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The Largest Crash Reconstruction Conference in the World!

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.

WREX Crash Day - Reconstruction Group Photo

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.

IMG_6725Jason 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.

Kennedy Space Centre

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.

Are you going to WREX2016 ?

WREX 2016

WREX2016 logo

It’s almost 2 weeks until the largest reconstruction conference in the world. WREX, the World Reconstruction Exposition is being held in Orlando, Florida.  You can find the full details at www.wrex2016.com

WREX2016 will be the first World Reconstruction Exposition that has been held since the year 2000. The event is being sponsored by 21 crash associations from the US, Canada, and around the world. WREX 2016 IS the largest training event for crash investigators that has ever been held.

This is a rare event. The next WREX event is not planned until 2025!

I am delighted to say that I have been invited to WREX2016 as one of the guest lecturers.

The subject for my lecture is how speedometers behave during a collision. The lectures are based on eight years of research. The phenomenon of a speedometer and indeed all the gauges within an instrument cluster to apparently lock and freeze at the moment of impact depends on two principle factors. Firstly that the impact must cause the lost of electrical power to the instrument and secondly that the electronic stepper motor used to drive the needle must hold the position of the needle during the shock of the impact.

We have produced a set of criteria to help ensure the principles apply.

As it happens some collisions are excellent at having the right conditions to produce a reliable frozen position while other are quite frankly useless.

It’s the ability to test and determine when to accept or reject the reading that is the subject of the presentations in Florida.

To date the research has produced some excellent results and in 2013 I won an award from the EVU (evuonline.org), the European Association for Accident Research and Analysis for the best research paper.

I am very much looking forward to meeting fellow reconstruction experts from around the world.