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KYIV SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF FORENSIC EXPERTISE

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ROAD TECHNICAL EXAMINATION

General provisions
Examination of the condition of roads and road conditions in scenes of road accidents (road technical examination) includes research to determine the technical, operational, geometric and technical indicators of roads and establish its compliance with regulatory and technical requirements.
These studies are conducted by specialists (experts) who have special knowledge in the field of road conditions at the scene of accidents and compliance with technical and operational indicators (equality, coefficient of adhesion and roughness, etc.). They are of interest to the customer with the use of the expert certified methodologies and registered in the manner prescribed by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the literature recommended for use in forensic examinations, other information sources necessary to address the issues.

This type of examination is directly related to auto-technical examination and is usually assigned comprehensively.

The subject of a comprehensive road technical and automotive expertise to determine the impact of road factors on the assessment of drivers in the event of an accident is the actual data on the technical level and operational condition of road components and drivers under certain road conditions.
The object of the study is the technical and operational indicators of roads in terms of its impact on road safety.

Tasks to be solved by examination regarding the condition of roads at the scenes of road accident (road technical examination)

The main tasks of this examination are to determine the compliance of technical and operational, geometric and technical indicators of roads to regulatory and technical requirements. Determining the compliance of traffic organization with traffic safety requirements. This direction of examination solves the following tasks:

  • establishment of compliance of technical and operational indicators of the highway (equality, coefficients of adhesion, coverage of the carriageway, etc.) with the requirements of road safety;
  • establishing compliance of works on repair, operation and maintenance of roads with the requirements of road safety;
  • establishing a causal link between the non-compliance of road conditions with the requirements of regulatory documents with the occurrence of an accident;
  • establishing or ensuring the organization of road traffic on the research section of the road and its arrangement road safety, as well as establishing a causal link between its non-compliance and the occurrence of an accident;
  • establishment of conformity of geometrical parameters of the highway to requirements of regulatory documentation, and also establishment of causal connection between its discrepancy and occurrence of road accident;
  • establishing compliance with the coefficient of adhesion of the road surface to the requirements of standards, as well as establishing a causal link between its non-compliance and the occurrence of an accident;
  • establishing the impact on road safety of pavement defects that were present on the roadway (potholes, ruts, inflows or other deformations of the pavement);
  • establishing the need to mark defects of the road surface with road signs, as well as establishing the impact of its absence on road safety;
  • establishing compliance of the location of road signs and other means of traffic organization with the requirements of the traffic organization scheme and the requirements of standards, as well as establishing a causal link between its non-compliance and the occurrence of an accident;
  • establishment of visibility for stopping the car, visibility of oncoming traffic, visibility of the intersection, visibility of the railway track, pedestrian crossing, etc. in accordance with the requirements of regulations, as well as establishing a causal link between its non-compliance and accident.

Establishing a causal link between the inconsistencies of road conditions and traffic organization and the occurrence of an accident is decided during a comprehensive road technical and auto-technical examination.

Features of the appointment of a road technical examination

For carrying out road technical examination at establishment of any deviations in an operational condition of the highway, it is necessary to provide the expert with the following initial data:

  • highway passport;
  • the scheme of traffic organization, which is approved in the prescribed manner, – the act of inspection of the road where the accident occurred, which must be drawn up by the road organization after the accident in accordance with the order of registration and inspection of the accident;
  • what road works also and the scheme of the organization of traffic for the period of carrying out repair or other works which is approved in accordance with the established procedure;
  • information (schedule, magazine) on conducting a decade-long inspection of road sections;
  • information on the instructions of the State Traffic Police on the section of the road where the accident occurred for the current year;
  • information on other accidents that occurred on this section of the road for the current year;
  • explanations (protocols of interrogations) of responsible employees, executors of works servicing the section of the road where the accident occurred;
  • in case of carrying out by the road organization of departmental investigation upon the fact of road accident information on results of this investigation.

The given data are in the road organization servicing a site of the road where there was an accident.
In addition, it is necessary to provide for the study all the materials collected on the fact of the accident (scheme to the protocol of inspection of the accident site, the protocol of inspection of the accident site, photographs, etc.), which must also contain information about:

  • type of road surface (asphalt concrete, cement concrete, soil, etc.);
  • its condition (dry, wet, ice, sprinkled with anti-icing material, etc.);
  • width of the carriageway, including the width of the carriageway cleared of snow;
  • the presence and magnitude of longitudinal and transverse slopes;
  • presence and location (addresses) of road signs
  • the presence and length of markings;
  • availability of other technical means of traffic organization;
  • the presence of damage to the road surface (location with reference to the accident site, size (width, length, depth of potholes, etc.);
  • information on meteorological conditions immediately before the accident and, if necessary, some time before the accident (a decade, several days, etc.);
  • information on works on the road section, which were carried out by the road organization before the accident;
  • availability and location (addresses) of the road fence, its construction, length, condition;
  • availability of lighting, type of lighting with indication of the beginning and end of the location, lighting conditions of the accident site (which installed luminaires were in working mode);
  • location of overpass supports on the carriageway;
  • location of retaining walls of overpasses or tunnels, which are located on the roadside;
  • the presence of obstacles to traffic, indicating its location;
  • condition of hatches and rainwater catchments, relative height of the hatch or rainwater catchment relative to the level of the carriageway;
  • placement of service objects and outdoor advertising with reference to the scene of the accident and the border of the carriageway;
  • distance to trees and shrubs from the edge of the roadway;
  • technical condition of the vehicle with which the accident took place and its load;
  • visibility (visibility of the oncoming car, visibility on the curve in the plan, visibility of the intersection, pedestrian crossing, railway crossing) and visibility of the road from the driver’s seat in normalized conditions and at the time of the accident;
  • in conditions of limited visibility – and the visibility of the obstacle; location of the vehicle across the width of the road before the accident, its speed;

In the case of an accident involving the winter maintenance of the highway, it is necessary to provide the following information:

  • information on the time and volume of recent precipitation;
  • information on the work performed by the road organization to eliminate winter slipperiness (waybills, work log, explanations of workers);
  • list of dangerous sections of roads assigned to the road organization;
  • reports on duty;
  • passports of readiness for work in the winter;
  • regulations for works;
  • information on the presence of warning signs in front of the accident site, which inform about the nature of the danger, speeding signs and other means of traffic organization.

Issues are resolved by an examination regarding the condition of roads at the scene of the accident

The approximate list of issues addressed by the examination of the condition of roads and road conditions at the scene of the accident is as follows.

  • Did the actual technical and operational indicators (equality, coefficients of adhesion and roughness, etc.) of the road meet the requirements of road safety?
  • Did the repair, operation and maintenance of roads meet the requirements of road safety?
  • Were the road conditions inconsistent with the requirements of regulatory documents in causal connection with the accident?
  • Does the organization of traffic on the research section of the road ensure road safety?
  • Did the geometric parameters of the highway meet the requirements of regulatory documentation?