Bicycle Collision On Municipal Trail Injures Senior Citizen

Case Overview

This case involves a cyclist who was riding on a municipal bike and pedestrian trail in Utah. The cyclist came upon a group of 15 senior citizens who were leisurely walking on the trail coming from the opposite direction. The group of senior citizens was allegedly taking up a significant portion of the trail. The cyclist was traveling at a high speed and was unable to pivot out of the way or break before colliding with one of the senior citizens. The collision caused the senior citizen to fall and suffer a broken hip and the cyclist to suffer a broken arm. An accident reconstructionist with experience reconstructing bicycle accidents was sought to review the claims of both parties.

Questions to the Accident Reconstruction expert and their responses

Please explain your experience reconstructing bicycle accidents.

I am a certified accident reconstructionist and have reviewed several bicycle accidents in the past, most of which involved a bicycle and car collision. To reconstruct an accident you must obtain physical evidence of the impact location, speed that the bicycle and or car was traveling and how far the bicycle and or car traveled after impact.

What is your experience evaluating factors such as cyclists' line of sight, sight distance, width of trail, etc?

I have had to determine the sight distance of bicyclists many times before. This is done by investigating the scene and considering the environment that the accident occurred in, including weather conditions, elevation changes, the width of the trail, etc. AASHTO (the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials) defines what stopping sight distance is, and there is other literature that discusses sight distance and typical bicycle speeds. These publications and standards combined with an investigation of the scene would be used to opine on the sight distance of the bicyclists.

About the expert

This expert has over 20 years of experience in the field of mechanical engineering. He earned his BS in mechanical engineering from the University of Iowa, followed by his MS and his PhD in mechanical engineering from Iowa State University. Today, he is a licensed professional engineer in the state of Iowa and is a certified accident reconstructionist and fire and explosion investigator. He is a member of several professional associations including the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the National Association of Fire Investigators, and the Society of Automotive Engineers. This expert started his career as a research and design engineer at General Motors where he designed and tested suspension control systems for new vehicle product developments. He then spent 12 years at UGS Corporation at which point he was involved with developing and managing 3-D computer animations used to simulate vehicle collisions and other mechanical systems. Currently, he serves as an engineer at a forensic consultancy in Iowa where he conducts failure analysis and accident reconstruction involving industrial and consumer products.

E-169560

Specialties:

Accident Reconstruction