‘Seeing is disbelieving’ at a meeting of traffic accident investigators

I attended the regular quarterly meeting of CATAIR last Friday – this time at Dartmouth Crossing to enable some field testing, and learned a few things, both encouraging and disturbing.

  1. I felt good learning that there are training and qualifying programs in Canada for traffic accident investigators.
  2. Also, not surprisingly, that school buses have numerous safety features.
  3. I was disturbed learning about the blind spots at the back of a school bus where the driver can`t see.  What he sees isn’t all of what might be there.

CATAIR along with ACTAR are two separate associations of traffic accident investigators.  The one is a forum for investigators to meet and share experiences and ideas.  The other is an accrediting organization for investigators. (Ref. 1)

It`s in order to take an interest in this field of practice considering the number of traffic fatalities in Atlantic Canada in a year, not a few of which result in charges under the law, civil litigation or insurance claims.

Encouraging

I suggested last week that it is important that your traffic accident expert is well trained, experienced and accredited.  That is still true.  ACTAR can perhaps be seen to be the ultimate and most demanding accrediting group.

However, I did learn at the meeting on Friday that there are qualifying programs in Canada that are demanding enough.  They vary across the country but generally require that traffic accident reconstructionists study and train and go through several levels of qualification.

A course for police officers comprises three main levels.  Two levels are done in the area in which the applicant serves and focuses on investigation of the traffic accident.  The third is completed at a Canadian Police College and covers reconstruction of the accident.  I understand that members of the public can take this course for a fee.

It’s important that an investigator reconstruct a traffic accident generally in accordance with the procedures his peers in the area would follow, and to have comparable qualifications.  That is, to measure up to the standard of care existing in his area of Canada at the time. (Refs 2, 3) That standard is certain to include the expectation that you went through a qualifying program of some sort, in view of the fact they do exist.

If charges or a dispute arises from the traffic accident the investigative procedures followed by the investigator may be evaluated by his peers at the report writing stage or the discovery and trial stages, according to the standard of care.

***

I mentioned a few days ago that the meeting on Friday would do the following things, and these got done:

  1. See a demonstration of the latest school bus safety features,
  2. Perform instrumented braking and acceleration tests,
  3. Measure the bus’s turning radius and rear wheel off-tracking, and,
  4. Examine sight lines/views obstructions.

There are school bus safety features too numerous to mention, but the bus driver did a good job briefing us on these.  Proper thing parents would say. These features include:

  • Exacting bus driver training and qualification,
  • Walk around safety checks,
  • Knowing where the bus is at all times,
  • Training students on how to exit the bus in an emergency – including through roof escape hatches,
  • Front windows that pop out in an accident,
  • Doors that can be opened easily both inside and out,
  • Etc.

I was impressed to learn that these very large buses when empty, at a speed of 50 km/hour can be stopped within about 2/3 to 3/4 the length of a bus when the brakes are applied.  Dr. Stu Smith, C. Tyner and Associates, measured these speeds and stopping distances with a braking test computer.  Skid resistance or sliding resistance of the asphalt pavement was also measured by consultants using a drag sled, a test that is very similar to the coefficient of friction test in high school physics.

Disturbing

What disturbed me was the school bus driver’s blind spots at the back.  I sensed from the tone of the bus driver`s voice that these are worrying.  They just can`t see everything at the back of the bus from the driver`s seat regardless the number and size of the rear view mirrors.

I think it’s also going to be interesting to see the results of the rear wheel off-tracking measurements.  The rear wheels are in a different place to the front wheels when a bus is turning.  It`s in order for the bus driver to know where they`re at, a skill acquired by the time the driver gets his licence.  Not so easy dealing with the blind spots.  The wheel tracks were accurately located by RCMP Corporal Michel Lanteigne, Tracadie, NB using total stations land surveying equipment.

***

Why should you take an interest in all of this?  How about 18 traffic fatalities on Prince Edward Island Island last year, and possibly more in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland.  And all quite likely got investigated by traffic accident reconstructionists.  Some of these I’m sure resulted in charges and possibly disputes arose and civil litigation begun.

***

Ken Zwicker, the CATAIR regional director, organized a very instructive meeting and kept it “moving right along“ during the day.  Corporal Lanteigne – who travelled the farthest, a 9.5 hour round trip, was everywhere during our field work on Friday, including on Ken`s heels.  Others came from Fredericton, I think Saint John, and from Prince Edward Island.  Several of us travelled all of 20 minutes from Halifax.

References

  1. Is your traffic accident investigator well trained, experienced and “accredited”?. Posted February 23, 2016
  2. Garner, Bryan A., ed., Black`s Law Dictionary, 4th ed. 2011, Thomson Reuters, St. Paul, MN
  3. How the standard of care is determined when a failure or accident occurs in the built environment.  Posted June 28, 2014

 

 

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