A Parameter Identification Method for Road Accidents Reconstruction

The paper deals with the mathematical reconstruction of road accidents. Often, many of the relevant parameters for an accurate simulation are not known. The aim of the paper is to introduce and validate a new method to identify these (many) relevant parameters, such as exact impact location, tyre-road friction, ... The velocity of the two vehicles before the impact are computed by applying the principle of conservation of momentum and angular momentum and by estimating the kinetic energy losses. The identification process is based on a Global Approximation technique. Up to 17 numerical values pertaining to both running conditions before impact and parameters can be defined accurately and in a relatively short time. The definition of the 17 numerical values is made on the basis of the known data coming from the positions of the vehicles at rest and from tyre marks (if present and measured). The method has undergone a preliminary validation. Two case studies are presented which show the effectiveness of the identification method.Copyright © 2003 by ASME