Forensic Investigation of Motor Vehicle Collision Sites

Often there is a disagreement about what happened to cause a motor vehicle collision. Fortunately, there is usually forensic evidence at the scene that can corroborate your story. However, one must move quickly to gather the evidence or it will be lost forever.

In a bad collision such as one with death or serious injury, it is wise to hire a professional to collect site data as soon as possible. However, even in a bad wreck, when the amount of insurance coverage is limited it may not be cost-effective to retain an expensive expert.

Police Investigation

In South Carolina, the police use a standardized report form (TR-310) to record data at a crash site. Quite a bit of useful information about a collision is recorded on this form. This information includes facts like the location and time, specifics about the vehicles, drivers and witnesses, descriptions of vehicle movement and actions, weather, speed, and causation statements as well as a lot of other data. 

Nevertheless, relying solely upon the police investigation report for your forensics is sometimes unwise. The report is usually incomplete or the investigating officer may rely on information provided by the other driver, much of which may be inaccurate. Therefore, smart people often gather their own forensic data from the collision scene.

Safety First

If you intend to visit a collision site to collect forensic evidence, take safety precautions. 

• Definitely wear a safety vest to make yourself visible to other drivers. 

• Keep your head on a swivel and do not trust people to keep a proper lookout.

• Try to visit the scene during a bright day and when traffic is light.

• Park your vehicle in a place where it is not a hazard to road traffic.

Measurements and Collision Site Evidence.

Skid Marks

The length of a careless driver's skid (assuming he braked) may be used by an accident reconstruction expert to his calculate speed. This bit of forensic information can help prove when another driver is not telling the truth about his speed. Alternatively, photographs revealing an absence of skid marks help prove the other driver never braked at all.

Road traffic and weather will erase skid marks fast so it is important to act soon if you want this data. When you measure a skid mark, look carefully to find the faintest beginning of the mark. That is the point where you begin to take your measurement of length.

I use bright green spray paint to mark the beginning and end of a skid mark, and also to mark any other relevant tire marks (see below). The best simple tool to measure length is a rolling measuring wheel. Use a tape measure to measure width of any skid marks. If possible, bring a witness with you to help you record the data and stay organized.  Keep detailed notes with pad and paper. 

Scrub marks 

Carefully examine the skid marks left on the road surface by tires. There are useful clues to be gathered along the tracks of the skid. Investigators call a sudden sideways tire-mark a scrub mark. This type of detail is important to a forensic investigator because it may indicate a point of impact.

One possible cause of a change of a sudden change in direction is a collision that redirects the vehicle's direction of travel. Scrub marks are important because they help confirm the location of where a collision impact took place.  Such data as a scrub mark or gouge (see below) in the road surface is important for presentation of evidence in a trial. Even without an expert, an attorney can argue to a jury about what a scrub mark or road gouge mark represents. It is common sense and reliable information that goes into the mix during jury deliberation.

Post Collision Skid Marks

Try to find evidence used to determine a vehicle's post collision direction of travel. Look for sideways skid marks and yaw marks indicating a post-collision spinning vehicle. 

Road Surface

The quality of the road surface is a factor experts consider when figuring out speed. Accident reconstruction experts talk about a variable number called the coefficient of friction. An accurate coefficient of friction is necessary to estimate speed. Without this variable corroborated and explained, some judges may sustain a "speculation" or "no foundation" objection and prevent your expert from stating an opinion on the other driver's speed. Whether you decide to hire an expert or not, you should still try to establish evidence about the road surface. You do not need to be an engineer to make accurate observations. Here are some of the items to think about recording in your notes and pictures about the scene.

• The wetness or dryness of the road surface at the time of the collision;
• The grade of the road (level, downhill, uphill);
• The type of road surface (asphalt, concrete, gravel);
• The quality or age of the road surface (older road beds are degraded and looser than newer paved roads); or
• The amount of vehicle fluids accumulated.

Make notes about the road surface in the area of the collision. Document your observations of the road surface with notes, tagged photographs, or short movies.

The coefficient of friction data is not the only thing on the road surface you need to look at. Look for scratches and gouges too. The forces at work in a motor vehicle collision can be so powerful that the road surface itself will be marred. For example, two cars in a head on collision will tend to gouge out a chunk of the road surface at a point of impact. The gouge marks the exact location of the point of maximum impact between vehicles.

Alternatively, if the vehicle rolls or overturns, the metal as the car slides along the surface may create scratches and other marks.  If you see such marks at a collision site, spray paint a circle around it and record the exact location and distance.

Vehicle Position

Record the exact location where the vehicles in a collision came to rest. Use your spray paint to draw a corner mark. Look for fluid spills and other evidence on the road surface to confirm a resting location of a vehicle with a damaged engine.

Also look for any debris fields, or other evidence left at the site of a collision. For example, in an emergency, EMS personnel may remove shoes or cut away clothing and toss them off. Record the location and nature of any collision related debris.

