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MODULE VII
SKIDMARKS AS A TOOL IN TRAFFIC ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION

A. Module Description:

This module discusses different kinds of Tire Marks Skidmarks as evidence

in Accident cases, the factors that affect the skidding, speed estimates,
principles in calculating speeds from skidmarks and speed calculation.

B. Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this module, the students should be able to:

1. Discuss the factors which affects the skidding.
2. Integrate the importance of skidmarks as a tool in traffic accident
investigation.

Concept

Skid marks. The sudden application of brakes which results in the locked wheel places great
pressure between the brake shoe and the brake drum that the frictional force at this point
becomes greater than the frictional force between the tire and the road surface. When this
condition exists, the wheel’s skid.

A. Skid Marks as a tool in traffic accident investigation. The following are the
principles underlying on skid marks as tool in investigation.
1. Measurement of skid marks gives idea on how fast the car which left these marks was
going prior to the accident.
2. Estimates of speed based on skid marks may lead to convictions; or knowing how to
estimate speed correctly ma help to keep an innocent person from being convicted.
B. Other tire marks. The investigators’ first job is to find out if the mark on the
pavement is a skid mark or another type of tire mark. Thus, he must familiarize
himself with the following marks that may be left by a motor vehicle on a road surface.
1. Centrifugal skid mark. A marking on a roadway left by a rotating tire and wheel of a
speeding vehicle on a curve when the speed of the vehicle is above the critical speed of

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the curve and the centrifugal force entirely or partially overcomes the friction between
the mass of the vehicle and its tires and the surface of the roadway.
2. Impending skid marks. Marks caused by the forward rotation of the wheels being
slower than the forward movement of the vehicle. The shadowy beginning of a skid
mark along the approach path of the vehicle is the impending skid mark (a.k.a. as tire
shadow marks), while the darker markings are the skid marks which begins in the
impending skid mark and ends at the point of collision or final rest.
3. Yawn mark. A scuffmark made while a vehicle is yawning the mark made on the road
by a rotating tire which is slipping in a direction parallel to the axle of the wheel.
4. Skip mark. A braking skid mark interrupted at frequent regular intervals; the skid
mark made by a bouncing wheel on which brakes keep the wheel from turning.
Compare with gap skid.
5. Side skid mark (scuff mark). It is a roadway marking left by the tire and wheel of a
vehicle sliding sideways as a result of force other than centrifugal force.
6. Gap skid. A braking skid mark which is interrupted by release and reapplication of
brakes or which terminates by release of brakes before collision.
C. Other marks and impression left by a motor vehicle either on the road surface or
on the other motor vehicle. When a motor vehicle overturned or collided with
another object like another motor vehicle, it sometimes impresses or leaves marks that
may be used to identify the motor vehicle, if it fled the accident scene. These
impressions or markings are:
1. Ruts. A sunken track worn by a wheel, as in road; hence, a groove forming a path
for anything.
2. Gouge. A groove made by a hard part of a motor vehicle to another car after sides
weeping each other or it may be left on a road surface by a motor vehicle which
overturned then slid on the road surface.
3. Paint Strips. When a vehicle collided with other object, it sometimes transfers its
paint to the other object.
D. Skidmarks as Evidence in Accident Cases. Skidmarks will aid in determining the
speed prior to the accident or collision; show if the vehicle was traveling in the wrong
side of the road; indicate if the driver failed to observe the right of way; and also show
if the driver did not obey a traffic signal.
E. Skidmarks Do Not Show All of the Speed. Skidmarks never show all of the speed of
a car before the accident happened. They show only how far the car would have had to
slide to stop in the distance shown by skidmarks.
Evidence of Additional Speed. A car is somewhat going faster and often faster is calculated
from skidmarks because in addition to losing _ speed is sliding the distance shown by the
skidmarks, the car losses some of its speed on one or more of the following ways:

1. Sliding with one or more wheels before any skidmarks begin to appear. Dark clear
skidmarks.do not appear until the tires have slid far enough to get hot enough to smear
rubber or scar on the pavement. This is less true on such materials as gravel and dirt.

2. Braking without skidding. Cases that the motor vehicle does not skid particularly. before
sliding begins; during gaps; and after marks and before the car comes to rest.

3. Dragging the car as it hits some object.

4 Damaging other cars or objects.

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5. Sliding other cars or objects along the way

6. Vaulting or bouncing up into the air.

F. How to Estimate the Approximate Speed of Motor Vehicle in Case Skid Mark is not
present? In many accidents of course, other evidence of terrific speed is the WRECKAGE
(EXTENT OF DAMAGE), but there are no skidmarks at all because brakes were not put on
hard enough to lock the wheels. The following guides the investigator:

1. When brakes are put on just before contact of vehicles, the skidmarks maybe only two or
three feet long and therefore, show a speed of only five or six miles per hour. While the
wreckage tells that total speed may have been ten times as great.

2. In accident in which most of the speed is lost in skidding, the speed calculated from
skidmarks may come close to showing how fast the car was actually going. Accidents
involving pedestrians are the most common ones of this kind.

3. In any accident in which great damage was done will skidmarks show more than small
part of the speed, often a very minor part ef it; but if the skidmarks have been rightly
identified and measured, i can be said that the car was going faster than the speed
calculated f »m the skidmarks, much faster if there was considerable damage.

