A clinical-type In-depth Accident Study was carried out in France over the last few years, and made possible the development of methodologies used to collect, reconstruct and analyze accident sequences. The aim of this kind of study is to provide a better understanding of the accident-causing mechanisms, from an active safety standpoint. Data are collected in real time on the site of the accident by a highly qualified team. The kinematic reconstruction is a prerequisite for the analysis which tends to define the accident causal logic. The aim of this work is to provide the most accurate scenario of the successive events and to calculate the kinematic parameters for each vehicle (position, speed, acceleration). Our methodology tries to take advantage of all the available information, to ensure the overall coherence in the best possible way. A concrete case is presented to illustrate this reconstruction methodology and its possible uses, which can easily be included in the definition process of driving aids integrated in the DRIVE and PROMETHEUS programmes.
Abstract