When we talk about motorcycle accident reconstruction, we don’t mean rebuilding your damaged bike. Rather, reconstruction involves reconstructing the accident in all of its details. Instead of just relying on eye-witness testimony, law enforcement relies on reconstruction so that they can gain a scientific backing for what happened. Then, the findings of a motorcycle accident will be used in court if necessary. Today, we’ll discuss how this process is done and what it could mean for your case.
How Motorcycle Accident Reconstruction Works
Typically, 3 phases are involved in any motorcycle accident: the breaking phase, the sliding phase, and the impact phase. Let’s break these down.
The Breaking Phase
The breaking phase measures skid marks in order to determine the traveling speed of the vehicle, as well as the speed on impact. Forensic experts use skid marks to calculate speed by multiplying the drag factor, the braking efficiency, and the skid distance together by 30. Then they take the square root of the result. So, for example, if a motorcycle skidded 130 feet on a road with a drag factor of 0.5 and left two skid marks, the motorcycle was going about 62.45 mph.
The Sliding Phase
This phase measures the severity of marks or scrapes on the road surface. It also evaluates the damage to the motorcycle as a result of sliding.
The Impact Phase
Lastly, this part requires an understanding of the design and construction of the motorcycle in order to accurately evaluate the damage associated with the impact. It requires the unique expertise of professionals familiar with motorcycles.
By working through these phases of motorcycle accident reconstruction piece by piece, law enforcement can gain an incredibly accurate idea of what happened.
What This Could Mean for Your Case
Next, what do the details of motorcycle accident reconstruction have to do with your case? Well, the breaking phase can either corroborate or undermine witness testimony of how fast they were going. If someone claims they were going 40 mph, but the evidence determines they were going 80 mph, that will be used in court. On the other hand, if no evidence of breaking before impact exists, that could mean the driver was intoxicated.
Regarding the sliding phase, the details from this phase can help determine whether damage to your bike was caused by the accident or was preexisting. This can help determine liability. Did the accident happen because the rider made a mistake, or was something wrong with the bike? Similar details from the impact phase can be discovered.
Brad Tabakin: Motorcycle Accident Reconstruction
Finally, as you can see, in order to defend your case, you need a competent attorney by your side. So contact experienced motorcycle accident attorney Brad Tabakin to help determine liability, component failure, and fight for your rights!