Traffic Accident Investigation Workshop

By
Thailand Accident Research Center (TARC)

Asian Institute of Technology (AIT)
What is Accident Investigation?
• Accident investigation is the process to gather detailed
information at an accident scene. Including general information,
crash scene, vehicle, person involved, and evidence at the
scene (Driver/Rider, Vehicle, Road and Environment).
To answer the question:

• “What caused the accident to happen?”
• “How to prevent the accident to happen again?”
- Do not publish prior permission - 2

What is Accident Investigation?
3 Factors 3 scenarios
Pre-Crash
Driver/Rider
Crash
Post-Crash
Vehicle Road and Environment
Accident investigation process

Preparation for Accident
Investigation
5
Preparation for Accident Investigation
1. Safety device
2. Data collection form
3. Measuring devices
4. Recording equipment

1. Safety Device
• Traffic cone
• Reflective jacket
• Traffic Baton

2. Data collection form
• General information
• Human
• Vehicle
• Road and environment

3. Measuring devices
• Measuring Tape (5m/50m/100m)
• Measuring Wheel
• Inclinometer
• Pressure gauge
• Tread depth gauge
• Chalk
• Number badge

4. Recording equipment
• Phone camera
• DSLR camera
• Camcorder
• Dash cam

Methodology
11
Methodology

Accident Notification/ case selection
13
Case selection
Social media/
Rescue Team (EMS)
Motorcycle Accident
- Do not publish prior permission - Go for Investigation

14
Information from notification
1
• Time of crash
• Day/ Date of crash
• Crash location
• Types of vehicle
• Types of crash
• Name/ age of rider/driver
• Number of casualty
• Preliminary injury detail
• Photographs of accident
• Responsible police station
• Responsible hospital

Photography from notification
1

Contact with involved people
17
• Rider/ owner of vehicle
• Involved person/ survivors
• Police 2
• Rescue Team
• Witnesses
• Hospital: doctors & nurses

• Rider/ owner of vehicle
2
 Trip information
• Origin-Destination
• Departure time
• Total distance of journey
• Purpose of travelling
 Driving condition/ Alcohol use
 Helmet/ seat belt use
 Approximate speed of the vehicle
 License
 Accident history of the vehicle
 Driving experience
 Road familiarity
 Vehicle age
 Maintenance status/ mechanical problem
 Number of occupants
 Distraction or inattention
 Crash sequence
• Involved people/ survivors
2
 Number of occupants
 Seating position
 Ejection or not?
 Injury mechanism
 How accident occurred?

• Police
2
 Occupants information
• Name
• Age
• Gender
• Address
• Contact information (Phone number)
 Registration number of vehicle
 Location of crash scene
 Weather condition at the time of accident
 Alcohol use/ drug use
 Information about crash sequence
 Crash type
 Vehicle path
 Photographs of accident scene/ evidences
 CCTV footage

• Rescue Team
2
 Photographs of accident
 Arrival time
 Vehicle types
 Preliminary Injury
 Position of vehicles/occupants after crash
 Evidence at scene
 Lighting condition during nighttime
 Accident frequency in that area
 Alcohol/ drug use

• Hospital: doctors & nurses
2
 Number of casualties
 Injury information of all occupants
 Cause of death
 Ask for interview with available victims

• Witnesses
2
 Crash sequence if they saw any
 Lighting condition during nighttime
 Accident frequency in that area

Access to involved vehicles
25
Vehicle Investigation
3
To get information and evidence on
involved vehicle such as
• Equipment
• Brake system
• Drive train system
• Tire and rim
• Fairings
• Impact location
For accident reconstruction

3
General information
• Manufacture
• Model
• Year
• Type
• Dimension

3
Headlight, Turn signal light, Taillight and Stop light
• Damages
• Turned on or off
• Working of switches
• Working of all the light if possible

3
Rear view mirrors
• Damages
• Removed or broken?

3
Gearshift and Foot pegs
• Damages

3
Brake Mechanism
• Types front and rear
• Damages
• Modification or not

3
Motorcycle suspension
• Types front and rear
• Damages
• Modification

3
Wheel/Tire condition
• Tire size, manufacture
• Damage
• Tread depth
• Pressure
• Modification Damage or rim
modification
Point of contact on tire
Slick tires
Vehicle Investigation Wheelbase reduction
3
Wheelbase displacement
Wheelbase expansion

