In many cases over the years we have assisted individuals involved in crashes/accidents to help them sort out the facts and circumstances of the accident/collision.
The initial and main assistance is to instruct them to try to accumulate all the information on the accident including police reports, measurements, photographs, witness statements, etc. This is extremely important!
The field of accident/collision reconstruction includes specialized applications of the fundamental laws of physics which require information/evidence about the collision;
- Tire marks,
- Damage to the vehicles,
- Scene information, etc.
- EDR (black box) information which may record, depending on make/model/year:
- Pre-crash vehicle dynamics and system status,
- Driver inputs,
- Vehicle crash signature,
- Restraint usage/deployment status, and
- Post-crash data such as the activation of an automatic collision notification (ACN) system.
- Questions like:
- What happened?
- What were the approximate speeds?
- What were the circumstances which led to the collision/accident?
- Was the accident avoidable?
- Who caused the accident?
Here is a quick list of things to photograph or have photographed:
- VEHICLE: The overall vehicles (BOTH if possible) from all directions to show vehicle condition and damage
- Take these 8 photos of both vehicle if possible and then
- Any closeups you decide to take
- IMPORTANT: be sure to also take additional photos backed away from your closeups so anyone can determine what item is in the closeup and where it is located.
- 8 locations for pictures of damaged vehicle.2jpg.jpg (23.23 KiB) Viewed 221493 times
- Take these 8 photos of both vehicle if possible and then
- SCENE: The rest positions of each vehicle. be sure to think of the clock pictured above and also try to include BOTH vehicles in some pictures (so relative locations can be determined). There are techniques to determine the positions of vehicles from photographs (photogrammetry) in the event the relative positions are not measured.
Views from the overall direction of travel for each vehicle (pretend you are the driver what would you see prior to the collision?)- You should then back up at 25, 50, 100 foot distance to show the view for each driver approaching the location of the crash
- Obviously from shoulder if busy road. SAFETY FIRST!
if any indication of the vehicle out of control at the crash be sure to also include areas offroad preceding the crash
Take photos of everything since a common mistake is to take too few photographs or closeup photograph of items at unknown locations.
If you zoom in, zoom out and walk back and take another couple photographs of marks, gouges, skids, debris, etc
- You should then back up at 25, 50, 100 foot distance to show the view for each driver approaching the location of the crash
- LOCATION:: Be sure to provide the location of the crash by intersection roads and other identifying marks (generally a police report will have information however be sure to use Google Earth/Google Maps or some other web service to get or identify enough location information so anyone can get a scaled aerial approximation of the scene.
When we assist people involved in collisions, we emphasize that:
- The police and insurance companies are not their enemy!
Many people involved in collisions come to us with blood in their eye because they think that the police/prosecutor/insurance companies “are out to get them”!.
That is not the case in most circumstances.
- With an informal initial impression and preliminary opinion from a qualified expert in accident reconstructionI a subsequent discussion with the police or insurance investigator about the particulars of the accident/collision may resolve things (Over the years it has happened on many occasions).
Particularly if it is something perhaps the police or insurance adjuster have overlooked and/or misinterpreted.
That is how we as accident/collision investigators and reconstructionists are supposed to do our job!
Many, if not all, of the 'pro bono' cases we have done have been resolved without our having to travel or incur expenses except for spending a little of our time assisting those involved in an accident with understanding the circumstances of the accident.- Sometimes we write a brief report/affidavit to assist them in their defense.
- Sometimes we have suggested that they use the information we have provided to them and contact a local expert for additional assistance.
- The current ‘Innocence Project' is for folks already convicted.
- The average person involved in a collision/accident does not have adequate resources or experience as compared to police/prosecutors offices and/or insurance companies. It takes considerable effort to sift through all the information and evidence in accidents/collisions. The creation of a 3rd party objective panel to review the evidence and police work 'before the verdict' would be justified and beneficial to avoid unwarranted prosecution and/or denial of claims.
I believe in Europe this is how cases are handled.- The Judge hires two independent accident reconstructionists/investigators.
- They come to conclusions.
- If they agree. case closed.
- If not, a 3rd party is hired/brought in to settle the dispute.
Be prepared with the circumstances of your situation including the police report, if possible, and perhaps you can get some needed assistance.
- McHenry Consultants http://www.mchenryconsultants.com
- or simply email us at forum@mchennrysoftware.com
- we consider all communications confidential! and expect the same from those contacting us for assistance until and unless we have discussed and OKd any release of information.