Insights
Reconstruction of a motorcycle crash may involve detailed examination of physical evidence on the roadway, damage and scratch patterns on the motorcycle, and the condition of the tires, gears, controls, and other components. Our motorcycle testing consultants have decades of reconstruction experience on all styles and classes of motorcycles and demonstrate their expertise through the following peer-reviewed, scientific publications and award-winning book, “Motorcycle Accident Reconstruction” [2018], published through the Society of Automotive Engineers.
A three-wheeled vehicle has handling and stability characteristics that differ both from two-wheeled motorcycles and from four-wheeled vehicles. The data reported in this paper will enable accident reconstructionists to consider these different characteristics when analyzing a three-wheeled motorcycle operator’s ability to brake or swerve to avoid a crash.
The forward lighting systems on a motorcycle differ from the forward lighting systems on passenger cars, trucks, and tractor trailers. The beam pattern, and as a result, visibility provided by the headlamps on a motorcycle are unique for motorized vehicles. The research in this paper measures the headlamp beam patterns of nine motorcycle headlamps and shows that the headlamps can have a large difference in the beam pattern and performance between motorcycles.
In a recent National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) report, about one out of every 7 fatalities on the road involved a motorcycle. This book by our motorcycle accident reconstruction experts, which earned a Silver Medal, 32nd Annual IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award in Professional and Technical book series, May 2020, provides a unique roadmap for the motorcycle accident reconstructionist to learn how to analyze physical evidence, understand what it means, and how to incorporate math and physics into an investigation.
This paper investigates the dynamics of four motorcycle crashes that occurred on or near a curve on a section of the Mulholland Highway called “The Snake.” This section of highway is located in the Santa Monica Mountains of California. All four accidents were captured on video and they each involved a high-side fall of the motorcycle and rider. This paper reports a technical description and analysis of these videos in which the motion of the motorcycles and riders is quantified.
Several sources report simple equations for calculating the lean angle required for a motorcycle and rider to traverse a curved path at a particular speed. These equations utilize several assumptions. This paper looks at physical testing that the authors conducted with motorcycles traversing curved paths to examine the net effect of these assumptions on the accuracy of the basic formulas for motorcycle lean angle. Our experts conclude that the basic lean angle formulas consistently underestimate the lean angle of the motorcycle as it traverses a particular curved path.
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How FEA can help find design errors, identify effects of abnormal operating conditions, and determine how cracking and corrosion can contribute to failure....
An overview of key components that come into play when handling contaminated or damaged property following a wildfire and smoke intrusion....