In May I was invited to attend the WREX 2016 crash reconstruction conference as a guest speaker.

WREX has now been written into the history books as the largest crash reconstruction conference in the world. Almost 900 crash reconstruction experts from around the world centred on Orlando, Florida for a week of lectures, crash testing, demonstrations and networking.

wrex2016 group

A few of us gathered for a group photo. I am in the front row with the dark blue ‘T’ shirt and baseball cap second from the left!

The second day was dedicated to conducting crash testing. The day saw 15 Full scale crash tests in the grounds of Orlando Airport. Any one of the tests would be considered a spectacular major incident if they occurred in a public environment.

A compilation of some of the crash tests can be seen here.

Never one to miss an opportunity, I managed to recover some speedometers from a couple of crashed motorcycles. The bikes had some interesting readings that will need some more research.

There was also a really interesting crash in which two cars of exactly the same model (there was only one digit difference between chassis numbers) same speeds and same but opposite orientation came together. The resultant impact was spectacularly symmetrical. Even the debris field was a mirror image of the other.

I gave two lectures on how and when to use speedometer readings during the week and was very pleased by the interest shown. This was new technique for many of the reconstruction experts and many of the delegates indicated this was something they would use in future. I also ran an evening poster presentation stand which was a new technique for me but really enjoyed the experience and the chance to talk one to one with delegates.

Jason Vice from the Alabama Highway Patrol and I.

The last day gave me the opportunity to catch a visit the Kennedy Space Centre. What an amazing place and truly inspirational.

The Space Shuttle

The Space Shuttle Atlantis

It was a fantastic week, I learnt lots, made good friends and now have a load of new data to investigate.