Accident Reconstruction may best be described as the application of physics and engineering principles to vehicular crashes with the underlying objective of determining the dynamic events that occurred as a function of time. In general, accident reconstruction objectives can be compartmentalized into five (5) categories as follows:
- Collision Analysis
- Injury Analysis
- Accident-Avoidance Analysis
- Injury Avoidance Analysis
- Systematic Ranking of Accident Causation
The applied mechanics portion of the engineering analysis associated with accident reconstruction forms the foundation for accomplishing the aforementioned objectives, and in particular, is critical in the collision analysis, injury analysis, and accident-avoidance analysis. Vehicle speeds and directions can be represented by the respective velocity vectors both pre- and post- crash and become transient terms that change over the duration of the crash. Likewise, the injury analysis is also heavily reliant upon the same applied mechanics equations and relationships that are utilized in the collision analysis phase of the accident reconstruction. The third objective that defines accident-avoidance analysis is also highly dependent upon applied mechanics principals in combination with iterative simulations utilizing a host of potential values for such parameters as coefficients of static and dynamic friction; reaction times; braking efficiency; and braking decelerations. Injury avoidance analysis is often left to specialist in biomechanics, which also employs applied mechanics relationships involving soft tissue material properties. Finally, while a more subjective subject than the previously discussed objectives, rankings of accident causation is often limited through expert witness testimony and is left for the jury to make the final determination based upon all evidence presented during a trial. Antaal Williams ECL has significant training, education, and experience in the applied mechanics specifically related to the discipline of accident reconstruction.
In general, the accident reconstruction process at Antaal Williams ECL, starts with learning the number and types of vehicles involved in a crash and understanding the particulars surrounding the scene of the accident. Following the receipt of the preceding information, our accident reconstructionists formulate the kind of additional parameters and ancillary information we’ll need to perform an accurate and meaningful reconstruction of the events leading up to the crash; identifying the point of impact; mathematically decomposing the crush data into the effects on the energy associated with the crash; and determining the post-crash velocities (i.e., speed and trajectory) of the respective vehicles.
Analysis of scene data is then conducted and includes a study of available photos of the road configuration, evidence of fluids on the roadway, tire impressions and associated measurements, roadway physical marks such as scrapes/gouges, and law enforcement critical markings of pre- and post-crash identifiers. Only after these bits of background information have been collected and interpreted do we move forward enlisting more rigorous reconstruction analysis tools. When appropriate, surveying tools may be utilized to confirm roadway characteristics for eventual inclusion in convenient and meaningful 2D and 3D drawings and maps. In addition, animations of the accident may be created to aid in the graphical presentation of the accident reconstructionist’s results for a clearer understanding by lay persons, juries, and judges. 3D scanning technology is also available to coordinate scene data into 2D and 3D renderings as necessary to convey pertinent points of the total reconstruction efforts.
Ultimately using all the tools available to us as accident reconstructionists, we compile all of the existing physical evidence and generated engineering results to define the crash as a function of time. The rigid body speed, trajectory, translation, rotation, all with respect to the roadway are defined from pre-crash position to the final resting point are all then able to be described and defined, utilizing to the maximum extent possible, graphical displays to aid in telling the story of the crash to the lay persons of interest. That in a nutshell, is the accident reconstruction process employed by Antaal Williams ECL. Our clients hire us to provide this technical story in a professional and unbiased manner while applying engineering principals as applied to the law.