background for application of the scientific method to determine accurate and consistent explanations of cause while minimizing the influence of bias created by a predetermined mind set.