It happens every minute, a car accident due to speeding. Whether the car accident involves a single car or several cars traveling over the speed limit due to “normal traffic flow,” The results are generally worse than they should have been and it can be directly blamed on speed.

Some of the worst accidents happen when cars turn into traffic, either street traffic or from rural roads onto highways. It is extremely hard to gauge how quickly a vehicle is approaching when you are sitting in a stationary vehicle waiting for a gap in traffic. This is particularly true for large vehicles, as their size may be deceptive. A simple mental miscalculation can cause a catastrophic side impact accident at high speeds that could result in serious personal injuries or wrongful death.

But there are some methods that a person can use to gauge speed before and after a collision. This helps prevent accidents, but it also helps determine who might have been at fault.

Ways of Gauging Speed

The speed of a vehicle can get very complicated as you will see. Most of us don’t remember a ton from algebra class, but there are people who actually found a use for it and applied it to normal life. Thankfully some of them decided to use it to help determine if the person that injured you in a car accident was speeding. Here are some methods to figure out whether someone was speeding before and after the accident.

Sight – You can pretty much tell if someone is speeding in relation to other cars on the road, not-only cars that are going the same direction, but also cars that they are passing.

Counting – You know the acceleration of your individual vehicle, but just because it’s punchy doesn’t mean you should take chances. Count your acceleration to know what a reasonable, non-abrupt merge feels like and then apply it to oncoming traffic. Set a marker up the road and count how long it takes the cars to get to you. If they come sooner than your countdown, then set a marker farther away and do it again. If the car is passing that marker you are reasonably safe from oncoming cars to turn into traffic.

Triangulation – This is the way law enforcement tells precisely how fast something is going. It is very similar to the counting method described above. You took an object and determined the speed of the car in relation to yourself. That’s three points, thus a triangle. Just like law enforcement does with a radar detector or from air surveillance.

Damage – Damage is a good way to determine if a car was exceeding the speed limit, but as the mass of the two cars that hit each other changes, it gets a little more complicated. An SUV can hit a sports car at a reasonable speed and cause considerable damage. The trick is to know the trajectory and the make and model. This is a science best left to professionals, but is usually only applied to determining speed when skid marks aren’t present.

Skid Marks – This is a certain science that has many factors involved such as the type of surface, how many tires are locked creating a friction stopping area, and the vehicle’s mass. Some general details are below.

Types of Skid Marks

A skid mark is a mark on a surface produced by a tire that is not rotating. The physics of a skid mark is complicated, but essentially, they begin darker as the tires use more friction to stop at higher speeds and then the skid mark lightens as the vehicle slows and less friction is required. The three main tire skid marks are acceleration scuffs, deceleration marks and yaw marks.

Acceleration – This is a specific mark that is created as the wheels spin creating enough friction to make the car move from a stationary position. If the drive tires are spinning faster than the vehicle speed, heavy burn marks will be left on the pavement at the initial point of acceleration. These marks have been seen in the middle of a stop skid to indicate many things such as an attempt by the driver to control the car rather than merely apply the brakes, the driver panicked, or they show up often in hit-and-run accidents.

Deceleration – These marks show up when tires are spinning slower than the vehicle because of braking or downshifting. When a vehicle brakes a greater portion of the vehicles weight is transmitted to the outer edges of the front tires. This causes parallel shoulder skid marks to be pronounced. Tire wear and inflation also play a factor in how pronounced the mark of the tire will be on the asphalt.

Imprint – Imprints are tire tracks made in mud, sand, or other soft ground. These occur when a car veers off the road or drives though water or mud and then the tires touch the road, leaving an imprint of the tire on the asphalt.

Yaw – Yaw marks are very common in speeding accidents where people turn their wheel in order to avoid an accident or are already on a curve. What’s left by a tire that is still rolling but is simultaneously sliding laterally. Yaw marks have distinct striations, stripes or streaks induced as the sidewall is dragged over the road. These marks are aligned in the direction of the spin, usually parallel to the car’s axle and they are the most common marks found at scenes of rollover accidents.

Reading Skid Marks At the Scene of a Car Accident

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of factors and situations that can determine speed and stopping power. Vehicle speeds can be determined from a number of variables, including fall distance, vault distance, yaw marks, crush and momentum. If an analysis of vehicle speed is desired, it is recommended that the job be left to a qualified traffic accident reconstructionist, but there are some general rules you can use to determine if perhaps someone was speeding at the time.

How far a car will skid on various road surfaces from different initial speeds –

Washington Auto Accident Lawyers

Car accidents in Washington State have a set of general rules when being investigated depending on their outcome. If there has been a death, the scene is far more scrutinized than if it is a mere fender bender or all occupants walk away from the accident fairly unscathed. This could mean that the police report may lack some essential information needed for a victim to determine fault in the event of a dormant injury or other circumstances that require compensation. In these cases it is essential that the victim has a legal representative that is skilled and experienced in car accident litigation.

If you or someone you know have been injured in a car accident it is imperative that you find legal council that can walk you through the insurance and litigation process. Call the Seattle car accident attorneys at Phillips Webster for a consultation.

Learn More About:

• What to do in a car accident
• Car Accident FAQs
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