First Aid and First Response Equipment
Our unit is fully equipped. The equipment installed includes a first aid medical kit and fire extinquishers, enabling us to assist patients, safeguard accident scenes and ensuring that we are able to assist wherever needed. Safety clothing, weather boots and rain-coats enable us to work under virtually all and any conditions. Road Traffic Cones enable us to assist with the re-direction of traffic at accident scenes. This serves not only to prevent further accidents and to safeguard emergency workers, but also to ensure that members of the public, accident victims and these emergency workers can be protected from passing traffic and thereby focus on their jobs, tasks, losses and interests.
In-car Speed and Dynamic Recording Technology
As a special accident investigation unit, we understand the dangers of using the roads in South Afrcia. We are human, we are fallible and we are sometimes even proud of it. But - when it comes to accidents and the knowledge that we might all face our day in court because of one little mistake or because some other party is trying to exploit a situation, we prefer to be prepared. When we looked for a solution, we knew that accidents most often rest on one of two issues: Human factor or speed. When you have an accident where someone turned in front of you while you had the right of way, they invariably claim that you approached at an unsafe speed. So, in order to ensure that we either know and admit when we are wrong, or prove our innocense, we decided to rely on an independent witness - CarChip. Capable of recording second-by-second vehicle speed, acceleration and deceleration dynamics, CarChip fits most modern vehicles, simply plugs into the vehicle, and records all relevant data. An independent electronic witness. We love CarChip.
In-vehicle Video Recording System
As you will read above, we cannot afford to be involved in accidents. No one can! And we are no different from the next person. We need to protect ourselves. As an accident investigation unit, we are only to aware of the degree of dishonesty people are willing to resort to in the interest of protecting themselves in legal matters. People not only paint only the version most advantageous to their interests, but often even lie blatantly in a desperate effort to protect themselves from liability or, God forbid, to extort undue compensation from the unwary. When it comes to accidents, we know how hard it can be to protect yourself against these dishonest individuals. Be they driven by a reflex attempt to protect themselves or by less honorable intentions, people hardly ever simply admit guilt and pay compensation. They also do not go to jail willingly. We prefer to have a system in place that record four angles at all times: Two out the front, combining into a wide angle coverage of all our driving activities and two facing rearward, showing the actions of those behind us. In short - we prefer to be prepared!
Notebook Computers
How can we even start to refer to the technology we use (digital), if we do not make mention of the technoogy on which all this rests - computers? Our vehiocle is equipped with two Acer Notebook Computers. A Travelmate 2700 Pentium 4, with all the processing power needed for our 3D animation work, and a Travelmate 2300 for all our decumentary work. Both are applied in succession, enabling us to use our GPS routing software, capture video streams, render 3D animations and produce at-scene accident investigation reports - all at the same time. Our notebooks are linked via a network cable, and directly linked to the internet via GPRS, accelerating data sharing and report delivery - even while we are mobile. The mobility these conputer afford us not only enables us to take our work everywhere we go, but also to produce results at the scene of accidents - where they are often needed most. Our analytical software further empowers us through this technology.
Printers, Scanners and Recorders
Our laboratory is so equipped to allow us to immediately scan any documents we need to place on record. The system we use is a Lexmark Z 81. The unit consists of a flat-bed, high resolution scanner, colour high resolution printer and can also act as a photo copier, as needed. Our recording facilities are further enhanced by an MSI external USB Video Capture Capture card, enabling us to record video signals directly to our notebook computers in broadcast quality. For standard recording and backup purposes, our in-vehicle VCR VHS recorded is capable of recording footage for up to twelve hours continually. This anbles us to record our trip to the scene, the complete at-scene investigative process, and anything inbetween. Our quad processor is an Eagle system capable to processing up to four signals into a quad configuration, in colour, and also at high resolution at full frame rates.
