Volume Seven, Issue 9
September 2005
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Your resource for accident reconstruction and traffic accident investigation.
September 2005 - Accident Reconstruction Newsletter
Please use the links below to view this months featured articles. Note: you can use the "Back to Index" link to return to this index.
- Honda Develops Motorcycle Airbag System
- 2004 Crash Fatality Counts and Injury Estimates
- 2005 Tire Safety Ratings
- Forensic Investigations: Accident Analysis Software
- NHTSA Releases List of Model Year 2006 Vehicles For Crash and Rollover Testing
- Crash Data Retrieval User's Conference
- NHTSA Proposes New Roof Crush Standard
- Portable Crash Scene Mapping Tools Prove Quick, Accurate, Economical
- Visual Statement Delivers on Vista FX2
- NHTSA Ends Offset Test Rulemaking
- ARC-CSI Crash Conference 2006
- MapScenes Releases Major Upgrades To Its Flagship Products
- Bringing the past to life
- Free Crash Data Retrieval Certification Course
- ARC Network New Members
- Events, Conferences and Seminars
- Accident Reconstruction News Articles
- Become a Member of the ARC Network
Honda Develops Motorcycle Airbag System
Honda Motor Co., Ltd. today announced it has succeeded in developing the world’s first production motorcycle airbag system. The new system, which can help lessen the severity of injuries caused by frontal collisions, is to be made available on the new Gold Wing motorcycle scheduled for release in late spring of 2006 in the US.
The Motorcycle Airbag System is comprised of the airbag module, which includes the airbag and the inflator; crash sensors, which monitor acceleration changes; and an ECU, which performs calculations to instantly determine when a collision is occurring. When a severe frontal collision occurs, the four crash sensors mounted on the front fork measure the change in acceleration caused by the impact and convey this data to the airbag ECU, which determines that a collision is occurring and whether or not it is necessary to inflate the airbag. If the calculations performed by the ECU indicate that airbag deployment is necessary, the ECU sends an electronic signal to the airbag inflator, which instantaneously responds by inflating the airbag. Inflating rapidly after the impact, the airbag can absorb some of the forward energy of the rider, reducing the velocity at which the rider may be thrown from the motorcycle and helping lessen the severity of injuries caused by the rider colliding with another vehicle or with the road.
2004 Crash Fatality Counts and Injury Estimates
NHTSA has released the 2004 Motor Vehicle Traffic Crash Fatality Counts and Injury Estimates based on the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and the National Automotive Sampling System General Estimates System (NASS GES) data.
This report updates the 2004 Projections released in April 2005, which were based on a statistical procedure using incomplete/partial data. This report also compares fatality counts and injury estimates resulting from motor vehicle traffic crashes occurring in 2004 with counts and estimates from final 2003 files.
Counts and estimates are based on Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and NASS General Estimates System (GES) files, as indicated in the sources listed on page 4. The fatality counts for 2004 will be updated based on final FARS files released next year. Data from 2003 are final and will not be updated again.
Read Full Report (165 pages)
2005 Tire Safety Ratings
NHTSA has recently updated their database of tire safety ratings. To assist consumers purchasing new vehicles or replacement tires, NHTSA has rated more than 2,400 lines of tires, including most used on passenger cars, minivans, SUV's and light pickup trucks. Consumers can select a tire brand from a drop-down menu.
This grading system, known as the Uniform Tire Quality Grading System (UTQGS), allows consumers to compare tire treadwear, traction performance, and temperature resistance. The federal government requires tire manufacturers to grade their tires in these three areas and place the information on the sidewall of the tire.
Search the Database
Forensic Investigations - Accident Analysis Package
LSIA (Low Speed Impact Analysis) is an analysis package for vehicle versus barrier (bumper to barrier) and vehicle versus vehicle analysis (bumper to bumper). LSIA automatically generates and prints reports which include: vehicle(s) year, make, model, delta v, final velocity, and acceleration rates as well as coefficients of restitution, impact duration, relevant equations and barrier information. The program automatically imports data from vehicle versus barrier analysis to vehicle versus vehicle analysis. Saves hours by expediting the iteration process!