3
Fairings
• Damages
• Damage side
• Paint transfer

3
Modification
• Wheels
• Suspensions
• Throttle grip
• Seat
• Absence of mirror
• Increased height
• Color
• Exhaust pipe
• Brakes

Vehicle Investigation (other vehicle)
3
• Location of impact
• Biological traces Blood stain in car body
Blood stain on side pillar of OV

Impact location example
3

3
Damaged due to first collision contact Damaged after first collision
(Impact at left side) (Fell on left side)
Fuel tank cover broken

Rear left turn signal broken and scratched
Left rider foot peg broken Left handlebar bent

- Do not publish prior permission - Engine scratched
39
3

3

3

Helmet Inspection
3
• Types
• Color
• Helmet use
• Helmet fastening
• Damages on helmet
• Location of helmet in crash scene
Abrasion on helmet

Importance of photographs in
accident investigation
44
Photographs
Some information from scene may be overlooked or missed.

Photographs can help to restore those information.
Photographs are very important for accident reconstruction

and damage analysis of vehicle
If evidences are washed out from the scene, photographs

(from police, media or rescue team) helps to point out those
evidences like skid marks, POI, POR, environmental
condition, etc.

Photographs
Photographing of an involved vehicle
• 8 views of vehicle start in the front and move clockwise
• 1 Top view of the vehicle
• All the damages

Photographs
360-Degree
Photographs

Photographs
Photographing of an involved vehicle (Sitting)
• Sitting with one leg up
• Place your elbow on the knee
• Keep your left hand under the
lens

Photographs
Example
Stand Sit Stand Sit

Photographs
Photographing of an involved vehicle (Top view)
• Try to take a photo directly above the vehicle
(smart phone with selfie-stick works very well)

Photographs
Photographing at accident scene (Standing)
• Keep your leg open for stability
• Keep your elbows together, against your chest
• Keep your left hand under the lens, rather than on the side

Photographs
Taking a photo of rider’s view (In case it is safe to stand in the traffic lane)
Correct posture Wrong posture
Good view Bad view

Photographs
Taking a photo of rider’s view (In case it is not possible to stand in the traffic lane)
Correct posture Wrong posture
Good view Bad view

Access to accident scene
54
Accident Scene
4
 Pre-crash path of travel

 Illumination (daylight, dusk, night lighted, night not lighted, or dawn)
 Type of area, type of intersection, traffic direction
 Lane dividers
 Roadside environment and obstacles
 Roadway surface characteristics
 Posted speed limits
 Information about traffic condition and weather
 Information about sequence of crash event and evidence (POI, POR)

Positions of vehicles in scene; Point of Impact (POI)
4

Positions of vehicles in scene; Point of Rest (POR)
4
Spray marking Photo from rescue
Photographs from police Photo from rescue Photo from rescue

Evidences on scene
4
Spray marks, oil stain Sliding marks Skid markings wreckages

Evidences on scene; Tire marks
Caused by friction between the tire and the road surface. 4
Right wheel
• Skid marks Left wheel

• Yaw Marks
Right wheel
Left wheel
Skid Mark Yaw Mark

Accident Scene
4
Remaining's of damage on the road surface after collision
(vehicle parts, damaged roadside object)
Fluid from vehicle

Oil, coolant, battery acid, etc.
Caused by engine damage.

Drawing at crash scene
4
• Use reference point (0,0)
as fixed objects like
electric pole
• Locate POI, POR of

vehicles, rider, passengers
• Indicate physical
evidences (skid marks,
scratches, blood stain,
roadside object, etc.)
present in crash scene
• Landmarks
• Road geometry

Injury Data Collection
62
Injury Information
5
Medical
Record
sources Face to face

Injury data
Interview
Phone
Interview

Source of injury
5
Assess vehicle damage and indicate the direction and the point of impact, also
the resting position of vehicle.

Source of injury
5
Make pairing by determining exactly what happened in an accident and

diagnosis of medical conditions.

Source of injury
5
Looking for the evidence in the vehicle again carefully. Since the details related to
injury might be overlooked at the first, for example, blood strain, crack, dent etc.

Source of injury
5
Determine the extent of injuries received by all involved in an accident such as

a movement of victim and any injuries that existed prior to the accident.

Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS 2008)
An anatomical-based coding system created by the Association 5
for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine to classify and
describe the severity of injuries.
Region Injury description AIS
1. Head Fracture of skull 150000.2
2. Face
3. Neck
4. Thorax
5. Abdomen
6. Spine Fracture of Thoracic spine 650416.2
7. Upper extremity
8. Lower extremity Fracture of Femur 853000.3
9. External & Other
AIS
Description Detail
Code
1 Minor No treatment needed
2 Moderate Requires only outpatient treatment
3 Serious Requires non-ICU hospital admission
4 Severe Requires ICU observation and/or basic treatment
5 Critical Requires intubation, mechanical ventilation or vasopressors for blood pressure support
6 Maximum Currently untreatable
9 Not further specified (NFS) Allows for coding injuries when detailed information is lacking

5
1
How are the numerical identifiers structured?
Skin
853001.3 – Open fracture of Femur

8 = Body Region Lower Extremity
5 = Type of Anatomic Structure Skeleton
30 = Specific Anatomic Structure Femur 2
01 = Specific Injury Open fracture Skeleton
& Joint
.3 = AIS, severity score Serious
3
Internal
Organ
5
The injury detail that can code an AIS;
• Must at least indicate the body region

• Must not be a sign and symptom
 such as fever, abdominal pain, fatigue,
chest tightness, etc.

Speed calculation
71
Speed calculation
Speed Estimation Method
6
Speed
Estimation
Impact Travelling
Speed Speed
Deformation Wheelbase Wheelbase Sliding/Skid

Tap Length
(Cars) Reduction Expansion Mark

Speed calculation
Speed Estimation; Impact speed
6
Deformation (Cars)
Impact speed determination of involved vehicles
by deformation *Suitable for cars that collided with rigid object

Speed calculation
6
Wheelbase Reduction
(𝛿 − 16.2) 𝑚′
𝑉= ∗
3.7 𝑚
Where 𝑉 is the impact speed (km/h)
𝛿 is the deformation on front suspension (mm)
𝑚′ is the weight of crashed motorcycle (kg)
𝑚 is 80 kg
* Suitable for 125 cc motorcycle and lower
Nishimoto, T. and Itsumi, K. Proposal of Speed Estimation Method for Middle

(250cc), Moped(125cc), Small (50cc) Motorcycle by Full Scale Collision Test,
Researched of car, vol.24, No.5 pp. 164, 2002

Speed calculation
6
Wheelbase Reduction
Example
Pre-Crash Crash Post-Crash

Speed calculation
6
Wheelbase Reduction
Example
Motorcycle weight: 99 kg
Original wheelbase: 1239 mm
Measured wheelbase: 980 mm
Wheelbase reduction of 259 mm
(𝛿 − 16.2) 𝑚′
𝑉=
3.7 𝑚
(259 − 16.2) 99
𝑉=
3.7 80
𝑉 = 73.00 km/h

Speed calculation
6
Wheelbase Expansion
𝑉 = 0.3642𝑋𝑊𝐵 + 16.408
Where 𝑋𝑊𝐵 is the wheelbase expansion (mm)
𝑉 is impact speed (km/h)
* Suitable for 125 cc motorcycle and lower
Shun-ichi Yamazaki, Masami Kubota, "Speed Analysis of Motorcycle Accident",

Research of car, Vol.27, No.4., pp.25-30, 2005

Speed calculation
6
Wheelbase Expansion
Example
Pre-Crash Crash Post-Crash

Speed calculation
6
Wheelbase Expansion
Example
Original wheelbase : 1280 mm

Measured wheelbase : 1350 mm
Wheelbase expansion of 70 mm
𝑉 = 0.3642𝑋𝑊𝐵 + 16.408
𝑉 = 0.3642(70) + 16.408
𝑉 = 41.9 𝑘𝑚/ℎ

Speed calculation
Speed Estimation; Travelling Speed
6
Sliding/Skid Mark
Base on equation of Motion and Newton’s 2nd Law
V= 2𝑔𝐷𝑓
Where 𝑔 is 9.81
𝐷 is sliding distance (m)
𝑓 is coefficient of friction

Speed calculation
6
Sliding Mark (Motorcycle fell and slide to stop)
𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑡 𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑒𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑙𝑖𝑑𝑒 = 2𝑔𝐷𝑓

Where 𝑔 is 9.81
𝑓 is coefficient of friction (0.85)
Bruce F. McNally, ACTAR, Wade Bartlett, PE.ACTAR, Motorcycle Sliding Coefficient of Friction Tests,
presented on 21st Annual Special Problems in Accident Reconstruction held at the Institute of Police
Technology and management, Jacksonville, FL.

