The Traffic Accident Reconstruction Origin -ARnews-
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The Traffic Accident Reconstruction Origin -ARnews-
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the 12.4 foot distance between the indicated points of rest is actually consistant with the 148.8 inch wheelbase of a 1982 Dodge club cab, long bed, pickup. they are probably for both left wheels rather than the left front and either right wheel.
the initial speed for the vehicle appears to have been obtained based on a 60/40% front/rear weight distribution for the truck - thus .6 X the roadway coefficient of friction of .72. Using the result, .432, and the longest skid of 70 feet , would give the 30.11 mph initial speed, provided the truck skidded to a stop, and indicate an impact speed of about 12 miles per hour.
by the numbers provided the total distance from poi to point of rest for the pedestrian was 53 feet, rather than 63. still that travel distance seems inconsistent with a 12 mile per hour impact. In light of your "hood ornament" statement, was he in some way 'hung up' on the vehicle? How was the point of impact determined??
could the discrepancies in track width be due to dual rear wheels? (this would mean there was more than just front wheel skid though)... or could it simply be a poorly calibrated measuring device?...
The more I think about it the more possible scenarios I can play out and the more questions they generate.
there are a great number of factors to be considered in investigating any collision, more so when it involves a death. Your best bet would be to search the e-mail directory on this site (http://www.tarorigin.com/bcgi/eout.pl) for a qualified reconstructionist in your area who can review the entire report and inspect the scene.
good luck
Rod Macdonald
frmrmtr@aol.com
For example, to continue this discussion look for a thread titled
Pedestrian - 1982 Dodge pickup accident
If this thread does not exist in the current archive, you can begin another one by using that title.