Available for an introductory price of $50.00 (USD)
(Snapshot of LSIA shown below)
To learn more about this accident analysis software or to order your copy, please contact:Louis Peck
Forensic Investigations
www.fi-ar.com
(866) 411-8472
Email: lpeck@fi-ar.comAbout Forensic Investigations:
Forensic Investigations is an engineering based firm with investigators specializing is several disciplines to cover all your needs. Our investigators have formal engineering educations, ranging from Bachelor’s to Doctoral degrees, and have worked on nearly two thousand cases. We specialize in vehicular and industrial accident reconstruction as well as fire investigation.
NHTSA Releases List of Model Year 2006 Vehicles For Crash and Rollover Testing
Consumer safety ratings will be issued for a wide selection of 2006 model passenger vehicles, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced today.
For model year 2006, a total of 41 passenger cars, 21 sport utility vehicles, five vans, and 10 pickups will be subjected to frontal and side crash safety tests. When the tests are completed by the spring of 2006, consumers will have access to frontal crash test ratings for about 83 percent of all 2006 offerings and side impact safety information for about 69 percent.
The agency also will provide rollover ratings for 18 passenger cars, 25 sport utility vehicles, four vans and nine pickups. Together with vehicles already tested, NHTSA will provide rollover safety information for approximately 81 percent of the model year 2006 U.S. passenger vehicle fleet.
"Consumers in the market for a new or used vehicle will have access to the latest in safety ratings," said Jacqueline Glassman, Acting Administrator for NHTSA. "The agency’s crash test program is a great source of impartial safety information".
Crash Data Retrieval User's Conference 2006
The Crash Data Retrieval User's Conference is scheduled for February 13-14, 2006 in Dallas, Texas.
During this 2-day conference, experts from around the world will be presenting technical papers on Crash Data Retrieval. Topics to be covered will include, legal aspects, legislation, user applications and future developments. This conference is sponsored by the CDR User's Group, Vetronix Corporation, the National Association of Professional Accident Reconstructionists (NAPARS), the Accident Reconstruction Network (ARC) and Collision Safety Institute (CSI).
The papers presented at this conference will be
published in the Accident Reconstruction Journal.We are now accepting registrations. Please be aware that due to the Hotel facilities at the Embassy Suite, space is limited for this conference. Registrations will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis until all seats are filled.
NHTSA Proposes New Roof Crush Standard
The proposed new standard would also extend roof strength requirements to all vehicles weighing up to 10,000 pounds. The current standard only applies to vehicles up to 6,000 pounds. Improved roof strength is one aspect of a comprehensive NHTSA plan to reduce deaths and injuries among belted occupants in rollover crashes.
NHTSA also is seeking comment on other aspects of its rollover protection strategy, including the possible use of improved safety belt technology to better hold a belted occupant in place during a rollover crash.
"It will take a comprehensive strategy to reduce the staggering number of rollover deaths on the nation’s highways", said NHTSA Administrator Jeffrey Runge, M.D. "Improving roof strength is an integral part of that plan".
The agency estimates that, among belted occupants, about 807 serious injuries and 596 fatalities annually are caused by contact with a collapsed roof during a rollover crash. About 10,000 people die annually in rollover crashes; approximately 60 percent are unbelted.
NHTSA estimates the new roof crush standard will annually prevent between 13 and 44 deaths and 500-800 injuries when fully implemented. The estimated cost per vehicle would be $11.81. The total average cost per year would be $88-$95 million.
The proposed new standard would require that a roof withstand an applied force equal to 2.5 times the vehicle weight while maintaining sufficient headroom for an average sized adult male. The current requirement is that the roof be able to withstand an applied force equal to 1.5 times the vehicle weight, with a limit of 5,000 pounds for cars.