Damage to Physical Objects

Observe and record evidence to physical objects along the area of a collision. Look for dented guard rails, signs, and trees.

Record The Forensic Evidence

Use your camera to take a good photographs of the evidence. Try to include background features in the pictures--such as storm drains or signs--to help with reconstruction of the accident. Take closeup pictures, and pictures from a distance. Take pictures from different angles, going and coming, and sideways. Make movies. For example, start the camera and walk along the skid mark shooting the mark as you walk. Also, take pictures of any relevant traffic control devices such as speed limit, stop, or yield signs, or traffic signal lights.

Make a Diagram

Make a diagram of the collision site. My favorite trick for creating a diagram of a collision site is to use Google Earth and obtain a satellite image of the site. Lighten the image and print it out. Take several copies of the satellite image with you to the scene to make your drawing.  If possible, find landmarks on the satellite image that you can use as background for photographs of road surface forensic evidence. Shoot pictures from different angles to facilitate triangulation and understanding. Such images will help orient your drawing, improve its accuracy, and deflect objections that the pictures tend to confuse.  

At trial in South Carolina, the diagram you draw does not have to be perfect. The foundation for admitting it into evidence is that your diagram is sufficiently accurate to illustrate the testimony about how a collision happened.  Still, I would strive to make it as accurate as possible.  

Make separate diagrams for different sets of data. For example, on one, draw important points of interest such as the beginning of a skid mark, a gouge, or a scrub mark, and the measurements associated with each aspect. On another show the vehicle resting positions and any fluid spots on the roadway. On an another, show traffic control devices, etc. 

Keep Records and Organize Your Work

Take good notes about your measurements as you work.  Once you finish gathering the information, take some time to sit down and organize the data. Organizing the data before leaving creates an opportunity to spot holes in the data, and to correct notes that are hard to read or understand while everything is fresh in your mind. If necessary, supplement the forensic investigation without having to return to the scene later on.

Save all of your work.  Even your scribbles.

What To Do If You Are In A Wreck

Stop your vehicle. Drive the vehicle off the road to the shoulder so it is not endangering other drivers. 

Hopefully, nobody is hurt. Call 911 and report the collision. 

Try to make sure other drivers approaching the collision have time to see it and take evasive action. Activate hazard lights in your car.  If you have cones and flares, this is the time to use them to warn others of the road obstruction. Get yourself and any uninjured people to a safe spot out of the road as soon as possible. 

Identify yourself to the other driver. Exchange driver's licenses, car registrations, and insurance verification forms. Take pictures of the other person's documents and his vehicle license plate, or write down the information.

Wait for the police. Once the police arrive, they will seek to interview both drivers. 

When it's your turn to talk to the officer, she will want to see the licenses, registrations, and insurance verification forms. Have them with you and ready.  Be professional. 

The police officer will create a police report for the collision called the FR-10. A copy of this document is given to both drivers.  The FR-10 may indicate who caused the collision (in the officer's judgment) and have a lot of important data on it. Review the FR-10 form and notify the police officer if you see any mistakes. If you are a passenger, take a picture of this document. It has important information on it.

Report the collision to your insurance company as soon as possible. This is true whether the other person causes the accident or you do. 

If you are not in your own vehicle, you need to tell the owner of the car about the accident so he can report it to his insurance company. Also, the owner is required to verify his automobile insurance to DMV within 15 days of the collision. Normally, the owner's insurance company will do this for him.

See this post about how to preserve evidence related to the collision: Your Mom Wrecked! Use Your Smart Phone To Create Powerful Forensic Evidence for Her South Carolina Case

Top Ten U.S. Presidents

Here is my list of the top ten best Presidents in the history of the United States:

1. George Washington
2. Thomas Jefferson
3. Martin Van Buren
4. Calvin Coolidge 
5. William Howard Taft
6. Warren G. Harding
7. Andrew Jackson
8. Dwight D. Eisenhower
9. John F. Kennedy
10. Grover Cleveland

My main factors in these rankings are the President's willingness to adhere to the U.S. Constitution, willingness limit federal power, and practical achievement of actually resisting increase in federal authority. In other words, I prefer Presidents that increase freedom. Some of these Presidents were actually successful in decreasing the size and scope of the U.S. Government power.

Your Mom Wrecked! Use Your Smart Phone To Create Powerful Forensic Evidence for Her South Carolina Case

Your Mom wrecked! 

The collision site is now a crime scene. Even if you're not a policeman, attorney, private investigator, or paralegal, you can still help your Mom's wreck investigation with one simple, everyday tool to gather forensic evidence and support her claim--the smart phone. This post gives you some examples of the powerful way you can use a smart phone to help your Mom.

The dictionary defines forensic  as "the application of scientific knowledge to legal problems." In the courtroom, forensic evidence is powerful. Forensic evidence includes pictures, videos, and careful measurements of time and space. Forensic evidence corroborates testimony. It is vitally important because it establishes a factual record that is not easily attacked by insurance defense lawyers. 

