Saturday, November 12, 2011

Road Traffic Accident Investigation: A Case Study

 
The work of a road traffic accident investigator can lead him into all kinds of situations and take him to various locations.

The majority of their work comes from LSC funded instructions although they are seeing a growth in the number of instructions funded by insurance companies. One such case which I came across recently was that of a French lorry driver who was charged with causing death by careless driving. Clearly, this was to be funded by the driver’s insurance company and they were looking for a dual skilled Collision Investigator and Vehicle Examiner to assess all the factors involved.

The expert’s opinion was that there was a requirement to investigate the following: time taken for the lady (a pensioner) to reach the point of impact, her conspicuity, given that a slower moving object in the peripheral vision is much less obvious, time taken to slow the vehicle at its weight at the time of collision from various speeds, the sight lines from the vehicle across the cab given the driver’s weight (the adjustable, air ride seat found in such trucks sinks when the driver’s weight is applied), any other vehicle defect which might have resulted in it performing below its normal standard, whether the driver was within his tacograph limits, as tiredness is a major factor in the erosion of awareness, and a thorough review of the Police Collision Investigator’s report to establish whether they had considered all the factors.

In this case the investigator actually had to travel to the place where the vehicle was located, which in this case was France.

His vehicle examination concluded that the sight lines from the driver’s seat opened up exponentially, due to perspective, the further away from point of impact the vehicle was sited. Given that microscope analysis of the tacograph identified a speed of no more than 23mph, and that the consultant had been able to calculate deceleration rates under braking, he was able to piece together what was in view from the point where the pedestrian stepped from the pavement to her impact with the vehicle. All of this information was then pieced together in the form of a report, plan, photo album and DVD video footage with the intention of attempting to explain the nuances of a highly technical investigation to a jury.

It was concluded that an error on the part of the lorry driver had caused the accident in which the old lady died. What had caused the driver to be unaware of the presence of the pedestrian only he will know. From the legal point of view, they were able to advise that he was unlikely to be able to construct a reasonable defence and the insurance company were advised accordingly.

What then does this tell us about the world of the road traffic accident investigator?

If nothing else it shows how complicated a job it is, as well as how varied it can be. In our day to day lives we do not concern ourselves with the mechanics of how these kind of investigations work behind the scenes, yet upon examination it proves to be fascinating.

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