McHenry Forum - Crash Reconstruction & Simulation

From 2005, moving items from former News page of mchenrysoftware.com:

• "Computer programs can be used…However the mere fact that the results came from a computer does not make the answers accurate. You should always make a careful review of the input variables and how sensitive the outputs are to these inputs. This applies whether you are using a computer or a hand-held calculator". From Traffic Accident Reconstruction, Northwestern Traffic Institute, §-page:68-32
  
  “As scientists, engineers and accident reconstructionists, we should not let the unlimited possibilities of making anything look real (with animation) obscure our duty to perform a careful and detailed engineering analysis while also continually testing and evaluating the applied techniques, including computer programs, to achieve the most accurate reconstruction possible”. From McHenry Accident Reconstruction 2003, McHenry & McHenry

February 2005: Brian G. McHenry assisted the defense in obtaining a new trial (and releasing a wrongly convicted seriously injured man from jail) in a case in which the PC-CRASH computer program was inappropriately applied to determine who was the driver of the vehicle. The State of Washington appellate court decision includes the statement:

• "We conclude that within reasonable probabilities, but for the error in admitting the computer-generated simulation evidence, the outcome of his trial might have been different."

The following are links to related information:

• The Seattle Times news report, Feb 16, 2005
• The appellate court decision (This is a local copy that has been added to our site for your convenience)
  • Docket Number: 51647-7-I
  • Title of Case: State of Washington, Respondent v. Michael Sipin, Appellant
  • File Date: 02/14/2005
• The opinion has since been moved by Washington Courts to https://www.legalwa.org/
• Opinion is also available on findlaw.com
• The Declaration by Mr. McHenry filed with the court which includes the following important conclusions:
  • After over 40 years of research on occupant simulation there is no model in existence today which has been validated as a generally predictive model for detailed occupant kinematics in any type of real-world accidents.
  • Accident reconstruction programs and occupant simulation models are subject to limitations imposed by the mathematical idealizations and the simplifying assumptions inherent in any mathematical model of the physical world.