September 2004 - Accident Reconstruction Newsletter

Northwestern University - Center for public safety

The following courses were submitted to us by Northwestern University Center for Public Safety. For more information on these classes please visit the ARC Network Events Calendar. Most courses in the Events Calendar have direct links to registration.

Accident Investigation 1
September 13 – 24, 2004
February 28 – March 11, 2004
Evanston, IL
This recently revised course, based on the Tenth Edition of The Traffic Collision Manual, is an in-depth study of the skills needed to systematically investigate a traffic accident by being able to recognize critical evidence at the accident scene, and to preserve and record it promptly. This course presents the techniques for recognizing and properly recording the accident results on roadways and vehicles. Participants learn to make measurements, sketches, after-accident diagrams, and photographs of the accident scene. The Center's expert faculty presents lectures and demonstrations and supervises practical work projects in class and in the field. Upon completing the course, participants will be fully trained for at-scene motor vehicle accident investigation. Course content includes information from people, information from the vehicles, information from the road, and measuring and mapping at the scenes of traffic accidents.

Accident Investigation 2
September 27 - October 8, 2004
March 14 - 25, 2005
Evanston, IL
Accident Investigation 2 is for people who analyze data collected by at-scene accident investigators and who gather and analyze supplementary data. The emphasis is on vehicle damage analysis and vehicle behavior in accidents. Accident Investigation 2 enhances the capability and credibility of the at-scene investigator and builds on what is taught in Accident Investigation 1. Its objective is to develop skills in technically preparing accident investigation data and collecting follow-up data required by prosecutors, defense attorneys, claim adjusters, fleet supervisors, reconstructionists, and highway safety engineers. Course content includes vehicle damage analysis, lamp filament analysis, tire damage analysis, systematic methods for organizing and illustrating data and different ways of testing.

Basic Physics and Mathematics Workshop
October 11-15, 2004
March 28-April 1, 2005
Evanston, IL
Basic Physics and Mathematics Workshop is designed as a refresher course for the student who has studied mathematics and elementary physics in the past but may have not used them for years. It reviews these concepts used in traffic accident reconstruction. Students will find this course valuable in building a foundation for accepted theories in accident reconstruction courses. Elementary Algebra, elementary plane geometry, trigonometry, along with physics are topics reviewed in this course.

Vehicle Dynamics
October 18-22, 2004
April 4-8, 2005
Evanston, IL
Vehicle dynamics covers the dynamics relating to motor vehicle accidents. This course can be taken as part of a series of 5 Accident Investigation courses taught by the Center for Public Safety. This course involves a considerable amount of physics and mathematics. Topics studied in the course include: Newton’s laws of motion, an introduction to Dynamics and Velocity Estimates, speed Estimates from Irregular Skidmarks.

Traffic Accident Reconstruction 1
October 25-November 5, 2004
January 10-21, 2005
April 11-22, 2005
Evanston, IL
This course meets the training criteria recommended by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The course uses Traffic Accident Reconstruction by Lynn B. Fricke, (Volume 2 of The Traffic Accident Investigation Manual) as a text. Traffic reconstructionists who enroll in the course learn to find undetected facts in available information They are trained to deduce from these facts the circumstances that test theories of how accidents happened. Course contents include going over vehicle dynamics, Newton's law of motion, truck accident reconstruction, conservation of momentum, vehicle collapse and direction of thrust, and this course also looks at case studies.

Traffic Accident Reconstruction 2
November 8-12, 2004
January 24-28, 2005
April 25-29, 2005
Evanston, IL
This course meets the training criteria recommended by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for police reconstructionists. Traffic Accident Reconstruction 2 further explores the methods for reconstructing traffic accidents and uses Traffic Accident Reconstruction (Volume 2 of The Traffic Accident Investigation Manual), by Lynn B. Fricke, as a text. This course provides the training necessary to reconstruct accidents through lectures and course material. It also provides the required experience through case study analysis. Course topics include trigonometry in reconstruction, occupant kinetics, and pedestrian accidents. Students successfully completing the two Traffic Accident Reconstruction courses will have met the minimum training requirements recommended by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for police reconstructionists.

Heavy Vehicle Crash Reconstruction
May 2-6, 2005
South Bend, IN
This course is designed for practicing accident reconstructionists who investigate heavy vehicle collisions. It includes four hours of field testing to demonstrate various braking and acceleration characteristics of heavy vehicles and to allow students the chance to analyze and apply the collected data. Students will review case studies because they show how various analytic techniques can be applied to “real world” accidents. Heavy vehicle nomenclatures, velocity determination, collision behavior/momentum/damage, tachographs and gear position, offtracking, rollover, computer analysis, and field-testing and analysis are some things covered in this course.

Seminar for Traffic Engineering Assistants
May 9 – 20, 2005
Evanston, IL
This seminar is designed to improve skills in conducting traffic surveys, field investigation, data collection and analysis and application of traffic control devices. This two-week seminar includes lectures and demonstrations as well as supervised work sessions and field studies. The curriculum prepares participants to perform many basic traffic survey, analysis and application techniques with a minimum of engineering assistance and directions. This course is designed for police officers and technicians who work under the supervision of traffic engineers.

Photography for Field Measurements
June 13 – 14, 2005

Photogrammetry for the Accident Reconstructionist
Featuring Photo Modeler Pro 5 Software
June 20 –24, 2005
Evanston, IL
This course covers all basic facets of the PhotoModeler Pro 5 software by EOS Systems Incorporated. We focus on the uses of PhotoModeler Pro 5 in accident reconstruction and there are several field projects. This course is designed for practicing accident reconstructionists who analyze data to determine how an accident occurred. This course includes the basics of Photogrammetry, introduction to PhotoModeler Pro 5, producing CAD Diagrams.

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• Cell Phone – Vicarious Liability Issues
  Can You Hear Me Now?
• Drowsy Driving and Automobile Crashes
• National Survey of Distracted and Drowsy Driving - Attitudes and Behaviors: 2002
• National Survey of Speeding and Unsafe Driving - Attitudes and Behaviors: 2002
• State Distracted Driving Laws Chart
• Examination of the Distraction Effects of Wireless Phone Interfaces Using the National Advanced Driving Simulator - Preliminary Report on a Freeway Pilot Study
• Driver Eye Glance Behavior During Car Following
• Northwestern University Class Schedule

• ARC Network New Members
• October 2004 Training Events
  (Currently 15 events scheduled)
• In The News
• Membership Information

Please direct any questions regarding this issue of the Accident Reconstruction Newsletter to
the ARC Network

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