As the 25th anniversary approaches of the fatal collision involving Diana, Princess of Wales and Dodi Al Fayed, our expert Iwan Parry reflects on TRL’s role in the investigation and the pioneering approach which not only provided much needed answers but also advanced collision investigation methodologies as a whole.
Our expert Mark Hill talks through some of the factors that make us human, how these influence our driving behaviour and what an expert investigator should consider as part of their reconstructions.
Every year, a large number of vulnerable road users (VRU’s) are killed in road traffic collisions, with a vast number seriously injured. In 2020, VRU’s accounted for 53% of all fatalities on UK roads, with pedestrians making up the largest proportion of this number at 24%. In pedestrian collisions, the most serious head injuries are often caused by the hard structures under the bonnet panel, the lower edge of the windscreen, and the A-pillars. Vehicle manufacturers have developed various technologies to attempt to avoid collisions with VRU’s such as AEB pedestrian detection systems, which automatically apply emergency braking when they detect the presence of a pedestrian ahead of the vehicle.
Video analysis is becoming an ever more important part of many investigations and there are a variety of different analysis methods and techniques that can be used. In this article we outline some of the potential ways to calculate distances travelled, as well as how we decide which analysis method to use, and why the time taken to analyse footage can seem to vary widely.
Most drivers are aware of the need to keep their vehicle in a roadworthy condition, renew insurance, keep up with vehicle maintenance and so on, but many overlook the importance of securing a load attached to the vehicle. In England each year, there are over 22,000 road related incidents involving load security on our motorways alone, with many more going unreported. Read our article on the common misconceptions around this topic here.
Read Part 1 of our History of Biomechanics series by Dr Ana Barbir, outlining the developments in this science all the way back from the Ancient Greeks through to the first computer simulations in the 1960s & 70s. Part 2 will follow in the new year to bring us up to the present day and will include more details of TRL’s input to this discipline over the years.
With over 20,000 vehicle-related fires every year across the UK, fire investigation experts are routinely instructed to determine their cause, through the careful analysis and scrutiny of fire-damaged vehicles. Read more on how our experts analyse the available evidence to investigate vehicle fires here.
Take a look at our dos and don’ts for obtaining and sharing video footage
