Vehicular accident reconstruction
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Vehicular accident reconstructions are often conducted by specialized units in law enforcement agencies, to answer questions about automobile accidents, such as who was driving, who was breaking the law, where were the victims seated, were they using seat belts? Through accident reconstruction, rigorous analysis is done, with expert witnesses that can present results in trial. Accident reconstructions are done in cases involving fatalities, and often when a school bus is involved.
Factors looked at during accident reconstruction include steering angles, braking, use of lights, turn signals, speed, acceleration, engine rpm, cruise control, and anti-lock brakes. Witnesses are interviewed during accident reconstruction, and physical evidence such as tire marks are examined.
Results from accident reconstructions are also useful in developing recommendations for making roads and highways safer, as well as improving safety aspects of motor vehicle designs.
Forensic engineers are also often employed to conduct in depth collision analysis and reconstruction to identify the collision causation and contributing factors in different types of collisions, including the role of the driver(s), vehicle(s), roadway and the environment. The laws of physics and engineering methods such as linear momentum are automatically calculated while using the software. This is accomplished by applying the laws of physics and engineering methods such as motion, energy and momentum to motor vehicle collisions.
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[edit] High Profile Cases
James Dean Fatal Accident, September 30, 1955
Mike Kennedy a Crashteams expert has reconstructed the fatal James Dean accident, for a National Geographic TV special that aired on the 50th anniversary of his death. The reconstruction used state of the art technology combined with 50 year old photographs and sketches, to uncover the mystery and circumstances using evidence and physics. It was concfirmed that James Dean was driving his 1955 Porsche Spyder 550; and the poor contrast between the color of the Porsche resembling the road surface which contributed in Donald Turnupseed, driving a 1950 Ford business coupe, failing to give right of way to James Dean. The results of this investigation resulted in high quality forensic animations which were aired by National Geographic.
See the 3D Forensic Animations used in TV special
[edit] Accident Reconstruction Software
Accident Reconstruction Software is used to recreate crash and crime scenes and is regularly used by law enforcement in court to show what occurred in an accident.
[edit] See also
- Forensic animation
- Fatal Accident Reconstruction Team
- Forensic engineering
- Skid marks
- Trace evidence
[edit] External links
www.actar.org - Accreditation Commission for Traffic Accident Reconstruction
www.nhtsa.dot.gov - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
www.crashteams.com - Accident Reconstruction Experts
