The moments immediately following a traffic collision are crucial, and only a well-trained crash investigator knows how to identify and collect the necessary information at the crash scene and to how begin the interpretation of that evidence. Crash investigators must work quickly  to properly preserve significant physical results before the crash scene is altered or evidence disappears.

Based on J. Stannard Baker and Lynn Fricke’s world-renowned text, Traffic Crash Investigation — a copy of which is included in the course tuition —  this course is the bedrock of the Center for Public Safety's Crash Investigation & Reconstruction program and incorporates an in-depth study of the skills needed to systematically investigate a traffic crash. Students learn techniques for obtaining information from witnesses and individuals involved in the crash, recognizing and properly recording roadway and vehicle evidence, measuring and photographing the crash scene, and creating sketches and after-crash diagrams. The course also introduces students to the use of electronic devices (EDR) to collect and record at-scene data. 

Prerequisites: Crash Investigation 1 (On-Ground or Online)  

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At-scene traffic crash data collection is useful only if all appropriate data is properly collected, interpreted, and analyzed. Officers and investigators who successfully complete Crash Investigation 2 develop skills in technically preparing crash investigation data and collecting follow-up data. Building upon topics examined in Crash 1, students delve further into the information available at a crash scene, how to properly collect it, and how to initiate its interpretation. Like Crash Investigation 1, the course is rooted in Baker and Fricke’s Traffic Crash Investigation and emphasizes vehicle behavior in crashes, vehicle damage analysis, advanced measuring and mapping, properly downloading and preserving digital evidence from collision investigations, examining road marks and tire damage, and more.

Recently Added Topics include:

• Technical Report Writing

• Our Crash Data Retrieval Operator course is now included within Crash Investigation 2. Students will complete the course certified to download and preserve event data recorders from vehicles. 

Prerequisites: Crash Investigation 1 & Crash Investigation 2

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This optional sequence course is designed specifically for students who need to learn or review the basic and intermediate mathematics and physics needed for success in Vehicle Dynamics and Traffic Crash Reconstruction 1 & 2. 

Lessons begin with the basics of high school-level math and physics and progress through intermediate concepts. Our course instructors review such fundamentals as perimeter and area, order of operations, angle measurements, and unit conversions before advancing to more complex topics, such as linear and quadratic functions, vectors, and Newton’s Laws of Motion. Participants learn the proper use of equations in order to  solve for velocity, acceleration, and distances of travel. Students’ confidence and abilities are solidified with practice problems.

Prerequisites: Crash Investigation 1 & Crash Investigation; Math & Physics Review for Crash Reconstruction (strongly recommended) 

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Note: Familiarity with high school-level physics algebra, geometry, and trigonometry is needed. We highly recommend Math & Physics Review for Crash Reconstruction for students who have not learned or reviewed these skills in the last 15 years.

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This course introduces students to mathematical formulas and the basic physics used in traffic collision investigation and reconstruction. Instructors present the proper application of physics principles to equations of motion in order to solve for velocity, time, acceleration, and distances of travel. Once these concepts are understood, instruction continues to vehicle braking, drag factors, and coefficients of friction and time-distance analysis.

Prerequisites: Crash Investigation 1 & 2, Vehicle Dynamics 

Note: Familiarity with high school-level physics algebra, geometry, and trigonometry is needed. We highly recommend Math & Physics Review for Crash Reconstruction for students who have not learned or reviewed these skills in the last 15 years.

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Learn the foundations of traffic crash reconstruction! Building on the curriculum taught in the first three courses of this series, students learn to understand the determination of how a crash occurred. Based on Lynn Fricke’s textbook, Traffic Crash Reconstruction, curriculum focuses on analyzing and interpreting information that has been collected at lower levels of investigation in order to describe — in as much detail as possible — the crash and the events leading to impact. Students apply the lessons from daily lectures to real-world case study situations — an instruction format that provides students with the training necessary to reconstruct traffic crashes. After successfully completing this course, students will have the ability to reconstruct crash situations using momentum and mechanics. A copy of Traffic Crash Reconstruction is included in the course tuition.

Prerequisites: Crash Investigation 1 & 2, Vehicle Dynamics, Traffic Crash Reconstruction 1

Note: Familiarity with high school-level physics algebra, geometry, and trigonometry is needed. We highly recommend Math & Physics Review for Crash Reconstruction for students who have not learned or reviewed these skills in the last 15 years.

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The final course in our foundational series is a continuation of the skills and knowledge learned in Reconstruction 1 and is also based on the Traffic Crash Reconstruction textbook. Through a format that  ties  lecture material to hands-on analysis, instructors cover conservation of energy and special velocity calculations for situations involving vehicle falls, flips, and rollovers. Students also learn basic skills for analyzing Event Data Recorder information and applying such data to traditional reconstructions. Our expert instructors provide an introduction to the Monte Carlo Statistical Analysis, and students learn to solve momentum-based collision sequences using spreadsheet analysis. Upon successful completion of this course, students will possess the core skills of traffic collision reconstruction and the ability to reconstruct crash situations using energy and statistical analysis of momentum-based crash reconstructions. This course is a prerequisite for other advanced reconstruction offerings.