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With ABS-equipped motorcycles becoming more pervasive, it is critical for collision reconstructionists to have a firm understanding of what evidence may be generated during aggressive braking events performed with these braking systems. To develop a better understanding, thirty-one instrumented braking tests were performed and are reported in this study. Three different surfaces using three current ABS-equipped motorcycles were used to study the residual visible roadway and tire evidence resulting from hard braking events involving front-only, rear-only, and maximum effort braking maneuvers. Data from these tests were analyzed to determine the resultant deceleration, which serves to add updated data to the current body of knowledge. The majority of braking tests did not generate visible roadway evidence. Specifically, conventional public roadway surfaces exhibited no evidence of braking until the motorcycles reached very low speeds.

Recent Tesla models contain four integrated onboard cameras that serve the Autopilot and Self-Driving Capabilities of the vehicle and act as a dashcam by recording footage to a local USB drive. The purpose of this study is to analyze the footage recorded by the integrated cameras and determine its suitability for speed determinations of both the host vehicle and surrounding vehicles through photogrammetry analyses. The front and rear cameras of the test vehicle (2019 Tesla Model 3) were calibrated for focal length and lens distortion characteristics. Two types of tests were performed to determine host vehicle speed: constant-speed and acceleration. Several frames from each test were analyzed. The distance between camera locations was used to gather vehicle speed through a time distance analysis. These speeds were compared to those gathered via the onboard GPS instrumentation.

Eleven instrumented crash tests were performed as part of the 2016 World Reconstruction Exposition (WREX2016), using seven Harley-Davidson motorcycles and three automobiles. For all tests, the automobile was stationary while the motorcycle was delivered into the vehicle, while upright with tires rolling, at varying speeds. Seven tests were performed at speeds between 30 and 46 mph while four low-speed tests were performed to establish the onset of permanent motorcycle deformation. Data from these tests, and other published testing, was analyzed using available models to determine their accuracy when predicting the impact speed of Harley-Davidson motorcycles. The most accurate model was the Modified Eubanks set of equations introduced in 2009, producing errors with an average of 0.4 mph and a standard deviation (SD) of 4.8 mph.

Three targeted vehicles of varying size were measured using an optimized, practical photogrammetry technique and the results were compared to measurements acquired via total station. The photogrammetry method included the use of a field-calibrated DSLR camera equipped with a fixed 20 mm lens, retroreflective targets sized for vehicular modeling, and a CNC-machined scale bar. Eight photographs were taken from proper angles and processed using a commercially available photogrammetry package. This data was merged with the total station data using a cloud-to-cloud registration process for point-to-point comparison of positional data. The average residual between corresponding photogrammetry and total station points was 1.7 mm (N = 258, SD = 0.8 mm) with a 95% confidence limit of 3.1 mm. Considering this low residual, one of the sample vehicles was re-measured using a high accuracy FaroArm for comparison to the photogrammetry technique.