NHTSA will receive comments on the proposal for 90 days.
Portable
Crash Scene Mapping Tools Prove Quick, Accurate, Economical
By Bob Galvin
As rush hour traffic moves into high gear one evening along a freeway on Portland, Oregon’s west side, a passenger car attempts merging at high speed to pass an approaching delivery truck. The attempt fails and the truck’s driver slams on his brakes and swerves suddenly, causing the truck to overturn and block two of the highway’s lanes. Soon, state patrol traffic officers are on the scene using a total station to map data points of the expansive scene and create a diagram. The freeway has been shut down, and frustrated motorists face a long wait. Unarguably, a total station can be used to map the crash scene’s data points with impressive accuracy, but is the road closure for three hours and the risk of secondary vehicle accidents worth it in such instances? Some states are saying no, and even seeking out alternative technology.
Visual Statement Delivers on Vista FX2
Now ready for shipment is Visual Statement's much anticipated release of Vista FX2, the next version of Vista FX, with new improved features as well as brand new state-of-the-art components that will make an investigator's job even easier. With state-of-the-art in incident scene illustration reconstruction, animation and simulation, FX2 represents the world's first completely integrated work environment. Gone are the import-export frustrations and users can now build a sophisticated 3D realtime animation out of a diagram without ever leaving the Vista workspace. Not just catering to collision reconstructionists, Vista FX2 also offers components to aid fire as well as crime scene investigators.
Call for a free online demo!
www.visualstatement.com | 1.888.828.0383
NHTSA Ends Offset Test Rulemaking
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today terminated immediate rulemaking efforts to add a high-speed offset frontal crash test to its current occupant protection requirements, citing the prospect of unintended safety consequences.
Agency testing has suggested that some manufacturers are building more rigid front ends in order to perform well in the offset test, which is currently used by the European Union, Australia, Japan and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in the United States.
All use an offset test at speeds between 56 and 64 kilometers per hour – about 35-40 mph. An offset test engages only a portion of the vehicle front when striking the crash barrier.
NHTSA research has shown that cars and light trucks, including sport utility vehicles, built to pass the offset test may actually inflict greater injury to occupants when they strike another vehicle head-on.
Under the current federal occupant protection standard, manufacturers must adequately protect occupants in a full frontal crash test. NHTSA said additional research and data analysis are needed before the agency can make an informed decision regarding the value of an offset test.
The agency continues to be concerned about the large number of lower extremity injuries associated with frontal offset crashes – an estimated 85,000 annually - and is continuing to research ways to reduce those numbers without compromising safety in other types of collisions.
ARC-CSI Crash Conference 2006
Date: June 5-8, 2006
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Hotel: Palace Station Hotel and Casino
Crash Testing: Las Vegas Motor Speedway
ACTAR: 21 CEUs Pending
ATTENDEE: Registration Form
EXHIBITOR: Registration FormThe fifth ARC-CSI Conference, run for the fourth year in Las Vegas and including activities at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway is designed to be topical, timely and a lasting learning experience for all involved. The topics for the 2006 conference are yet to be determined.
If you have any suggestions of what topics you would like to see presented, please email them to info@crashconferences.com
As has been the case with ARC-CSI conferences in the past, a half day of live crash testing will kick off the conference on the first day and crash data compiled during that week's testing on CD will distributed coupled with a data review will close out the conference.
Witness live crash testing first hand, attend presentations by recognized leaders in their field, leave Las Vegas with crash data in hand including the photos and video of the testing, copies of presentations for later review and related documents and reference material. It's hard to find a better opportunity for training anywhere.
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
The ARC Network is now accepting attendee registrations for this years ARC-CSI Crash Conference.
