RTC VISUALISATION
KNC Forensics offer forensic Accident Investigation services to Legal services, Corporate Insurance and Private clients.
Spearhead Interactive were commissioned by KNC Forensics on behalf of prosecution and defence solicitors to create and deliver a PC and Virtual Reality reconstruction of a fatal road-traffic collision for a case that had been ongoing for three years at a cost of £7,000,000.00.
Developed over just four weeks, within two weeks of submission the case moved to settlement proceedings and the following civil claim was concluded smoothly and speedily.
ARTICULATED LORRY
Virtually fully loaded with aviation fuel - ~19,000 litres.
Making a routine trip from a refinery to Aberdeen Airport.
CASE BACKGROUND
DELIVERY VAN
Making a local grocery delivery but had turned into a small housing estate by accident.
Turned back onto the main road.
Becomes aware they need to turn into a driveway of a small cottage.
Slows down looking for the address.
VAN DRIVER
Faced with a slow-moving vehicle, potentially slowing down to stop, the lorry driver decides to overtake.
LORRY DRIVER
As the lorry passes the off-side of the van, the delivery driver swings in, cutting across the opposing carriage-way, causing a minor collision.
MINOR COLLISION
DELIVERY VAN
The impact spun the van anti-clockwise in the carriageway. The driver was shaken but unhurt.
ARTICULATED LORRY
The lorry careered off the side of the carriageway into a ditch. Destroyed a large distance of hedging before ploughing into a substantial ballast driveway.
RESULTS
THE IMPACT
The impact removed the top of the cab and caused ultimately fatal injuries to the driver. The load detached, with the tanker rolling onto its side.
CONCEQUENCES
The homeowner had recently cut down trees on their property. A stump punctured the outer casing of the tanker.
ULTIMATE RESULTS
The tanker spilled out aviation fuel into the local garden and the watercourse.
ACCURATE ENVIRONMENTAL DATA
Information on environmental elements such as weather, sun position, wind speed and wind direction were requested and supplied by the UK MET Office to allow us to ensure an accurate representation of the sequence of events.
KEY FEATURES
ACCURATE VEHICLE ANIMATION
Through the use of tachograph data taken from the vehicles, alongside accompanying forensic reports and photographs, we were able to accurately replicate the speed and direction of travel for both vehicles.
PC & VIRTUAL REALITY VERSIONS
In order to facilitate discussions by multiple individuals around a single screen, a PC version of the software was created; with a Virtual Reality version enabling a deeper sense of immersion to assess or test any assumptions.
CONVERTED LASER SCAN DATA
NAVIGATION & ANIMATION CONTROLS
DRIVER POSITION VIEWPOINTS
The 3D environment was created through the conversion of existing point cloud data, captured by police using laser scanners.
Using this data we could ensure that the scene was as accurate as possible.
Selecting a driver position viewpoint puts the user in the selected vehicle. Rear-view mirrors are functional and can be used to further inform findings on cause and liability.
Understanding the case involved a fatality makes this functionality incredibly poignant.
WITNESS POSITION VIEWPOINTS
Users are able to navigate freely around the environment and have full control over the animation; with play, pause, rewind, fast-forward and slow motion functionality.
A birds eye viewpoint and multiple camera positions are also accessible to interrogate what happened from any angle.
Selecting the witness position viewpoint allows, for the very first time, the ability to validate or invalidate a statement based on what the witness was able to see.
This is particularly prudent for cases where an extended period of time has passed since the event.
SWIFT RESOLUTION:
Despite being prepared to go to court, a settlement for damages of between £11-13m / €9.4-11.1m was reached, based predominantly on the reconstruction.
OUTCOMES
POSITIVE RECEPTION:
The Judge reacted positively to the visualisation, and it is believed he would have liked to have seen the evidence in the courtroom.
TRANSFORMED PROCEEDINGS:
Prior to our involvement the case had been ongoing for three years at an estimated £7m / €8.2m cost. Settlement proceedings began within two weeks of submission.
CRIMINAL CASE:
Investigators involved in the civil case believe the outcome in the criminal case might have been different had our visualisation been available.
ULTIMATE GOAL ACHIEVED:
The objective was to bring clarity to the whole enquiry so that all parties could see and understand the incident, reducing time and overall costs.
Spearhead Interactive were commissioned by solicitors and accident investigators to create a court-room visualisation replicating a fatal road-traffic collision (RTC) in Scotland to assess the situation and use the tool to determine fault.
Initially a Civil case between the road tanker owners and a supermarket chain, a separate case was raised by family members of the deceased driver. Once their Lawyers were aware of the visualisation, they immediately gave instructions for our involvement and use of the presentation.
The result when disclosed to Court brought about a very quick resolution of the Case and financial settlement to the parties involved. Prior to involvement, the Civil case had been ongoing for three years, at an estimated £7m / €8.2m cost.
Our visualisation utilised:
High quality 3D environment from GIS data and referenced against police surveys
Vehicles animated using tachograph data supplied by lead investigator
In-world tools to play, pause, rewind, fast forward or slow down the animations
MET office data used to attain sun position, wind speed, weather conditions
Real-time rear view mirror reflections
Free roaming, birds-eye, both vehicle and witness viewpoint selection
Headlights on / off functionality
Two platforms – PC standalone and Virtual Reality
Testimonial:
“The presentation of evidence to an Enquiry or Court can often be a challenge; in particular when discussing complex evidence to Judges, Jury members and Legal representatives who clearly have a grasp of the topic, but can often feel confused with very technical evidence.
I couldn’t have anticipated the quality of the end product produced in collaboration. I am certain that the production was wholly responsible for a very quick resolution of a very difficult enquiry.”
— Kevin Taylor, KNC Forensics
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