Traffic Crash

More than 90% of crashes involve driver error:

  1. Speed

  2. Alcohol

  3. Cell phone use 27%

  4. Inexperience

5-6% of all crashes involve vehicle problems:

  1. Brakes

  2. Lights

Motor vehicle crash-event that results in unintended injury, death, or property damage attributed directly or indirectly to the motion of a motor vehicle or it’s load

A. Highway:

1.  Geometrics:

        a.  Elevation- Grade of roadway

        b.  Super-elevation - Bank of roadway

        c.  Crowning - Middle of roadway higher than outer edges for drainage.

2. General makeup:

a.  Surfacing:

       1) Concrete

       2) Asphalt

       3) Oil and Chipped

       4) Gravel

5) Dirt

 

b.) condition

  1) new

  2)Traffic-polished

  3) worn or despair

 

  1. View obstruction

  1. Buildings

  2. Vegetation

  3. Parked vehicles

  4. Confusing background

PURPOSES OF CRASH INVESTIGATION

  1.  Basic responsibility of officer - To ascertain the appropriate facts to document the crash and determine fault when possible.

  2. Crash prevention programs:

  1.  Safety

  2. Education

  3. Selective enforcement

  1.  Adjudication:

  1.  Civil

  2. Criminal

  1.  Identify violations of traffic laws: Most traffic laws today are designed to control traffic crashes and reduce fatalities.

  2. Carry out our responsibilities resulting from our legal authority to investigate.

  3. Enforce the traffic laws constructed to control traffic crashes.

  4. Collect data/statistical information to identify future highway engineering needs. 

WHAT IS A TRAFFIC CRASH INVESTIGATION?

  1. Definition: The thorough examination of all elements contributing to the crash, resulting in a well-founded explanation of the series of events which occurred based on the factual data.

  2. Process:

  1.  Examine scene.

  2. Care for the injured.

  3. Protect persons and property from further injury, damage, or loss.

  4. Identify and interview participants and witnesses.

  5. Gather evidence.

Five levels of traffic crash investigation:

  1.  Reporting:

  1.  Who was involved?

  2. Where was the crash?

  1.  On-Scene investigation:

  1.  Who was involved?

  2. Where did it happen?

  3. How did it happen?

  1.  Technical preparation - Advanced training/methods in scene documentation.

  2. Professional reconstruction:

  1.  Data collection beyond the competence of the technician.

  2. Experiments for specific purposes.

  3. Cause analysis - Road Safety Assessments.

WHO USES THE INFORMATION FROM THE CRASH AND HOW IS IT USED?

  1.  Enforcement:

  1.  Selective enforcement and selective assignment

  2. Driver’s licensing division of the Secretary of State

  1.  Engineering:

  1.  Automotive:

  1.  Vehicle Recalls

  2. Improve Safety

  1.  Traffic volume and control

  2. Highway structure and materials

  1. Secretary of State Vehicle registration

  2.  Education:

  1.  Drivers training programs

  2. National and state safety programs

  3. Commercial automobile schools

  4. Universities

  1.  Legislators:

  1.  Committees for traffic laws

  2. Committees for regulations on vehicle equipment

  1.  Courts

ILLINOIS TRAFFIC LAWS APPLICABLE TO TRAFFIC CRASH INVESTIGATION – CHAPTER 11, ARTICLE II AND IV (ILLINOIS VEHICLE CODE: 625 ILCS 5/11- 201 ET.SEQ., 625 ILCS 5/11-401 ET.SEQ.).

  1.  625 ILCS 5/11-201: Provisions of Act Refer to Vehicles upon the Highways – Exceptions:

  1.  The provisions of this chapter (Chapter 11) relating to the operation of vehicles refer exclusively to the operation of vehicles upon highways except:

  1.  Where a different place is specifically referred to in a given section.

  2. The provisions of Articles IV (crash laws) and V (DUI laws) of this chapter shall apply upon highways and elsewhere throughout the State

11-401(b-1) – Chemical testing under 11-501.1 permitted if within 12 hours of committing 1 or 3 above:

  1. Any person arrested for violating this Section (11-401), within 12 hours of its occurrence, is subject to chemical testing of his or her blood, breath, or urine for the presence of alcohol, other drug, or drugs, intoxicating compound or compounds, or any combination thereof, as provided in Section 11-501.1.

  2. Section 11-501.1 (implied consent rule) – Any person driving or in actual physical control has deemed to have given consent to chemical, blood, or breath test.