Registration Fee:
>> Early Registration (until April 30, 2006): $599
>> Late Registration (After April 30, 2006): $799HOTEL INFORMATION
This years ARC-CSI Crash Conference will be held at the Palace Station Hotel and Casino. The ARC Network has arranged a special room for attendees of this conference. For complete hotel information and to book your room, click here.EXHIBITOR INFORMATION
Each year the ARC Network offers an Exhibitor room for companies to display their products and/or services to the attendees of the ARC-CSI Crash Conference. If you would like to be a Exhibitor at this years ARC-CSI Crash Conference, click here.SPONSORSHIP
The ARC-CSI also offers additional recognition if you would like to be a SPONSOR of the ARC-CSI Crash Conference.
Please contact Scott Baker of the ARC Network for more information. Toll Free: (866) 223-4984
MapScenes Releases Major Upgrades To Its Flagship Products
Crash and crime scene evidence collection and office software forensic mapping solutions.
Thousands of hours of development combined with feedback from hundreds of users resulted in a completely new interface for both Evidence Recorder 3.0 and MapScenes 2006. Professional reconstructionists will find the new versions of the software more powerful, while easier to learn and operate.
According to Darcy Detlor, president of MicroSurvey, "Our Teams have been working on the upgrades for several years. We watched the technology used in the industry improve and we listened to our customers. The most exciting thing about the new versions is how well they work together - without a doubt, combined, MapScenes 2006 and Evidence Recorder 3.0 is the most integrated and powerful system on the market today."
MapScenes 2006 has many new features including: the most powerful drawing engine in use by any forensic drawing solution (IntelliCAD 6.1 CAD engine and DWG file format); 100 training movies and comprehensive help files; powerful customization tools for symbols and vehicle specifications; IntelliCAD Explorer - a way to easily manage key drawing attributes from one window; and enhanced animation and reporting tools.
Evidence Recorder 3.0 is the #1 scene collection solution designed exclusively for Reconstructionists. Its features include: real-time graphical visualization and verification of the scene drawing while at the scene; seamless integration with MapScenes desktop software; protection against loss of critical data from power interruption; and industry standard DXF file format & TDS Raw Format. Evidence Recorder 3.0 supports more total stations than other purpose-built evidence collection solutions.
Pricing and Availability
Evidence Recorder 3.0 and MapScenes 2006 are available only through its world-wide network of knowledgeable dealers, many of which have professional reconstructionists on staff. For more information on the new features, demos or a professional consultation, contact MapScenes Systems at 800-668-3312, go to www.mapscenes.com , or email info@mapscenes.com.About MapScenes Systems
MapScenes Systems, is division of MicroSurvey Software Inc., a BC Corporation located in the beautiful Okanagan Valley. In 2001 MicroSurvey was listed in the Deloitte & Touche Fast 500 - a group of the 500 fastest growing companies in North America . For more information about MicroSurvey Software Inc., please contact Ed Ouellette, Marketing Manager at ed.ouellette@microsurvey.com
Bringing the past to life
A laser scanner is used to capture everything that might be pertinent at a crash scene so that animators at Precision Simulations Inc. can create a realistic simulation of how this auto accident occurred.
The photographs sitting on Craig Fries' work table at Precision Simulations Inc. in Grass Valley weren't suitable for the family hour on television.
A pool of blood was clearly visible in one picture, the result of a man allegedly beaten before he fell into a city bus. The question a jury will have to decide: Was the man injured by the beating or the bus?
It's Fries' job to make the jury's decision easier by creating a 3-D animated simulation of the incident that will be used as evidence in the pending trial.
"It makes (jurors) eyewitnesses to the scene," he said. "There's a single, visual perspective. Everyone is looking at the facts.
"All 12 members of the jury hear the same thing, but in their mind's eye, they all develop a different picture of what happened," Fries said. "In the courtroom, we're trying to build consensus. ... That only happens, in my view, if we're looking at pictures."
Free CSI Crash Data Retrieval Certification Course
The ARC Network, in conjunction with Vetronix Corporation and Collision Safety Institute, is now offering to pay your tuition to a CSI Crash Data Retrieval Certification Course (up to $300) or a $200 cash rebate when you purchase a Vetronix CDR System through the ARC Network. You may also qualify for a free one-year membership to the ARC Network - Click here for details.
