Reconstruction

Uncovering the cause of a vehicle crash is a time-consuming, exacting process. Factors including human behavior, weather, road conditions, and vehicle malfunction must all be taken into account in order to piece together what happened.


The personnel of MTC use electronic surveying equipment, computer simulations, photographic analysis, and other techniques to analyze crashes.

Accident reconstruction...then and now

February 25, 1899 A test drive of a Daimler automobile in Harrow, England, ended abruptly when the wooden spokes of the right, rear wheel fractured. The vehicle was traveling at a "high rate of speed" (14-20 mph) at the time, causing all the occupants to be ejected.


MTC experts staged this vehicle fire as part of a homicide investigation. The results cast doubt on the original police conclusion of an accident.


State investigators attributed this bus crash to sudden heart failure of the driver. An MTC investigation revealed the true cause: mechanical defect of the steering system.


Accurate measurements are essential to forensic inquiry. MTC uses a Sokkia electronic surveying system to measure outdoor and indoor accident and crime scenes.

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