Blog Posts

I spend the majority of my day figuring out how people are injured during motor vehicle collisions. Consequently, I’ve come to appreciate many vehicle safety technologies. Most of us are familiar with the most common of these systems: for example, seat belts and airbags. It is easy to take them for granted, but have you ever stopped to ponder that some of these safety measures require that we, the vehicle occupants, use them correctly? In the context of motor vehicle safety, the occupant must do his or her part to extract the maximum benefit from the built-in vehicle safety systems. It is a responsibility that we all should take very seriously.

Event Data Recorders, or EDRs, can store data such as vehicle speed, driver steering, and brake application for up to several seconds before a collision, as well as data like collision severity during a collision. EDRs are present in most passenger vehicles on the road in the United States, and nearly all new vehicles have one, even though it is not a requirement.

Everyone has seen dramatized television shows where the crime scene investigation team matches the skull fracture pattern to the murder weapon and cracks the case.

Unlike roadway vehicle accident reconstruction, marine accidents generally do not present the reconstructionist with much, if any, physical evidence at the scene of the accident. Boats on the water do not leave skid marks or fluid trails, and the body of water does not generally retain the vessels in their post-crash positions. As such, this lack of scene evidence and the complex vessel dynamics pose a unique set of challenges for the marine accident reconstructionist.

Rather than performing real-life testing to address potentially meaningful case-specific parameters, which can be challenging and expensive, computational occupant dynamics simulations are a valuable, accurate, and effective addition to a biomechanical analysis. 

Performing a thorough and accurate accident reconstruction generally involves a systematic and consistent approach. Here are the basic steps.

Advances in injury biomechanics have granted new insights into shaken baby syndrome, a form of non-accidental brain injury in infants. Here’s what we know.

Here’s a quick primer on forensic biomechanics, biomechanical engineering, and how to understand its real-world applications.