Archive for April, 2014

Fatal Traffic Crashes: Let the Accident Reconstructionists to Their Job

Monday, April 14th, 2014

There has been a spate of well-publicized fatal traffic crashes in Oregon and Northern California recently.  Initially, it may be instinctive to want quick answer to the question, “What happened?”  Fortunately, accident reconstructionists are available to answer this question using scientific and engineering principles.  But it does take patience to let them do their job.  For example, in Oregon all traffic crashes resulting in fatality must have a formal reconstruction of the motor vehicle crash performed by a professional.  Most experienced accident reconstruction professionals are certified and licensed through various governing bodies.  There are both private professional engineering firms as well as a number of law enforcement and other government personnel (e.g., National Transportation Safety Board) qualified to collect the proper data, apply engineering principles, and prepare a formal accident reconstruction report.  Oftentimes, the reports reach conclusions as to the proximate cause(s) of a crash.  While there can be disagreement among experts as to, “What happened?” in certain crashes, it is still better for the public and media to wait until the professional reconstruction is final before engaging in harmful speculation.  We owe as much to the families left behind following a tragic—and all too common–motor vehicle crash that ends in fatality.