This synthesis will be of interest to state department of transportation (DOT) personnel, as well as to others who work with them in the area of crash reconstruction activities. The report documents the extent of crash reconstruction undertaken by state DOTs and the level of expertise available to perform the tasks. Additionally, the scope of work includes to what extent crash reconstructions are used by state DOTs to improve highway safety. The scope was limited, specifically, by the topic panel to focus on crash reconstruction conducted by DOTs (and not by law enforcement personnel, which is much more common), feedback provided, and mitigation actions taken to determine the use of DOT personnel or contractors when doing routine crash reconstructions, because this information is unknown. The scope also does not include the broad topic of procedures used to conduct detailed crash reconstruction. This TRB synthesis contains information gathered from 43 states, supplemented by material collected as part of a literature review process. Although a substantial amount of literature addresses the general area of crash reconstruction and tort liability, and the management of risk related to transportation systems and facilities, little appears to address the uses and benefits of crash reconstruction by state DOTs. The level of involvement in crash reconstruction of state DOTs, as noted in the 43 responses to the synthesis survey, was determined to be relatively minor. (Author/publisher) This report may be accessed by Internet users at http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/nchrp/nchrp_syn_369.pdf
Abstract