Rear-end Accident Reconstruction Expert Witness

Crash Data Services, LLC

Providing quality traffic accident
investigation and reconstruction

A rear-end collision is a traffic accident
wherein a vehicle, regardless of cause,
crashes into the vehicle in front of it.
Rear-end collisions are the most common
type of accident on American roadways,
accounting for about 2.5 million crashes each
year.

Most state vehicle laws, including Illinois,
require drivers to follow at a safe distance
and be able to stop for vehicles in front of
them. If a driver fails to reduce speed before
striking the vehicle in front them, then law
enforcement officers generally assume that
he or she is at fault for causing the accident.

In many cases, this assumption holds true.
Many drivers follow too closely and at a far
greater speed than is safe to stop.

However, this does not suggest that a driver
who rear-ends a vehicle in front of them is
solely at fault for a crash. A lead vehicle may
have an equipment failure, such as no brake
lights or a defective signal light.

Human beings are generally poor judges of
closing speed, and without brake lights or
signal lights, motorists may not be able to
determine that the vehicle in front of them is
slowing. This is also compounded by the fact
that many motorists make sudden stops or
turns in traffic where such actions are
prohibited.

Our accident reconstruction experts can
examine vehicle damage and scene
evidence in order to determine how fast a
vehicle was going when it rear-ended the
vehicle in front of it. We always utilize peer
reviewed and validated methodologies in
producing our expert reconstruction opinions.

The conditioned response of slowing the
vehicle to avoid a crash is the only
avoidance technique required of drivers by
Illinois Law - 625 ILCS 5/11-601(a). The
legislative intent of this statue is clear in that
it compels drivers to use due care and
requires they slow, when possible, if faced
with a hazard. To read this statute, please
click here.

About 20% of persons rear-ended in accidents suffer "whiplash" type injuries. - NHTSA

Rear end accidents are often referred to as
in-line collisions by accident
reconstructionists. Our experts can use
slight variations of the conservation of linear
momentum equation to determine the impact
speed for the striking vehicle. The law of
conservation of linear momentum is a
fundamental law of nature, and it states that
the total momentum of a closed system of
objects is constant. In addition, as long as
the units remain the same throughout the
equation, any unit of weight and velocity
(speed) may be used.

Rear-End
Traffic Accident Reconstruction Expert