Speed calculation
6
Skid (Tire mark from braking)
𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑡 𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑒𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑘𝑖𝑑 = 2𝑔𝐷𝑓

Where 𝑔 is 9.81
𝑓 is coefficient of friction
• Dry Asphalt: 1
• Wet Asphalt: 0.5
• Dry Concrete: 0.8
• Wet Concrete: 0.4

Speed calculation
6
Sliding/Skid Mark
Example
𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑡 𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑒𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑙𝑖𝑑𝑒

= 2𝑔𝐷𝑓
= 2 9.81 20.8 (0.85)
= 18.62 m/s
= 67.05 km/h

Speed calculation
6
Tap length
𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒
𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 =
𝑇𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑙 𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒
• A footage from CCTV is used to

determine speed right before the
crash.
• Distance between two references
point was measured at the scene.
• The travel time to the reference
points is observed from CCTV
footage.
Gather and assemble data
85
Assemble, analysis and conclusion
7
• Check the accuracy and

completeness of the information
• Discussion with team members
• Assemble all data into the form

Data coding/ Data entry
7

9-view pictures of motorcycle

Damage of the motorcycle

6-view pictures of helmet
7

Damage of the helmet
7

9-view pictures of automobile
7

Damage of automobile
7

Roadside object
7

Road and environment view
7

CCTV footage showing crash
7

Accident reconstruction
97
Sketch of an accident scene
7
Microsoft Office Visio

Sketch of an accident scene
Y 7

3 Scenarios in the accident scene
7

Plan view/ Cross-section Cross-section A-A
7
Cross-section B-B
Plan view

Discussion:
8
• Identification of accident causation and precipitating event
• Pre-crash motion of the involved vehicles and motorcycle dynamics
• Speed calculation of involved vehicles

Contribution factor identification:
8
• Human factors
 Human failures
 Attention failures
 Faulty traffic strategy
• Vehicle factors
• Environmental factors
 Weather-related problem
 Visibility limitation
• Other factors
Kinematics of vehicles
Events Motorcycle (V01) Pick-up (V02)
8
Pre-crash (before precipitating event) Moving straight, constant speed Moving straight, foot off accelerator
Pre-crash (after precipitating event) Moving straight, constant speed Moving straight, accelerating
Crash Collided to V02 w/o noticing Collided to V01, foot off accelerator
Post-crash Fell down on the right, dragged then flipped to the left Rolled on wheels to POR
Collision contact Left side Front
Heading angle (V01 to V02) 90 degree

Example
8
Contributing factors Details

Violate stop sign; rider did not stop to
V01 rider (Primary)
see other vehicle at the intersection
Violate stop sign; driver did not stop to
V02 driver (Primary)
see other vehicle at the intersection
Both rider and driver views were
Road and environment (Secondary) obscured by buildings at the corner of
the intersection

Q&A
106

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Thailand Accident Research Center (TARC)

To answer the question:

- Do not publish prior permission - 2

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- Do not publish prior permission - Go for Investigation

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For accident reconstruction

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Point of contact on tire

- Do not publish prior permission - 34

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- Do not publish prior permission - 36

Blood stain on side pillar of OV

- Do not publish prior permission - 37

- Do not publish prior permission - 38

Fuel tank cover broken

Left rider foot peg broken Left handlebar bent

- Do not publish prior permission - 40

- Do not publish prior permission - 41

- Do not publish prior permission - 42

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Some information from scene may be overlooked or missed.

Photographs are very important for accident reconstruction

If evidences are washed out from the scene, photographs

- Do not publish prior permission - 45

- Do not publish prior permission - 46

- Do not publish prior permission - 47

- Do not publish prior permission - 48

Stand Sit Stand Sit

- Do not publish prior permission - 49

- Do not publish prior permission - 50

- Do not publish prior permission - 51

Good view Bad view

- Do not publish prior permission - 52

Good view Bad view

 Pre-crash path of travel

- Do not publish prior permission - 55

- Do not publish prior permission - 56

Spray marking Photo from rescue

Photographs from police Photo from rescue Photo from rescue

- Do not publish prior permission - 57

Spray marks, oil stain Sliding marks Skid markings wreckages

- Do not publish prior permission - 58