Pedestrian and bicycle accidents in the United States result in approximately 80,000 and 50,000 injuries each year, respectively. Though pedestrians and bicycles move differently, they share important characteristics as both have little protection during a roadway collision with a motor vehicle. Therefore, to minimize the risk of injury, cyclists should wear helmets and both should obey traffic laws. The responsibility to avoid collisions also rests with motor vehicle drivers, who must obey traffic signals and yield to pedestrians and cyclists when appropriate. In many accidents, the visibility of pedestrians and cyclists to drivers, and vice-versa, is of central concern.
We have experience in many aspects of pedestrian and bicycle accidents including:
Through scientific analysis, we can help you answer pertinent questions such as:
Bus Striking Boy in Crosswalk:
A young boy was crossing a street with his aunt in New York City. Before he reached the other side, he was struck by a city transit bus whose driver claimed to have had a green light. We were able to show, based on the timing of the lights and measurements of the roadway, that the bus driver had more than enough time to perceive and react to the boy in the crosswalk and could have safely stopped the bus before impact, and further that the boy was not walking unusually slowly.
Child Darting onto Roadway:
A car driver struck a boy running across a wide, busy roadway. Based on one accident investigation, it was not clear why the boy and driver did not see one another before the impact. We hypothesized that there must have been a nearby traveling vehicle between them obscuring the line of sight. A deposition witness later testified that such a car was present. This cleared the driver of negligence and resulted in a minimal settlement.
Kristopher J. Seluga, PE, is a Mechanical Engineering, Accident Reconstruction, Biomechanics, and Safety Expert with over 20 years of experience. He received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the Mechanical Engineering department at MIT where he worked on the development of novel three-dimensional printing technologies. Mr. Seluga is also a licensed Professional Engineer in New York and Connecticut, and has served as a member of the ANSI engineering committee for the Z130.1 and Z135 standards for golf cars and PTV's. His research interests and peer reviewed publications span the topics of Motor Vehicle Dynamics, Product Safety, and Biomechanics.
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7/22/2009· Accident Investigation & Reconstruction
Forensic Engineering Experts: Lighting & Visibility
A person’s interaction with his environment comes largely from visual cues. Without this information, a pedestrian can trip over an unseen object or a driver might not detect a dangerous situation. In order to avoid these hazards, a person requires adequate lighting and should be provided with appropriate illumination for a given task.
2/14/2014· Accident Investigation & Reconstruction
Automated Retrieval System Failure Results in Catastrophic Fire at Storage Facility
By: Bill O'Donnell
The largest storage rack/ retrieval system, larger than two football fields and eighty feet wide was constructed to store 108 million pounds of paper products. On July, 2002, after two months of use, the facility collapsed and sparked a fire that destroyed the entire structure and 45 million pounds of paper. Nearly 50 fire departments responded to the inferno, which burned for three weeks. The owner of the facility sued a number of companies that included the contractor that designed and built the structure, a subcontractor, and the company that supplied the 110 foot steel columns.
8/24/2012· Accident Investigation & Reconstruction
Security Camera Video Analysis and Animation
Animations are a powerful tool to illustrate how an accident occurred, and to make an engineer's accident reconstruction more accessible to individuals without engineering expertise.
