Mathematical Methods for Accident Reconstruction: A Forensic Engineering Perspective

This book demonstrates the application of mathematics to modeling accident reconstructions involving a range of moving vehicles, including automobiles, small and large trucks, bicycles, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, and construction equipment, such as hoists and cranes.

The book is anchored on the basic principles of physics that may be applied to any of the above-named vehicles or equipment. Topics covered include the foundations of measurement, the various energy methods used in reconstruction, momentum methods, vehicle specifications, failure analysis, geometrical characteristics of highways, and softer scientific issues, such as visibility, perception, and reaction. The authors examine the fundamental characteristics of different vehicles, discuss the retrieval of data from crash data recorders, and review low-speed impacts with an analysis of staged collisions. Finally, it details established standards and protocols for accident reconstruction for use in both investigations and in the courtroom. In addition, this new edition covers nonvehicle-related topics like slip and fall analysis, fall protection, and engine and mechanical failure, as well as federal rules and laws that have been established for the work environment. Many reconstructions of incidents require extensive analysis that may require a variety of methods in order to properly model the incident.

Exploring a broad range of accident scenarios, the breadth and depth of this book’s coverage makes Mathematical Methods for Accident Reconstruction, Second Edition, a critical reference for engineers and scientists who perform vehicular accident reconstructions.

Harold Franck graduated from West Virginia Institute of Technology and West Virginia University with Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering. For twenty years he taught engineering at West Virginia Institute of Technology. He started performing forensic investigations in the early 1980’s and subsequently retired from teaching in 1990. While teaching he also performed consulting services for the automotive industry and the Federal government for the Kanawha and Ohio River Lock Systems as well as the Chemical Industry. He also performed forensic engineering consulting during his teaching career. In 1990 he retired from academics and has devoted his career to forensic engineering investigations.

Darren Franck graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in Civil Engineering and Georgia Tech with a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. He has conducted forensic engineering services in the forensic field since 1999 concerning structural distress, accident reconstruction, equipment failure, and biomechanics. Along with this work, both authors have conducted numerous instrumented tests on a variety of forensic subjects and topics and have a well equipped laboratory facility.