Analysis of Video Recording in Accident Reconstruction

Abstract

The article discusses the use of video recordings in the reconstruction of road accidents. Many drivers use in-car digital video recorders (DVR), so called dashboard cameras, to register the situation in front of or behind the car while driving. Such recording can be in some situations an important evidence when determining liability of the road collision. However, in most such cases the video recording is analyzed only from a qualitative point of view, while the article shows that a lot of quantitative information, such as vehicle speeds, accelerations, or the directions of their movements, can also be obtained from the video recording. The selected methods of quantitative analysis of a video recording are here presented. Furthermore, attention is paid to the problems of image analysis, that experts deal with during accident reconstruction. It is indicated that video recordings should be analyzed according to different procedures depending on the situation they present. It is also discussed the influence of recording quality (resolution, distortion, image sharpness, recording speed and others) on the usefulness of the recording for obtaining from it the quantitative information. Finally, the method for estimating the uncertainty of the results is presented. The article confirms that it is possible to determine the chosen parameters of vehicle motion based on an analysis of the DVR recording.

Analysis of video recordings in accident reconstruction

“…The distance traveled by the traffic participant can be determined by measuring the position of the characteristic object in relation to the surroundings, such as picket posts or road signs. In cases without reference points, the optical system parameters can be referenced, as described in works (Abramowski, 2015). Another method involves determining the distance traveled based on two consecutive film frames, using the proportions of objects in consecutive frames superimposed on each other, as further described in the work (Krishnan, 2010).…”

“…There is also work that uses characteristic points of the environment to estimate velocity, as shown in (Lee et al, 2020), (Epstein and Westlake, 2019). In the work of Abramowski (2015) and Abramowski (2018), certain assumptions were presented that make it possible to obtain quantitative data from video recordings taken with any type of camera (even old VHS cameras). The method combines photogrammetric methods (Desmoulin et al, 2022) and a modern approach to image analysis.…”