With the increased use of surveillance cameras, more and more video footage depicting accidents is available these days for accident reconstruction. The authors present an accident reconstruction case study involving an impact between a tractor-tanker and a pedestrian using surveillance video footagefrom a nearby business. Overall, the video footage is of poor quality, which is typical of surveillance video. This is usually evidenced by low frame rate, low resolution, and significant lens distortion not to mention the fact that the video is not centered on the actual accident. This paper addresses a solution to minimize the error often associated with such surveillance video. First, the distortion in the video footage is corrected using software that warps the image with a reverse distortion. Once the distortion in the video footage is corrected, then accurate photo/videogrammetry is performed to attain desired measurements. These measurements are then processed to perform a more accurate and detailed time/space analysis. Finally, graphics and photo-realistic animation are used to present the accident in time-space domain.
This paper presents a case study involving an 8-lb “projectile” piece of concrete thrown from a phantom vehicle into the windshield of a semi-tractor truck, subsequently striking the driver’s (plaintiff’s) head. A witness told the investigating officer that the phantom vehicle was a white-rear dump truck similar to the trucks he’d seen coming in and out of a construction entrance at a nearby park. However, no follow-up investigation was conducted by investigative officers. The lead author was retained by the plaintiff’s attorney to follow up and investigate the witness’ observation of the phantom white-rear dump truck in an attempt to identify the probable source of the concrete projectile, locate the phantom vehicle, reconstruct the incident, and determine the probable cause of the incident. Several forensic engineering techniques were used during the forensic engineering investigation, including evidence analysis, photography, high-definition scanning, photogrammetry, evaluation of the accident timeline, physical testing, case study analysis, projectile analysis, and application of the process of elimination methodology. Through the forensic engineering analysis, the probable source of the projectile concrete was identified, the white-rear dump truck and driver were identified, the accident was reconstructed, and the probable cause of the accident was determined.
The methodology used for the reconstruction of a high-profile Sprint Car accident that was captured by at least three different video recording devices is presented in two parts. Part I discusses a classical method of an accident reconstruction, and Part II discusses matchmoving technique to accurately analyze the video footage of the accident. Accidents captured on video are unlike most simple car collision evaluations and require expert knowledge from experienced professionals. Understanding the race car vehicle dynamics as it relates to recorded video footage allows a proper methodology to be followed in order to gather and process the evidence needed to provide meaningful data to the trier of fact. This paper discusses the classical process to reconstruct the accident as well as the currently acceptable scientific methodologies that were used to collect and interpolate the available scientific evidence. A visualization of the vehicles involved, Sprint Car #13 (SC#13) and Sprint Car #14 (SC#14), is shown in Figure 1.
This paper presents the application of the photogrammetric process known as matchmoving to analyze a racetrack video and reconstruction of a fatal Sprint Car race accident. The use of high-definition 3D laser scanning technology made it possible to accurately perform the matchmoving process on racetrack video footage to determine the path, heading, speed, and acceleration of the involved Sprint Cars. In addition to the accident racetrack, another video of a Sprint Car race on a similar racetrack, taken by a drone, was also analyzed using the same matchmoving method to evaluate the speed and yaw angle of a drifting Sprint Car.
This paper presents advanced techniques used to reconstruct a motor vehicle accident involving a fully loaded tractor-trailer and school bus with 30 young students. The accident investigation included analysis of the physical evidence using photogrammetry and high-definition laser scanning, application of engine control module (ECM) and global positioning system (GPS) data, and analyzing onboard video footage from the bus. Momentum-based crash simulation software (PC-Crash) was used to simulate the accident. The simulation data was compared with National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) data and with the onboard bus video footage. Further, rigid-body kinematic equations were used to determine occupant kinematics (velocities) and dynamics (accelerations). Multiple graphics are used to demonstrate the accident reconstruction and occupant kinematics and dynamics.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.