Can anyone estimate the speed of a vehicle in a car accident without skid marks?

AI Thread Summary
Estimating the speed of a vehicle in a car accident without skid marks is complex, particularly when considering factors like vehicle weight and collision angles. The accident involved a vehicle being hit at a 90-degree angle, resulting in a significant displacement without brake application, suggesting potential speeding. Legal responsibility often falls on the driver backing out, especially in private property incidents, which complicates claims. Consulting with an attorney is advised to assess the viability of pursuing legal action, as insurance companies typically handle claims and may determine fault. Accident reconstruction requires detailed analysis, making online estimates unreliable.
lydon_will
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
So I know that a few of these questions have been posted previously but I also understand that each circumstance is different in regards to each aspect so I figured I would post the question and see if anyone can assist me at all. Whether it be out of the goodness of your heart or in exchange for some type of info that I may have I don't mind. But anyways...

I was involved in a car accident in my office parking lot. I was backing out of my spot and was hit right behind my rear wheel at a 90 degree angle and pushed 79.5 inches (from the rubber marks from my vehicle) with my car coming to a stop at roughly a 150 degree angle and hers remaining at the same angle of collision which was a 90 degree impact.

My vehicle has an approximate weight of 3,439 lbs and the other drivers vehicle weighs roughly 4,425 lbs according to specs. My car did not move completely straight obviously, it followed a curve similar to that of a clock (assuming main pivot point is the front of my vehicle) The other vehicle left no skid marks as she did not even apply her brakes. Is there any formula that can be used to estimate her vehicles speed assuming that we don't include the lost energy due to my rear quarter caving in (her vehicle had nearly no damage). If there are multiple formulas does anybody know which one would be best?

Thank you in advance for any help you may have. I am primarily trying to figure out whether it will be something that I should hire a legit accident investigator for. Thank you again!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Physics news on Phys.org
If your state law on this type of event is the same as Texas law, if this occurred on a public road you would be charged with the accident regardless of her speed because the driver of a car backing or entering into a thoroughfare is responsible regardless of other factors unless the other driver can be shown to have intentionally not acted to avoid the accident.

As a result, this precedent is likely to preside in any civil action you might seek for your accident that occurred on private property. Your best first move is to consult with a reliable attorney to get that attorney's opinion on the viability of your position.
 
It was in a parking lot so in Massachusetts police do not take a report on it (that is what the officer said). Insurance is most likely going to claim 50/50. I am preparing to fight it regardless as the woman was clearly speeding and not even paying attention/didn't even apply her brakes, etc. All vehicles I believe have a computer monitoring process that can give me her speed prior to the accident regardless it is just a matter of getting an order for her to release the results. As of now I am just trying to see if anyone knows what formula I would use to see if her speed is going to be worth hiring an attorney/accident investigator/etc
 
First, let me state that I am not an attorney and all of my statements are based on my past experiences.
In one incident where a woman backed out into the side of my passing car in our apartment parking lot, her insurance immediately paid the full amount of my claim with no questions asked.
Once a file is claimed, any legal action in resolving the claim is generally fully taken over by the insurance company. As long as you have not signed any waivers during this process then you may be able to file a civil suit; but, you should review this with your insurance company to see what their position is on this issue before spending any money pursuing possible legal actions of your own.
Also, you need to balance your actual insurance claim costs against all of the costs associated with investigating and pursuing your legal actions, keeping in mind, that unless you can show some associated significant physical injury there is most likely no attorney that will take your case on a contingency basis, so if you don't get a favorable verdict that includes all attorney fees and court costs you will stuck with all of those.
I understand that you frustrated by what has happened but it is best not to file a suit based upon revenge when the ultimate financial consequences are not guaranteed to be in your favor.
 
Accident reconstruction is far too involved to base any kind of statement on a description in an anonymous internet forum. Any response would at best be an unreliable guess. Thread closed.
 
The rope is tied into the person (the load of 200 pounds) and the rope goes up from the person to a fixed pulley and back down to his hands. He hauls the rope to suspend himself in the air. What is the mechanical advantage of the system? The person will indeed only have to lift half of his body weight (roughly 100 pounds) because he now lessened the load by that same amount. This APPEARS to be a 2:1 because he can hold himself with half the force, but my question is: is that mechanical...
Hello everyone, Consider the problem in which a car is told to travel at 30 km/h for L kilometers and then at 60 km/h for another L kilometers. Next, you are asked to determine the average speed. My question is: although we know that the average speed in this case is the harmonic mean of the two speeds, is it also possible to state that the average speed over this 2L-kilometer stretch can be obtained as a weighted average of the two speeds? Best regards, DaTario
Some physics textbook writer told me that Newton's first law applies only on bodies that feel no interactions at all. He said that if a body is on rest or moves in constant velocity, there is no external force acting on it. But I have heard another form of the law that says the net force acting on a body must be zero. This means there is interactions involved after all. So which one is correct?

Similar threads

Replies
4
Views
2K
Replies
3
Views
6K
Replies
5
Views
83K
Replies
1
Views
3K
Replies
4
Views
2K
Replies
1
Views
2K
Replies
2
Views
2K
Back
Top