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The first fatal Road Traffic Accident (RTA) occurred over a hundred years ago. Formal police records of Road Traffic Accidents didn't begin until 1926 and systematic investigation didn't come about until 1948. The Metropolitan Police Motor Driving School (MPMDS) at Hendon, North London, established traffic law and vehicle examination courses in 1959 for 'older, more experienced officers ... operating specially equipped Traffic Accident Cars'.
Based on American experience in this area, the first specific courses on accident reconstruction and investigation began in the early 1970s in Kennington, South London.
Today's Collision Investigators are the most specialist officers in the service, being traffic patrol constables qualified to drive cars and motorcycles to police advanced standard, and also hold LGV and PCV licences. Support is provided Home Office forensic scientists.
Training the Collision Investigators
Road safety can be an emotive subject and 'every driver is an expert'. One of the first high profile Transport Ministers, Ernest Marples, is on record as saying `I've got twenty million road safety advisers!' People working for any of the emergency services who have to deal with road traffic collisions, understand that it takes more than passing a driving test to make an expert.
In most collisions at least two people are involved, each of whom will blame each other. To determine the truth and find the real cause of a collision, investigators are trained to stand back and look at the facts calmly and dispassionately. Any decision to prosecute is based on what would be reasonable to a competent driver. The level of driving which is considered competent is that defined in the Highway Code.
Traffic Collision Detective work
At the accident scene, the investigator makes a study of the inter-relation between the three main influences:
1. The condition of the vehicle
2. The road and traffic environment
3. The behaviour of road users
To do this the investigator will collect data on:
• Who was involved
• Where it occurred
• When it occurred
• In what circumstances it occurred
The data is analysed and an assessment of collision causation and attribution factors are reported to the Crown Prosecution Service and in the event of a fatality, the local Coroner's Court.
Firms of solicitors specialising in traffic law, hire private investigators to assist defence clients. Such people are often retired police service officers who have set up their own self employed businesses as Collision Investigation Consultants.
Although the Law Court system has an inherently adversarial nature, investigators maintain professional integrity and a detached attitude towards accident reconstruction. In Court, investigators are not permitted to draw conclusions. These are a matter for the trial judge. The investigators role is to assist the judge in making primary findings of fact, for instance, scientific data from which deductions, such as the speed of a vehicle can be made.
Investigators make increasing use of computer software packages to process and analyse specific collision data and trajectories accurately. The data input is derived from:
• mathematical models, formulas and calculations derived from the laws of physics
• statistical correlations collected from previous collisions and field test results
• vehicle occupant crash models
• pedestrian impact models
• manufacturers' vehicle handling and tyre performance data
Forensic science, based on Locard's Principle that states 'every contact leaves a trace' is as important to road traffic collisions as it is to murder scenes. The difference is that the investigator is dealing with tyre marks and vehicle damage rather than fingerprints and cloth fibres.
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