INGENIEUR
Figure 3: Example of pavement surface damages, marks and debris3.
surface damages, stains and debris found on the
road will assist in determining, and in some cases
conclusively establishing, the vehicle’s direction
of travel, placement/position and driver behaviour
during times of pre-collision, collision and post-
collision.
Tyre skid marks can reveal some information
on how the vehicles moved prior to the collision
or beyond. For example, the length of a skid mark
can often allow calculation of the original speed
of a vehicle. Driving speeds are frequently under-
estimated, so an independent estimate of speed
is often essential in the case of accident involving
vehicles.
Often during an impact between vehicles, the
undersides of the vehicles may come into contact
with the road resulting in damage to the surface
of the pavement in the form of chips, gouges,
scratches or grooves. By matching the pavement
surface marks and damage to the vehicle parts
that caused them, it is possible to determine the
vehicle’s location and position at the time the
marks and damage were created.
However, caution must be exercised in
identifying the marks as they may have been
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Photo 4: Typical pavement surface damages and
marks.