Crash Dummies Simulate Motorcycle Accident

Students in the Accident Reconstruction class at the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy have been learning the real-life scenarios surrounding motorcycle accidents .  By using a test dummy and crashing it into the side of a car, they can look at the damage to understand how the scene would be properly reconstructed.  According to Dale Smith, the Traffic Safety Program Manager, in this news article , “We’re doing the live crash testing so the officers can understand the dynamics of a motorcycle collision and how the occupant can react when he’s involved in a collision.”

Students are taught the specifics of accident reconstruction in this course, including how to calculate the speed of travel and even prepare a court testimony.  Linear momentum, kinetic energy, time and distance are all plugged into comprehensive equations to the details of what happened.  There isn’t always a witness, or surviving occupant, who can recall the event.  Though most of the students predicted the crash test dummy would go over the top of the car during the simulated accident, the dummy actually crashed through the rear, passenger side window.

Since more motorcycle riders are on South Carolina highways than ever before, motorcycle accidents and fatalities are also on the rise.  Therefore, the SC Criminal Justice Academy felt that it was pertinent to train their students on the knowledge and skills necessary to recreate an accident scene.  As a South Carolina personal injury lawyer , expert reconstructionists have played a key role in many of my client’s cases, essentially proving their innocence in the accident.