McHenry Forum - Crash Reconstruction & Simulation

Jan 29, 2010: News and Observer, Toyota gas-pedal recall widens Toyota offered its most detailed description of the problem: Condensation can form in the mechanism that connects the foot pedal to the car's engine, causing friction that prevents the pedal from smoothly springing back when the driver ...

DOT 14-10 January 26, 2010 Contact: USDOT Public Affairs Tel: 202-366-4570 From the Public Service Announcement: U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Announces Federal Ban on Texting for Commercial Truck Drivers U.S Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced federal guidance to expressl...

WOW! Jan 27, 2010, New York Times: Toyota Halts Sales of 8 Models in US for pedal Flaw Still struggling to resolve a problem with accelerator pedals Toyota temporarily stopped building and selling eight models in the North American market. This follows 2 recalls of millions of vehicles in the last ...

Jan 26, 1010: The Los Angeles Times reported that the Supreme Court dismisses challenge to ruling on forensic experts The Supreme Court dismissed a pending challenge to a ruling they had made last year which requires lab technicians and other forensic specialists to be available to testify at trails...

The following document by E. Marquard may be of interest to those in the accident reconstruction field: The Mechanics of Vehicle Collision Author: E. Marquard Automobiltechnische Zeitschrift, Vol 64., No. 5, pp 141-148, May 1962 SUMMARY Both in the treatment of safety problems and in the expert eval...

Many accident reconstruction techniques are based upon applications and extensions of Sir Isaac Newton's fundamental Laws of motion and law of universal gravitation . So information on Newton, his life, his inspirations should be of interest to folks in the field of applied sciences, particularly th...

Jan 17, 2010: Seems that distracted drivers on cell phones aren't the only problem when using a cell phone. Seems people are walking into traffic whicle engrossed in a cell phone conversation. And to think folks think folks actually believe you can safely drive a car while engaged in a cell phone co...

The new NHTSA FMVSS standard requires that a fully loaded tractor-trailer traveling at 60 miles per hour come to a complete stop in 250 feet. This will require an average braking drag of 0.48 . The old standard required a complete stop within 355 feet ( which was an average drag of 0.33 ). The new r...

Cell-phone use linked to wrecks Jan 13, 2010: News&Observer , by Bruce Siceloff: Drivers distracted by cell-phone talking and texting cause 28 percent of traffic accidents, the National Safety Council said in a study released Tuesday. Safety advocates cited the new estimates as they introduced ...

Some more information on the 'Dashboard Internet' Paul sent to me: Ford triumphs with Touch, Sync; brings connectivity to fourth screen -- your dashboard Jan 7, 2010: ZDNet, Andrew Nusca, LAS VEGAS — What’s got an operating system, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, USB and SD card ports, two LCD tou...