Analysis of road accidents to arrive at real causes

ANALYSIS OF INDIVIDUAL ACCIDENTS TO ARRIVE AT REAL CAUSES

Accident analysis is carried out in order to determine the cause or causes of an accident  so as to prevent further accidents of a similar kind. It is part of accident investigation. These analyses are carried out by  forensic scientists, forensic engineers or health and safety inspectors. It is retrospective nature meaning that accident analysis is primarily an exercise of directed explanation; conducted using the theories or methods the analyst has on hand, which directs the way in which the events, aspects, or features of accident phenomena are highlighted and explained.

Accident analysis is performed in the following stages-

• Fact gathering
• Expert analysis
• Drawing the conclusion
• Counter-measures

Fact gathering is a forensic process involving in order to gather all  relevant facts that contribute towards understanding of the accident

Expert analysis is carried out once the fact gathering process is completed and it heavily depends on the knowledge and experience of experts involved. The drawback of this stage is that it simply puts the facts together to give a big picture. In this step, the accident is reconstructed and checked for consistency and reason-ability.

The different types of accident analysis methods are

• Causal analysis which uses the principle of causality to determine the course of events. 
• Expert analysis involving knowledge and experience of field experts
• Organizational analysis which relies on systemic theories of organisation. 

Several models have been described to characterise and analyse accidents

Photographs are also used to extract evidence. Accident crime investigators and law enforcement officers use techniques like 'camera matching', 'photogrammetry' and 'rectification' to determine the exact location physical evidence shown in accident scene photos.