The Traffic Accident Reconstruction Origin -ARnews-

Re: Speed range from head-strike in pick-up vs. pedestrian collision

Ralph Bouwmeester (rba@bconnex.net)
Tue, 24 Jun 1997 10:49:51 -0400 (EDT)

This is a re-posting of a response which I initially posted on June 19th but which was lost in the shuffle. My apologies if both happen to appear.

A phrase in your posting caught my attention, namely, "the vehicle driver stated that he never saw the pedestrian, due to the fact that the sun was in his eyes". The validity of this statement is worth verifying whether you are representing the prosecution or the defense. Both could make use of this piece of evidence - firstly, the defense would have a legitimate argument in favour of the driver, and secondly, the prosecution could argue that the driver should have reduced his speed if his vision was being hampered by the sun.

I recently testified in a case involving a left-turning vehicle/pedestrian collision where the driver made a similar claim. Through sun position modelling and a topographic analysis of the accident scene I was able to confirm the driver's statement concerning the sun's position, and I was able to explain to the court how that relative position changed through the left turn movement (i.e. the sun "popped" into view about half-way through the turn).

It was reasonably concluded that the sun was in a position that could have affected the driver's ability to see. My client was acquitted of a dangerous driving charge and was found not guilty of careless driving.

If you are interested in a free preliminary assessment of your particular case, I would be happy to help you out. Contact me privately.

Regards -
Ralph Bouwmeester, P.Eng
rba@bconnex.net

Ralph Bouwmeester
rba@bconnex.net

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