Pedestrian Accident Reconstruction Expert Witness

Crash Data Services, LLC

Providing quality traffic accident
investigation and reconstruction

As should be expected, when cars collide with
pedestrians, there is a immense potential for
injury or even death. This is mainly due to the
tremendous disparity between the size of an
average pedestrian and a motor vehicle.

Pedestrian accidents in the United States
account for about 5,000 deaths every year and
60,000 to 70,000 more injuries.

Driver negligence is often to blame for
accidents resulting in pedestrian injury or
death. Drivers may fail to yield the right of way
to pedestrians at crosswalks or violate a traffic
signal before colliding with a pedestrian. Even
more pedestrians are injured every year
because of driver distraction, such as talking
on a cell phone or text messaging.

And while in many cases, drivers may be
responsible for a pedestrian collision,
pedestrians can also cause traffic accidents.
Pedestrians may step off a curb unexpectedly
or cross a street outside a crosswalk. Drivers
may have a difficult time seeing pedestrians
due to their clothing choices or poor lighting
conditions at the time of the crash.

Pedestrian traffic accident reconstruction can
be one of the most demanding tasks facing
any expert reconstructionist today. Often,
pedestrian crashes involve diminutive scene
evidence and marginal witness accounts.

Yet despite the challenges that pedestrian
accident reconstruction poses, our experts are
generally able to determine the speed of the
striking vehicle and opine on whether or not a
motorist was following proper lookout. We
accomplish all these points through peer
reviewed and scientifically validated
methodologies.

Generally, calculating the impact speed of a
striking vehicle is contingent upon skid
marks or pedestrian projection distance.
Projection distance refers to the distance
that a pedestrian is thrown post-impact. Our
accident reconstruction experts can utilize
both theoretically and empirically derived
formulas to determine speed.

There were over 70,000 pedestrians injured in traffic accidents in 2007. - NHTSA

Each year the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA) compiles
all types of statistics on pedestrian traffic
accidents. To read NHTSA's 2007
summary of pedestrian crashes, please
click here.

Pedestrian
Traffic Accident Reconstruction Expert

Pedestrian warning signs come in a
variety of sizes, shapes, and colors. Most
appear at intersections or designated
crosswalks. During a scene investigation,
our expert reconstructionists will inspect
all pedestrian control devices.