ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION & RECONSTRUCTION ARTICLES PAGE 7

6/4/2009· Human Factors

Human Factors Experts: An Introduction

By: Robert C. Sugarman, PhD, PE

Back in graduate school, the Psychology Department chair at MIT liked to tell his classes about the three Laws of Nature: the Law of Falling Bricks, the Law of Falling Cats, and the Law of Falling People. Physicists have formulated the precise laws that describe how a brick falls from a table to the floor. Biologists have discovered how cats fall differently from bricks, twisting reflexively to always land on their feet. But what laws completely describe a person falling from a roof? This is the challenge of behavioral scientists.

6/4/2009· Human Factors

Human Factors Experts: A Case Study

By: Robert C. Sugarman, PhD, PE

It was a dark and lonely night – as your client, a middle aged man, drove along an unfamiliar country road, watching out for deer that often jump out in front of cars at that time of year. Soon after the road curved to the right he realized that a disabled car with no lights on was angled across the road in front of him.

6/4/2009· Human Factors

Human Factors Experts: To Err Is Human; To Design Is Divine

By: Robert C. Sugarman, PhD, PE

To err is human; to design is divine. Forensic Human Factors specialists help lawyers analyze the root cause of an accident by determining who erred and why. Human factors applies research from a number of fields to design and evaluate things that people use in work and everyday activities

5/25/2009· Human Factors

Application of Human Factors Engineering in Medical Product Design

By: Andrew Le Cocq

Advancements in medical instrumentation are often judged on technical factors such as increased accuracy or increased capabilities without regard to the operator, or to the degree of knowledge or training required to make the instrument perform all of the advanced functions for which it was designed. Because patient safety and efficient use of an instrument are ultimately determined by the operator, it is imperative that medical instruments be designed not only with capability and functionality in mind

5/22/2009· Automotive - Vehicular

The Top Ten Questions About Event Data Recorders (Vehicle Black Boxes)

By: Shawn Gyorke

Event Data Recorders (EDRs) are electronic devices, commonly called Black Boxes, that are installed in motor vehicles. EDRs have the ability to record information about what a vehicle did before, during and immediately after a traffic crash

5/14/2009· Accident Investigation & Reconstruction

The Frye Standard: Determining the Admissibility of Event Data Recorders for Traffic Accident Reconstruction in Illinois

By: Shawn Gyorke

While the information recorded on event data recorders (EDRs), commonly referred to as vehicle black boxes, is tremendously helpful in determining how a traffic accident occurred and in improving safety, it was not until recently that EDR data was legally challenged in Illinois and ultimately accepted

5/14/2009· Automotive - Vehicular

Deciphering the NHTSA Event Data Recorder Ruling

By: Shawn Gyorke

Vehicle Event Data Recorders (EDRs), commonly referred to as Black Boxes, are part of a vehicle’s airbag control module or powertrain control module. EDRs can be configured to record a variety of data when a vehicle is involved in a crash event. The data sets range from pre-impact speed and brake use, to airbag and restraint system

5/22/2006· Injury

Types of Knee Injuries & How They Occur

By: Kenneth Solomon, PhD, PE, et al

The purpose of this article is to distinguish the mechanism of knee injury (e.g., forward fall while foot is trapped, impact of knee on dashboard, chronic injury due to repetitive twisting, etc.) from the type of injury (e.g., torn meniscus, ruptured ACL, bursitis, etc