If you are thinking about purchasing a CDR System for your department or business, now is the time. This offer is for a limited time only.
>> Click
here for the Details
or call the ARC Network toll free (866) 223-4984
ARC Network New Members
Please welcome the newest members of the ARC Network.
| Name | Company/Department | State |
| Scott Carnes | Jessamine County Sheriff | KY |
| Christopher Bruns | Milwaukee Police Department | WI |
| Andreas Kaschate | Forensic Engineering, Inc. | Canada |
| Mark Boettger | Menlo Park Police Department | CA |
| Thomas Henderson | Spokane County Sheriff | WA |
| Edgar Tirado | Sigma Security & Forensic Consultants | Puerto Rico |
| Doug Orbin | Shawnee Police Department | KS |
Events, Conferences & Seminars
The ARC Network host a comprehensive calendar of events relating to the accident reconstruction and traffic accident investigation industry. New events are always being added. Some of the events that have just been added:
- WATAI Fall Conference - October 2005
- CAARS Conference - October 2005
- CDR Users Conference - February 2006
- ARC-CSI Crash Conference - June 2006
Accident Reconstruction News Articles
The ARC Network continually posts news articles relating to accident reconstruction, traffic accident investigation and automotive safety. The newest articles are always posted on the ARC Network's homepage and all the archived articles are posted in the AR News Section.
Following are the news articles posted in September 2005:
September 29, 2005:
Saab to recall 300,000 defective 9-3, 9-5 carsSeptember 20, 2005:
Flexpoint Preparing for U.S. Vehicles to Require Pedestrian Safety StandardsSeptember 19, 2005:
50 Years After The Rebel's Last Ride, A New High-Tech Forensic Investigation Into James Dean's Tragic DeathSeptember 18, 2005:
Rear crash tests rate minivans poor for whiplashSeptember 16, 2005:
Chrysler recalls nearly 102,000 Grand CherokeesSeptember 15, 2005:
Hyundai recalls 240,000 cars in U.S.September 14, 2005:
Autoliv and Volvo Cars Launch New AirbagSeptember 13, 2005:
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Researchers Release New Findings on Protecting Children in Side Impact CrashesSeptember 8, 2005:
Honda unveils world's 1st airbag-equipped motorbikeSeptember 7, 2005:
Honda Develops Airbags for MotorcyclesSeptember 7, 2005:
Ford recalls 3.8 million vehiclesSeptember 7, 2005:
Toyota recalls 978,000 vehicles on U.S. marketSeptember 6, 2005:
Boys drown trying to escapeSeptember 6, 2005:
DWI crash kills woman. Husband, 50, was driving, charged with manslaughterSeptember 6, 2005:
A Uniontown woman is dead after a two-vehicle accident on Route 837 in West MifflinSeptember 6, 2005:
East Penn Woman Killed In One-Car CrashSeptember 6, 2005:
Nelson man sentenced for March collision with trooper's vehicleSeptember 6, 2005:
Teen killed in rollover accident early Sunday morningSeptember 5, 2005:
Charges considered in fatal accidentSeptember 3, 2005:
Gym owner dies in collisionSeptember 2, 2005:
Man, 20, dies in Londonderry accidentSeptember 1, 2005:
Oswego man dies in Orchard Rd. collision
Each month the ARC Network continues to grow
with new memberships and contacts.
We now have over 550 members and going strong. We would like to thank
everyone for their support.
The ARC Network would like to thank everyone
for continuing to make the
ARC Network the number one web site for accident reconstruction and traffic
investigation.
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interested in becoming a member, The ARC Network prides itself on being the only organization that provides its members a listing in the best expert witness directory online, access to a member's only private web site providing up-to-date crash and vehicle information, and organizational discounts. |
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