Step by Step Accident Reconstruction Shown in Movie

With the help of a local police force, a little humour and some movie magic, MapScenes® captured an almost-real accident reconstruction on film. We see a bicyclist enter a roadway and get struck by a truck. We watch police measure the scene using state of the art equipment, and we are taken through the stages until the final proof. Besides, it's just plain interesting to watch!

Doug Barlet Maps Many Major Crash and Crime Scenes in the Midwest

Doug Barlet is a professional in big demand in the Midwest. As a law enforcement officer and Accident Reconstructionist in Kansas, as well as a professional engineer, his services are needed not only by his law enforcement agency, but by private companies seeking professional reconstruction services. He has become an expert at crash scene reconstruction and forensic mapping of crash and crime scenes.

Doug maps serious traffic accidents, homicides, arsons, explosions and even aircraft crashes in Midwest US using a SOKKIA total station and MapScenes Pro software.

“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," says Doug.

In a recent traffic accident that Doug mapped, a commercial vehicle was coming into an intersection, and another vehicle was coming down the hill towards the intersection. There was an embankment between them. MapScenes was used to show how the topography affected each vehicle's ability to detect the other vehicle in relation to time as they approached the intersection.

"The Total Station was used to map the elevation and position of the embankment and roadway geometry. MapScenes was invaluable in visualizing the elevation. Adding a time and distance position analysis to the map with this software is a breeze," says Doug.

“Anytime you need to look at something in 3-D or consider elevation, MapScenes has the advantage over 2-D software because it considers 3-D information," says Doug.

In several homicide cases Doug has been called on to map, he sets up a total station outside the residence or other location. He normally shoots the exterior of the residence, surrounding structures, vehicles and other evidence and then relocates to the opposite side of the house, measuring the whole house, sidewalks, and surrounding buildings. He will shoot through a door or window to transition to the inside of the structure, mapping walls, furniture, blood spots, and other physical evidence as needed. "It’s a time-consuming but accurate way to document evidence," says Doug.

Thanks to professionals like Doug Barlet providing the most accurate evidence available with today's technology, we can be assured of a justified outcome to our cases.

Tip of the Month

Fill Closed Figures Such As Ice Patches

In both MapScenes PRO and MapScenes LITE, hatching can be used to fill or shade many closed figures such as an icy patch on a road that's involved in a crash scene.

Once you have detailed the intersection and collected points around the ice patch, you can draw a polyline around the ice patch by connecting the points and closing the last segment. The Polyline command is found under the Draw menu. You should also turn on your object snap so that you can pick the points accurately. Go under the Settings menu -> Settings and, in the dialog menu, click on the Object Snap tab and select the Point snap and click OK. You could also make a new layer for the polyline and set it to a different color, giving you more control over what is shown on screen.