NCJ Number
200012
Date Published
2002
Length
284 pages
Annotation
This book discusses the forensic reconstruction of vehicular accidents, including automobile, truck, motorcycle, and pedestrian.
Abstract
Forensic engineering is the new term that relates to the more familiar term of expert witness. The term forensic engineer limits the scope to the engineering profession. Chapter 1 explains the term forensic engineering further. Chapter 2 explains why forensic engineering investigations are made. Chapter 3 discusses the types of friction, the mechanisms of dry friction, and other aspects of dry friction. Chapter 4 presents the basics of forensic mechanics and the aspects of motion. Chapter 5 discusses traffic accident dynamics, such as the basic skid-speed equation, acceleration, momentum, and evasive action. Chapter 6 presents the characteristics of vehicle fires, such as tank design, fuels, and techniques of investigation. Chapter 7 describes why motorcycles are fundamentally different from cars and the unique hazards of motorcycles. Truck accident reconstruction is discussed in chapter 8. The basics of pedestrian accidents are detailed in chapter 9. Chapter 10 presents information on motion perception limits in traffic accident reconstruction. Chapter 11 discusses the reconstruction, inspection, and causation of rollovers. Chapter 12 focuses on single vehicle loss of control accidents (LOC). Chapter 13 discusses the failure and performance of tires and rims. Chapter 14 presents the tools for mapping and measuring. Chapter 15 details photography, particularly the camera, lighting, reliability, and what to photograph in an accident investigation. Chapter 16 discusses failure analysis, including the engineering method, hypothesis, and safety hierarchy. Chapter 17 discusses slip and fall accidents. 56 figures, 12 tables, 21 references, index