Table of Contents: Documenting Vehicular Damage

As accident reconstructionists, the quality of our final analysis is dependent upon the quality and quantity of the information which is made available for our analysis. This booklet was prepared as an aid to those working to provide that information.

Proper photographs of damaged vehicles and accident scenes are critical. These photographs may be used by a reconstruction engineer to estimate damage when the vehicle is no longer available for inspection and to locate evidence such as skids and gouges at the scene after the evidence is no longer visible. The engineer will use the photographs of the damaged vehicle and compare the damaged vehicle to an undamaged exemplar vehicle of the same year, make and model in an attempt to quantify the crush damage. Once determined, the amount of crush becomes one of the tools used in the determination of vehicle speed.

For our purposes, photographs of vehicles should be taken at right angles to the damage. If possible, the photographs should be taken at the same height as the damage and should include all evidence of contact damage, including any evidence of paint transfers. In some cases the damage to the vehicle may be so severe that certain photographs are unattainable. Scene photographs should include views of all visible evidence such as skids, gouge marks, paint marks and fluid stains. Several views should be taken to include landmarks to which the evidence can be referenced. i.e. cracks in roadway, curbs, signs, utility poles, etc.

The information in this booklet will give an overview of the recommended photographs required for complete documentation of a damaged vehicle and the accident scene. It is recommended that all photographs be numbered immediately after development to maintain the order in which they were taken.

A section is also included on recommended questions to ask during the interview with the involved parties. The questions are grouped by accident type and included to provide specific, meaningful accident related information in order to aid in the reconstruction of the accident.