What kind of forensic evidence does your Mom need to prove her wreck case? Obviously, she needs proof of the other driver's carelessness. But she also needs proof of her harms and losses. Gathering forensic evidence for harms and losses is often overlooked by lay people. However, the damages element is the most important part of your Mom's claim. Forensic evidence of your Mom's harms and losses documented with a smart phone enhance the probability your Mom will make a full monetary recovery. 

The ubiquitous smart phone is your best tool for making a good forensic record. Send the image, audio and video files you make with it to yourself (or your attorney) by email, save them to your computer's hard drive, and upload them to an Internet file storage service (e.g., Dropbox) as backup. 

Here are some examples of how to use a smart phone to create forensic proof.

• Take pictures of the vehicle damage.

The insurance company will take pictures of the vehicles. However, the insurance company takes photographs designed to minimize the collision impact. (Insurance defense lawyers like to argue the collision impact did not cause injury.) Therefore, your Mom needs pictures of the car to prove the vehicle damage. 

Think like a CSI. If a paint smudge on your car helps proves someone hit you, take the picture of the smudge.  If the dent location supports your description of the collision, take a picture. Take pictures of the interior. Look for bent steering wheels and star patterns on the glass.  Photograph the speedometer and odometer.  

It is worth a trip to the facility where your Mom's car is stored to gather this evidence.

• Record Witnesses

Make audio recordings of witness interviews. At the beginning, ask them for their names, addresses, and telephone numbers and let them know you are recording. Get them to tell what happened to cause the collision. Ask them if anyone was hurt and for a description of the injuries. It is even worth attempting to get a recording of the other driver. Keep your audio files short, sweet, and to the point. These are wonderful bits of forensic evidence at trial.

• Make a Video of Your Mom's Route 

Recreate the trip. This will help explain how dangerous the other driver is to other people on the roadway. As they watch, the jurors will imagine that they are sitting in your Mom's car which is about to be in a bad collision. The feeling is literally like watching a train wreck.

Plus, the recreation video is often used to overcome excuses or misrepresentations by the careless driver. He might claim that your Mom was at fault for speeding, or that the sun was in his eyes, or that he didn't have time to see your Mom because of a curve or hill in the road. Use your smart phone and take pictures from his perspective. The pictures will show how easily a careful driver might have avoided the collision. 

• Use the Stop Watch.

The stop watch on your smart phone can help recreate the timing of events leading up to the collision. For example, how many seconds elapsed between the time your Mom first saw the other car, and when it pulled out in front of your Mom's path of travel. Very accurate information about timing is often an essential forensic bit used to figure out speed and undermine defenses (excuses). 

• Take pictures of your Mom's injuries as soon as possible

Photographs document evidence of your Mom's injury. It is true that EMS and hospital triage records include medical examination notes that record the doctor's observations of what he saw that day. But you should not rely on the hospital records or the examination notes to accurately record injury data. Hospital records often have conflicting information, omit important facts, or have errors. Take pictures of your Mom's bruises and lacerations. These pictures constitute irrefutable proof of traumatic injury and help to explain the mechanism of your Mom's injury.

• Keep taking pictures as your Mom heals 

You can use a series of photographs to demonstrate how long it took your Mom to overcome her injuries. This is particularly true with a very severe injury which may take months and even years to fully heal.  If there is a residual injury, like a scar, photographs help to prove a permanent injury exists. 

• Take pictures and make movies of your Mom's rehabilitation

If your Mom is stuck in a hospital bed, wheelchair, or uses prosthetic devices to get around, use your smart phone to make short movies of what she is going through. Take pictures of the crutches or wheelchair she uses.  Make a clip of her doing the prescribed daily physical therapy exercise. 

Movies and pictures like these are gold for your attorney during direct examinations. They can be used to demonstrate your Mom's harms and losses in a positive way. They make her testimony interesting and give us visuals to help your Mom tell her story. They illustrate how much time and effort she expended recovering from the harm. 

• Consider an Audio or Video Logbook of her Recovery

Think about an audio or video logbook to contemporaneously record your Mom's feelings during her recovery. Make it part of the story about how your Mom overcame her injury. Let her address the frustration and setbacks along the road and explain how she was able to cope. Make it positive.  Be accurate in your Mom's log. If the contemporaneous recordings about her feelings are authentic, they will dramatically help prove your Mom's harm at trial.

• Copy Documents

You can use the smart phone to capture images of documents. Take pictures of the police incident report. Take pictures of the business cards of witnesses. Take pictures of driver's licenses and insurance documents.  Take pictures of hospital contracts. Take pictures of license plates.

There are applications you may add to your smart phone that will convert these images of documents into Adobe pdf files that are easy to store and share. One example is an application called the Cam Scanner. 

Conclusion

We hope that your Mom does not really have an accident. But if she does, we want to help her with her legal claim.  Thanks for reading!