mapscenes TESTIMONIALS

As a member of the Ohio State Highway Patrol crash reconstruction team since 1989, I have been a Mapscenes user for a number of years. The switch from AutoSketch to the original Mapscenes program was a big step for us, but we made the decision to move to a true forensic mapping program and have never looked back.  The customer support we received from MicroSurvey was tremendous.  A few years later the upgrade to 3D with MapscenesPro gave us the ability to work with roadway profiles and expand our capability of explaining sight distance and view obstruction issues.  Today our ten recon teams are equipped with Leica total stations with TDS Recon data collectors running Evidence Recorder 2.

I especially would like to thank the MapScenes Team for their always being available to answer technical questions and guidance when using a new feature.  Their constant interaction with the “cops on the street” has allowed them to see our needs and has brought about the added features and upgrades that we are seeing with the new release of Mapscenes PRO 2006 and Evidence Recorder 3.

Sergeant Charles Veppert
Ohio State Highway Patrol

"I wanted to share with you and your company how much we have appreciated your MapScenes Pro and Evidence Recorder Pro software.  We initially used another mapping software from Canada that worked fine until we started working with elevations, grades, vertical points, and other 3D applications. 

MapScenes Pro allowed us to draw lines, add text, and actually work in a 3D environment, rather than work in a 2D environment and merely view the drawing in 3D later. We have diagrammed both collision scenes and crime scenes and continue to be impressed with how professional and accurate our drawings are. 

Your Evidence Recorder Pro software and Microsurvey Tracker have caught the attention of our City’s licensed surveyors who work with date collector software that isn’t near as user friendly. When we were first getting comfortable with forensic mapping using a total station, Evidence Recorder Pro made our lives a lot easier. 

I also wanted to thank you for standing behind your product and keeping the user in mind when making improvements."

Sgt. Scott Eastman,
Collision Reconstructionist
Lacey Police Department
Lacey, WA

"We had been using AutoSketch for years before switching to MapScenes.
The features I like are the ease of downloading your data collector and the profiles that can be created.
Out here we have a lot of impaired drivers who drive at the speed of sound, hit the ditch and launch over a drive.
The profile component within MapScenes takes the guess work out of a speed from vault study."

Trp Jeff Westrum,
SP141
Crash Recon
Minnesota State Patrol

"Our crash reconstruction teams have been using Map Scenes software for several years now. In 2003 we began using the Evidence Recorder Pro software with our total stations. The Pro System programs have provided us with the perfect software combination to fulfill all of our forensic mapping needs from the crash scene to the courtroom. The Evidence Recorder Pro software has helped us speed up the mapping process and reduce the amount of time that we have a roadway closed. Evidence Recorder Pro has also helped to lessen the learning curve for new personnel assigned to our unit, and helps to instill confidence in the forensic mapping system by letting the instrument operator see the map being built shot by shot in the field through real time mapping in both 2-D and 3-D views. No more wondering if you shot everything that you needed or if everything turned out okay until you process the job at the office.

The software is capable of doing so many cool things that there are too many to mention. One of the neatest features that I have found with the Pro software is working with my scene maps in 3-D. The 3-D capabilities of the Pro software provide us with an opportunity to provide a fair and accurate representation of the crash scene like never before. Being able to show the profile of a roadway to analyze and demonstrate certain aspects of the crash events including, lines of sight, view obstructions, change of elevation, etc. is a relatively simple process and has become a valuable part of our investigations. Building and viewing 3-D symbols or models of the actual vehicles involved in a crash can be done simply and accurately. By taking a laptop computer and projector to court we can take everyone in the courtroom on a virtual trip to the scene without ever leaving the building.

Walter W. Johnson
Police Officer / Accident Reconstructionist
Kansas City Police Department
Kansas City, Missouri

"With the use of MapScenes, our diagrams are neater and easier to understand.  The ability to change the view to a different perspective has also been a benefit on several occasions.  In conjunction with the total station, we spend less time in the roadway and less time shutting down traffic. "

Det. Richard Konieczka
Bradenton Police Dept./Crime Scene Unit
Bradenton, Florida

"With the software we were using before you would never know it if you shot it right. With Evidence Recorder we can draw the scene, see the drawing in its entirety and see if there's any points missing. It has really streamlined our process...With Evidence Recorder it's so much easier just to connect the dots."

"Technology has allowed us to save man hours in our investigative process from actual scene mapping to recreating it on the computer through the drawing program. We use Evidence Recorder because we know we'll go into court with all our i's dotted and our t's crossed. The equipment has allowed us to create accurate, professional drawings and the way the pieces come together - the facts draw the conclusion."

Sergeant Paul Gonsalves
Santa Ana Traffic Division

"We love this program. With MapScenes our Accident Investigation Team
diagrams look much more professional than they ever have in the past. "

Detective Keith Huskisson
Lake Havasu City Police Department
Lake Havasu City, Arizona

Thank you for your help…besides the fact that MapScenes is such a great product, what really has made me an advocate of MicroSurvey is your personalized and efficient customer support. That to me, with any product, is priceless.

Dave Rander
Precision Mapping & Research

This program is simply amazing. The reconstruction coordinator bought this system and had five troopers go to training on it. The training was given by Mike Capman, who did an outstanding job. He even worked with me after hours at our hotel to ensure I understood all of it. The program we had before was obsolete and only a handful of people could operate it. This program is very easy to understand and operate. It is easy to show others in my department how it works and it is exciting to see their enthusiasm when they see that they CAN operate it.

I've had just a few problems with the equipment, which includes the Leica total station, Evidence Recorder and the Mapscenes program. Almost all of these problems were due to something I forgot to enter or didn't know I needed to input. Thankfully Lisa, Shannon, Glen, Jason and Mark (MapScenes Service staff) have kept me on track. I have the only system like this in the state and it is being looked at very closely to see if it is worth getting more sets. So far the Command staff is very impressed with what I've been able to produce.

This program allows you to spend less time actually producing a scaled diagram and take measurements faster while on scene, which in turn makes it safer for the officer who is standing in the roadway with the prism pole. By the way, the reflectorless mode and the laser pointer which are new for us are fantastic. Thankyou for making a program that is so user-friendly.

Trooper Faron Main
Nevada Highway Patrol

Ten of us just received training on MapScenes. About half of the group are Crime Scene forensic mappers and the rest of us Motor Vehicle Crash forensic mappers.

I'll admit that after using Auto-Sketch for the last ten years, I was nervous about switching to a completely different system. Not now. In just two days of instruction and practice, I feel comfortable with the system.

We may have only switched to be compatible with our State Patrol, but I can clearly see the advantages of the system already.

Sgt. Brian Fragodt
Patrol Division / K9 Unit / Accident Reconstruction Unit
Brooklyn Park, Minnesota

Processing the information and generating line work is easy with MapScenes software. The software is a single package where I don’t have to process the information in one program, save it as a DXF file and then open it in a second program...

With the software having 3D capabilities, if you collect enough information you can draw a 3D roadway and evaluate what the driver is capable of seeing when he/she is coming into the crash situation…

With Total Station mapping, you can collect the evidence at the scene of a crash in a matter of a few hours, and have the evidence downloaded onto your computer and processed in a matter of a few minutes. To document the same amount of evidence with as much detail using measuring tapes and a notebook, and then hand drawing the information would take several days and you would still not have the same level of accuracy.”

Doug Barlet, PEng
Kansas State Accident Reconstructionist