The Traffic Accident Reconstruction Origin -ARnews-

Re: Delta V Evidence From Halogen Bulbs

Chris Borelli (sdl@ids.net)
Mon, 4 Aug 1997 17:00:57 -0400 (EDT)

William, I don't know of any good resources. However, I do not feel that
you cannot determine delta-V from a bulb inspection. I have seen instances
where a Halogen bulb filament has sustained a substantial amount of
stretching during a relatively mild impact and no damage during a
substantial impact.

The location of the impact on an automobile usually determines the rate of
deceleration that the bulb sustains. An underride/override situation
will result in a substantial amount of damage but sometimes not enough
deceleration to stretch the filament. The absence of any damage to a
filament usually results in an indeterminate finding.

While you are in a salvage yard, inspect the filaments of the various
vehicles so you have some idea of how the collision damage relates to
the filament damage (if, in fact, it is related). Also, go to an automotive
parts store and look at several exemplar bulbs to conclusively determine if
the filament distortion you see is really stretching, a manufacturing
defect, or just the normal filament shape.
Chris Borelli
sdl@ids.net

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