  3. Penalty (effective July 1, 2011):

  1.  Suspension of driver’s license if chemical test failed

  2. Revocation of driver’s license if chemical test refused

Elements:

  1.  Driver of involved vehicle

  2. Damage to attended vehicle

  1.  Requirements: a. Immediately stop:

  1.  At scene, or,

  2. As close as possible

  1.  Fulfill 11-403

  1.  Penalty:

  1.  Class A Misdemeanor

  2. Suspension of driver’s license if over $1,000 damage

625 ILCS 5/11-403 – Duty to Give Information, Render Aid

  1.  Elements:

  1.  Driver of involved vehicle:

  1.  Actual contact

  2. No actual contact

  1.  Crash:

  1.  Property damage (any dollar amount)

  2. Personal injury

  3. Fatal

  1.  Requirements:

  1.  Give information:

  1.  Name, address, registration number

  2. Owner of vehicle

  3. Upon request must show driver’s license

  1.  Render reasonable aid

  2. Report to police:

  1.  Police not present

  2. Personnel unable to receive information

  3. Penalty – Class A Misdemeanor.

625 ILCS 5/11-404 – Duty upon Damaging Unattended Vehicle or Other Property

  1.  Elements:

  1.  Driver of involved vehicle

  2. Damage to unattended vehicle; and/or

  3. Damage to property

  1.  Requirements:

  1.  Shall immediately stop

  2. Comply with one or two below:

  1.  Locate owner of vehicle or property and provide information; or

  2. Shall attach securely in a conspicuous place, written notice giving information and notify nearest police authority, without delay.

  3. Penalty – Class A Misdemeanor

625 ILCS 5/11-407 – Immediate Notice of Crash:

  1.  Elements – 625 ILCS 5/11-407a:

  1.  Driver involved

  2. Crash as described in 625 ILCS 5/11-406

  1.  Requirements – notify police

  2. Elements – 625 ILCS 5/11-407b:

  1.  Physically incapable of complying

  2. Occupant must comply if capable of making notification.

625 ILCS 5/11-407: immediate notice of crash

625 ILCS 5/11-408: police to report motor vehicle accident investigations

625 ILCS 5/11-409: false motor vehicle accident reports or notices

625 ILCS 5/11-410: when a driver fails to report a motor vehicle accident to the administrator

625 ILCS 5/11-412: crash reports are generally confidential

720 ILCS 5/9-3: involuntary manslaughter and reckless homicide

720 ILCS 5/9-3.2: involuntary manslaughter and reckless homicide of an unborn child

Two types of collision:

  1. Contact- two vehicles collide

  2. Non-contact- a vehicle contributed to the accident but is not involved in the collision

Point of no escape: no action by the driver will be effective in avoiding the crash

Order of events:

  1.  Events in a series that make up crashes do not always occur in the same order. The point of no escape may precede the point of possible perception in some crashes.

  2. Last events are usually studied first. Unless you witness the crash, you will usually learn the results of the crash first.

  3. Crashes after stabilization. When a crash becomes stabilized, it has reached the end of the event. If an additional crash occurs after stabilization, it is considered a separate/additional crash.

  4. Chain reaction crashes:

  1.  If vehicles involved have contact with each other, treat them as one crash.

  2. Without contact, they are separate crashes.

  3. For investigative purposes, consider each vehicle as a separate chain of events and investigate each separately.

Train crash- collision involving a railway vehicle and a motor vehicle when the railway vehicle is the first contact for the vehicle

Animal crash- collision involving an animal when the animal is the first contact

Overturned crash- involves a motor vehicle overturning without first striking another motor vehicle or an object

Fixed object crash- collision of a motor vehicle with a fixed object when no other vehicle or object has been struck

Other object crash- collision of a motor vehicle with an object that is not a fixed object

Other non-collision crash- involves a motor vehicle that has not collided with another vehicle or object, or has not overturned. This crash type is also used in crashes where a breakage of any part of the vehicle (ex: blown tire) precedes other collision types (fixed object, overturned).

Multi-vehicle crash defined- occurs when a motor vehicle’s first damage/injury is with another vehicle

The vehicle most at fault is Unit #1.

Parked motor vehicle crash- collision between a moving motor vehicle and a legally parked motor vehicle.

Turning crash- those occurring at an intersection, the initial impact must take place within the specific boundaries of the intersection.

Front to front crash- collision between two vehicles traveling in opposite directions

Rear to side crash- collision between two motor vehicles approaching a location, such as a driveway entrance

Rear to rear crash- both vehicles backing in opposite directions

When trying to locate a vehicle at a scene- search pattern

The least reliable way to confirm vehicle ownership-driver statement

Children can be used a witness at a crash-true

Who can provide additional expertise in regards to the identification of a crash-traffic crash reconstruction

Rollover: contact damage to the roof will occur on the opposite side of the direction of the roll. If a vehicle overturns passenger side first, the damage will be to the driver’s side.

Traffic template: instrument designed to meet the requirements of traffic crash investigators in preparing field sketches, scale diagrams, and maps of traffic crash scene.

Grid search: should be used to find individuals ejected from vehicles

Reference point: Location in which measurements are made to locate items of interest

When measuring a crime scene how many triangulation measures are used: 2

intangible reference points: not permanent

tangible reference points: items that are there (telephone pole, road sign)