PC-linked GPS Unit
Through the kind sponsorship offered by Garmin South Africa, we also use the very effective USB-linked Garmin USB16 GPS system. This system enables us to instantaneously enter practically any desired physical address or location in South Africa, and enjoy voice-directed driving instructions on a per-turn live basis, supported by a detailed graphic map, as we proceed. Further to this the system records eveything from vehicle speed, altitude, lattitude and longitude location, average speed, time en route, (ETA) Estimated Time of Arrival, and total period of inacivity, all to within 2.5m accuracy. The system uses no external power, enabling us to run it at any time, as long as it is conencted to a notebook computer. Since we are using the GPS technology, we can also provide exact GPS locational data for any accident/s we attend. This system is very accurate, highly reliable and extremely user-friendly. We confirm the GPS location of all accidents we investigate.
2-Way Radios
By far the most forgotten and most easily overlooked tool for the accident investigator, a short-range dedicated two-way communication solution enables investigators to communicate immediately, accurately and clearly, without the need to shout across scenes. Often, scenes are spread over as much as one kilometer, necessitating reliable communication between investigators. The position of witnesses, victims, pedestrians and involved parties as well as injury data, evidence referecing and confirmation of party particulars can all be done easily, effectively and accurately. Often, we are at scenes where investigators are seperated. If one comes across a vital piece of evidence, or observes questionable actions of a driver (drunken drivers absconding) this can be quickly, accurately and immediately communicated. The system on the right is competitively priced, has a range of 3Km and works on a dedicated (encoded) frequency. This is a vital tool.
Tyre Pressure Gauges
When we investigate an accident, we prefer to leave nothing to chance. Issues relating to accident investiagtion could include many things, and tyre pressure is an element often overlooked by even the most seasoned investigators. To this effect, we use both passenger car and commercial tyre pressure gauges In court, sometimes years after an accident, the issue surrounding the state of inflation of a tyre can suddenly become relevant. In the absence of pressure readings from each tyre of each involved vehicle, including spare wheels become very relevant very quickly. In the case of tyre pressures, we really have a case of "we would rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it." So, we prefer to inclue this aspect as part of our standard accident inveastigation at all times. We prefer to empower our clients with all the facts - whether these assist them, or not. The fact remains - we record "all the vidence," especially if it COULD later become relevant.
Tread Depth Gauges
When accidents happen, involved parties are most often interested in only one of two things: How right they were, or how wrong the opposing party is. Often, people refer to smooth tyres either reducing their own braking capacity, or affecting the road-holding capability of the other vehicle. When a tread depth measurement is done, we actually measure all grooves (radial grooves), across the tread with, at three location, staring at (or as close as possible to) the valve. This enables us to record a total picture of the state of wear of a particular tyre, while highlighting any flat-spots, bulges, tyre wear irregularities, or wheel alignment problems. The importance and/or relevance of this is often not realized until some time after the accident has taken place - often only when the case gets into court. Road users do not understand the importance of this measurement - especially in wet weather. By and large roadholding capacity is not affected by the state of wear of a tyre on a dry road-surface, but this does matter in wet weather and/or on loose gravel or snow.
Measuring equipment
Probably the most important aspect of accident investigation involves the accurate recording of all relevant elemets of the accident. Therefore, measurements are no less important than any other element of accident investigation. When accurate measurements are not done, or all elements not measured, the most vital aspect of accident investigation and reconstruction is lost. This may include relational distances between vehicles, elevations, displacement, skid mark lengths, impact location evidence and numerous other relevant aspect that may otherwise go unrecorded. Inclinometers, levels, drag sleds and other measuring equipment enables us to record everything everythime. This again shows that we would rather have it and not need it, in stead of needing it and not having it. Road slope and camber affects braking efficiency, road surface properties affect skid distances and acceleration factors, while weather affects visual performance, reaction distance and vehicle dynamics as well.
Other measuring equipment
When profiling accident damage on vehicles, recording trace evidence, determining contact damage height or when recording pedestrian shoe sole evidence, scale becomes very relevant. Where hit and run accidents are investigated, everything needs to be recorded, documented, photographed and measured and scaled. This assists inthe elimination of certain vehicles, such as those with higher or lower bumpers, varying penetration profiles or damage dynamics. In order to properly investigate hit and run accidents, we need to be sure of everything, we need to place scale references against all elements recorded. We cannot make the mistake of locating hte incorrect vehicle, or accusing an innocent person of a crime they did not commit.
