By: Kristopher J. Seluga, PE
Tel: (203) 329-9909
Email: Technology Associates
Motor vehicle seatbelt use provides highly effective protection in frontal collisions for impact angles up to 30 degrees off-center (i.e. between 11 and 1 o'clock). All states have laws requiring their use for front seat passengers, as they have been shown to reduce moderate to severe injuries by 50%. They are less effective when your car is hit in the rear or side and sometimes their locking devices malfunction or the anchorage gives way. For children, seatbelts should always be used in conjunction with rear facing infant seats (for infants up to 22 lbs), child seats (for ages 1 to 4, weighing up to 40 lbs) and booster seats for children between 4 and 8 (up to 80 lbs). Back seat placement is required for children in cars equipped with airbags.
We have extensive experience with many seatbelt issues including:
Through scientific analysis, we can help you answer pertinent questions such as:
Rear seated belted passenger fatality:
A woman fell asleep at the wheel and drove her car off the road killing one rear seated young son and seriously injuring a second. By examining the seatbelt ribbon, we detected long abrasion marks that indicated that the seatbelt worn by the deceased malfunctioned. The parent's attorney was able to settle the case easily after disclosing our report to the automobile manufacturer.
Pickup truck rollover:
A pickup truck's brakes failed to hold, causing the driver to swerve to avoid striking cars stopped ahead of him. Two unbelted passengers in the front seat were thrown from the pickup as it rolled, causing a woman to receive a life-long brain injury. We helped the defendant show that the injuries occurred only after the woman left the vehicle, prompting a greatly reduced settlement.
Kristopher J. Seluga, PE, is a Mechanical Engineering, Accident Reconstruction, Biomechanics, and Safety Expert with over 20 years of experience. He received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the Mechanical Engineering department at MIT where he worked on the development of novel three-dimensional printing technologies. Mr. Seluga is also a licensed Professional Engineer in New York and Connecticut, and has served as a member of the ANSI engineering committee for the Z130.1 and Z135 standards for golf cars and PTV's. His research interests and peer reviewed publications span the topics of Motor Vehicle Dynamics, Product Safety, and Biomechanics.
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Forensic Engineering Experts: Electric Shock
Electric power and electronic appliances are so integrated with modern life that there is a high degree of likelihood that everyone will receive one or more electric shocks in a lifetime. In many cases, only trivial power levels are involved.
7/17/2018· Accident Investigation & Reconstruction
Event Data Recorders and Collision Investigation
By: Al Duncan
Event Data Recorders (EDRs) were first introduced by General Motors (GM) in 1974. That data was only available to GM; however, since 1994 more and more vehicle EDR’s have recorded data that can be gathered. The data captured can be imaged and is being used by vehicle manufacturers, law enforcement officers, and collision reconstructionists to better understand what is happening in a collision. In accident investigation, EDRs have the potential to provide independent measurements of crash data that would elsewise be estimated by reconstruction methodology.
9/6/2017· Accident Investigation & Reconstruction
Case Study: Retained by Plaintiff Injured Motorist
By: Richard Beaubien
A motorist exiting a rural freeway was struck by a motorist on the intersecting State Route at the top of the exit ramp. At the westbound exit ramp from the Interstate freeway the State Route a stop sign is posted at the end of the ramp requiring exiting traffic to stop before entering the State Route. However, the eastbound off ramp traffic is not required to stop before entering the State Route. A stop sign is posted on southbound State Route at the ramp terminal. This is an unusual traffic signing pattern for interstate off ramps. Expert observations of the operation of this intersection showed that a large proportion of the eastbound off ramp traffic slowed down at the end of the ramp, expecting to stop at the State Route.
