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Avoidance Capabilities A driver's visual perception of the environment in which he is operating, is a function of contrast and illumination. Rain, fog, sunlight, darkness, external lighting, and a considerable variation in object contrast are just a few of the factors which must be considered during a reconstruction. To properly evaluate an event, we typically collect data and/or conduct visibility and conspicuity testing to define the visibility parameters under which the driver was operating during the collision sequence. Obviously, a driver's ability to perceive and identify hazards is also a function of the human factors of that particular driver. The type of vehicle being operated, age, experience, eyesight, level of arousal, drug or alcohol ingestion, and medical conditions can all effect the probability of a driver to perceive and respond accordingly. CRA has expertise in both daytime and nighttime visibility factors as well as other human factors. Vehicle factors also play a big part in the avoidance of a collision once the driver becomes enmeshed in the perception and response sequence. Braking behavior, dynamic handling response and feed-back to the driver are just a few of the important factors which must be considered.  Alcohol/Drugs Alcohol and drugs can inhibit the reflexes of the driver of a vehicle. This, in turn, could alter the perception and response time and could contribute to the occurrence of an accident. By reconstructing the accident event, a theoretical change in the driver's perception/response time can be entered into the equations to estimate if and how alcohol or drugs interfered with the driver's ability to avoid the accident. Alcohol and drugs may also cause other types of problems to the driver. Euphoria and risk taking behavior are associated with some types of substance abuse.
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Biomechanics of Occupants Biomechanics of vehicle occupants is an important field of study within the scope of accident reconstruction. Occupant motion, interior contact points and the mechanism of injury causation or mitigation are commonly investigated. At CRA we are familiar with the engineering and mechanical interaction of occupants and their vehicles. We routinely work with medical/engineering experts to evaluate the biomechanics of an occupant in the collisions we reconstruct.
Human Factors Engineering The interaction of the driver with the vehicle and the driving environment is an important subject area. Human interaction with the control and restraint systems are two examples of human factors consideration in the collision reconstruction.
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