Laser Total Stations
When it comes to accurate at-scene accident investigation, the Laser Total Station offers the best in affordability, flexibility, feasibility and accuracy. The device is normally used in the building, project planning and civil engineering fields for measuring the accurate locations of building structures, or for the accurate placing of structures to be built, like bridges. Accurate to within less than a millimetre in teh environment we work in, the device can record up to 10,000 relevant point to a very high degree of accuracy. Each point is measaured as a component of the 3D spatial position of the item or element of evidence measured. The angle, elevation and distance, or the X,Y and Z coordinates are recorded internally in the device. This information can then be imported into any of a number of our software packages, from where we can accurately re-draw the original scene in 3-dimensional space. These measurement are vital to an accurate reconstruction and/or 3-dimensional animation of the original event. This technology is available to our clients on appointment, and we strive to make this available on all accident scenes. Yet, the technology is reserved to those accident scenes where these measurement techniques can be best applied. In less serious cases, requiring only graphic representation of evidence accurately, the previously mentioned measurement technologies suffice.
3D Lasergrammetry Scanning Device
This device is at the absolute cutting edge of technological advancement. The use of this device is reserved exxlusively for those cases involving major losses, very serious fatal accidents, special circumstances and big budgets. Capable of measuring and recording millions of points of evidence in 3-dimensional space to sub-millimeter accuracy in minutes around a full three hundred and sixty degrees, this technology does not come cheaply. It requires special software and computer powerful enough to interpret and project the millions of points of evidencein a socalled "point-cloud" formation. This not only enables us to see every detail, including the leaves on trees, in full 3-dimensional glory, but also to render out to other software technologies, to measure distances and angles between all points and to render highly accurate post-event models of the original environment at any time. This technology is truly the best of the best. Normally limited to the very high-budget industries, such as mining and advanced engineering, this device and the associated technologies are used very sparingly, and is reserved for the most serious cases we investigate, where the dynamics are very complicated, such as serious truck and bus accidents or those involving may cars and a challenging physical environment. We also reserve this technology only on an appointment basis. In short, this technology is only available on request and to those who can truly affort it, or when no other technolgy can work.
Alcohol Breath Measurement Device
People often misunderstand the role of this instrument. the Drager Alcotest 6150 enables investigators to perform two functions. The first, a screen test, enables investigators to determine the presence or absence of alcohol on a particular sample of breath. The full sample test enables investigators to acquire a pre-defined sample of breath with the co-operation of a suspect, which yields a specific blood-alcohol content as a function of alcohol volume present in a pre-determined volume of air exhaled fom the lungs. On its own, this device is not an evidentiary tool. It is used simply to determine reasonable cause or to eliminate suspicion. Without the co-operation of the suspect, the full sample test is not possible, but the screen test can set the stage for the next steps to be taken. Suspects are normally informed that this device is not an evidentiary device, and that refusal to co-operate with the test is not necessarily an escape from arrest, but that a negative result is most likely the case. The device is calibrated every six months.
Mavica CD-1000 Digital Camera
What makes this camera extremely unique is the fact that it writes images directly to mini-disk CD-R CD's. This not only assures that the origial quality remains, but also that the image is embedded permanently on the CD, and therefore able to withstand evidentiary scrutiny. One of the oldest and most well-documented problems with digital photography remains that these can be edited, enhanced or even completely remodelled. Thus, digital imagery remains a technology that is frowned upon by courts globally. Enter the advent of the system we use. not only are we able to produce the ORIGINAL images, as we recoerded them (including date, time, shutter speeds, etc.), but we can also show that the original disk is unaltered, due to the fact that a single disk takes up to 1,200 images for comparison. If we want to edit a disk, we would have to re-produce or edit ALL images on it. This makes our camera very reliable for evidence purposes.
Nighttime Photographic Technology
When we attent accidents at night, we cannot always wait for daylight, lest we keep the scene as-is and hold up all services while we stand around and do nothing while we wait for sunrise. Under less desirable conditions, such as at night-time, we need to ensure that the relevant evidence is recorded without delay. We cannot be delayed, purturbed or challenged by low-light conditions. Under these conditions, we need to resort to nighttime photographic techniques. When photographing under these conditions, onyl using a flash is not adequate. Our cameras need to enable us to photograph with lower shutter speeds, larger apperture settings and with special lighting compensation. In order for us to accurartely represent the accident scene and all the evidence surrounding it, we are often forced to resort to these technologies and techniques. For this, we cannot find a better solution than our Mavica CD-1000 camera featured above. Its ability to give us the best of both worlds: High image fidelity and low shutter speeds, as a digital unit, has all but saved our investigative efforts under challenging conditions.
MACRO Light Bulb Photography
When we attend accident scenes, we need to ensure that all elements of evidence is secured, recorded or measured. One item of evidence that is regularly and easily overlooked is the state of light bulbs - lights on or lights off. When a vehicle is involved in an accident, day or night, and hte issue of lamp on or lamp off becomes an issue, we need to make a record of the physical evidence relating to the case. As an example, a direction indicator bulb might be in use as a car is turning. Another car still runs into the vehicle, and claims that the first driver failed to use the indicators. Now, whether the vehicle's indicators are on or not after the fact, the opposing party can argue that they were not on at the time of the accident. But - by examining the filament of hte involved lamp under large magnification, we will be able to record the state as it related to the accident event. The lamp on the right was clearly on when an accident happened. The bulging took place as an energized filament fell against the glass shell, melting and weakening it.
Microscopic Tachograph Photography
When heavy commercial vehicles are involved in accidents, the issues that are often addressed include driver fatigue, working hours, vehicle overloading, weight (load) shift, maintenance and also speed. If we had a way of looking back in time, in order to see how fast a vehicle was going as or shortly before an accident happened, or for how long a driver drove continuously, our reconstructive efforts would become that much more accurate. Some vehicles are fitted with Tachograph Recording devices. These effectively use a form of pen to draw a graph on a rotating disk, that is a represenation of elements liek time, engine RPM, braking action, etc. By being able to photograph tachograph disk in a very high resolution at great magnification, we would be able to reconstruct the speed, time and distance elements of the accident very accurately, as long as there is a scale of reference. In the case of Tachograph disks, there are defined paramenters and scales, simplifying this analysis to the point of simple understanding. This service then enables us to produce very accurate reconstructive reports with relation to accidents after all evidence have been moved, removed, repaired or lost. These disks effectively record the activities of a driver for post-event anlysis up to years after an accident. They do not only enable us to reconstruct accidents, but also to understand them.
At-scene video recording
In some cases - more often than would be expected - we arrive at accidents scenes very early on. Sometimes even before medical emergency services. Yet, in those cases where this is possible, we endeavor to make a video recording of all road accident activities and processes. One of the elements of evidence regarding an accident is the process of extrication (cutting out of patients) by emergency services, and the damage this may or does do to vehicles and evidence. Although we fully understand the need for these processes to take place in the interest of the medical care of the involved patient, we prefer to be able to make a record of these changes and processes from a distance, without interference. Video camera technology makes this possible. Second to this, the nature of entrapment and injury of a patient can actually form part of vital evidence - especially as this relates to confirmation of injuries, the seriousness of the entrapment or the time taken to extricate. All these may be vital in the supporting evidence that forms part of an RAF claim. We prefer to have it and not need than to need it and not have it.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)
Considering the complexity of some accident scenes and the possibility of contamination and exposure at toxic or hazardous spill scenes, the ideal scenario for us would be to watch from a safe distance, while still having the assurance of being at a safe distance. In these very special instances, we would like to view the whole accident scene form the air, while not having to accumulate the extreme costs and dangers of hiring an aircraft. To thsi effect, we have recently acquired a Radio Controlled Light Aircraft, fitted with a top-down high resolution colour CCD camera and a transmitter. The UAV (since it is unmanned) operates on electrical power, eliminating the need for field maintanance and constant repairs, while the camera and a transmitter could easily be powered on-board. To this effect, the transmitter fitted to the aircraft would enable us to transmit the video signal form the camera back to our forensic laboratory for the purpose of receiving live video footage of the scene, from above, while recording it. This footage can then be applied to show the extend of the accident, the area of a contamination or spill and the route followed by a vehicle, or even the final resting position of a vehicle in a precarious position after falling over a cliff or edge. The technology allows us to transmit this signal reliably from up to 1Km away from our laboratory.