G. Things that Determine Skidding Distance. How far a car will take to skid or slide to
stop when all four wheels are locked depends on many things. Three of these factors are
important, and you must consider them in every estimate of speeds based on skidmarks:
Speed itself is by far the most important; slipperiness of the pavement; and grade or. slop of
the road whether road up or down.

H. Other Factors that Affect the Skidding. Every driver knows, of course, that it takes
much longer to stop on pavements that are slippery, and that he can stop more quickly on an
upgrade than downgrade road.

Of many other factors on which distance depends, none has had a very great effect. Most of
them will affect a calculated speed by only a few miles per hour. They, therefore, have a little
effect on the speed calculated from the skidmarks usually not more than a couple of miles
per hour. Among those other factors are the following:

1. Brake Pedal Pressure. When wheels are actually sliding, additional brake pedal pressure
will not make the stop any quicker. ‘Once the wheels have been locked and the car is sliding,
the brakes have done all they can in slowing the car and the grab of the pavement on the
tires is what determines how fast the car will slow down.

2. Weight of the Car. Makes a great difference in stopping distance before the wheels lock,
but once they have locked, it makes a very little difference. It is true that it takes much
greater pressure to lock the wheels on a vehicle when it is heavily loaded than it is empty.

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However, when the wheels are once locked, a greater weight of the vehicle, which gives it
greater momentum, also causes it to press harder on the road surface and therefore, give it a
corresponding greater drag from the pavement.

3. Tire Thread. On the most ordinary surfaces, a smooth tire and one with a deep tread
pattern will stop the car in about the same distance. On some other surfaces, particularly on
ice, a smooth tread is better because it distributes the weight over a greater area.

4. Air Pressure. Makes a very slight difference in stopping distance. On ice, for example, soft
tire will distribute the weight a little more and give somewhat better traction.

5. Tire Material. There is a slight difference between tires made of synthetic and those made
of natural rubber.

6. Road Surface. Of surfaces such as mud, snow, and on ice, tires equipped with chains
have a better road-gripping capacity. On some hard pavements, however, chains may
decrease road-gripping capacity.

7. Direction of Slides. Makes a slight but unimportant difference. A tire will lengthwise
except in materials so soft that it plows or sinks.

8. Temperature of the Air and the Road Surface. Make some difference. In general, on
ordinary pavements, hot weather produces longer stopping distance. This is not necessarily
on ice and snow.

9. Against Head Wind. A car will slide a little farther from given speed with a tall wind than
against a head wind, but this is nota matter of great importance.

I. Speed Estimates. For most ordinary purposes, you do not have to consider those minor
factors -in establishing speeds from skidmarks because the minor factors are neglected, we
cannot calculate speeds precisely. We only estimate them. Some of the minor factors would
tend to give a higher speed and others a lower speed, and they would partly balance or cancel
out.

Sometimes all of the factors tend to give a high estimated speed. In this connection, the
skidmarks do not show all of the speed and therefore, the probable actual speed is still
greater than your estimate.

J. Facts Needed. Good estimate of speed is based on certain facts that come from
observations and measurements at the scene of the accidents. The accuracy of the estimate
depends upon the accuracy of these observations and measurements.

1. Length of Skidmark. Consider the following:

a. Be sure they are skidmarks not just tire marks.:

b. Did all wheels’ slide or just some of them? It makes little difference if tire is sliding forward
or sidewise.

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c. Are there any gaps in the skidmarks? Be sure there are gaps caused by a release of brake
pedal pressure and not skids caused by bounced.

d. What is the length of each skidmarks around any curves? It may not make straight from
beginning to the end in the shortest line. You may want to consider two separate lengths for
each Skid mark. One of these is based on the part of the Skid mark you can positively
identify. It gives you speed which will be minimum beyond reasonable doubt. The other is a
possible skidmark which will give you a more likely speed. The first is all-you can use in
court, the second is often much useful in figuring out just what did happen in the accident.

e. Use the length that the wheel’s skid, not the tire slid. Dual tires which leave two
marks are considered as one wheel, and the Skid mark length is counted if either tire on the
wheel leaves this mark.

f. There’ are two ways of figuring the length of a slide if all on -the same kind of pavement.
These are:

(1): Straight Line. A slide is considered straight if both rear wheel skidmarks do not go off to
one side of the front wheel Skidmarks.

(a) Use the length of the longest Skid mark left by any wheel minus gaps in it. This method is
possible because all wheels’ slide about the same distance. We know that the brakes
definitely have been applied throughout the entire distance of the longest Skid mark.

(b) If one wheel does not slide as far as the others, still it was about to slide when the others
began. The drag on the pavement by this wheel is about the same just before it begins to
slide as when it is actually sliding. It may even be greater.

(c) Therefore, we are usually safe in saying that all wheels are dragging as much as if there
were sliding wheel skid applies to motorcycles, trucks, truck. and trailer combinations, and
buses as well as ordinary motor vehicles.

(2) Spin. A slide is considered a spin if both rear wheel Skidmarks do get off to one side of the
front wheel skidmarks.

(a) Take the length of each skidmarks minus gaps. Add the Skid mark length for all wheels
and divide the numbers of wheels.

(b) This method is necessary in the case of the spins because some of the wheels slid much
farther than others; one end of the car may practically stand stil while the other sweeps
around it.

(c) Use this method only when there is about the same weight on front and rear wheels; that
is usually for ordinary cars, motorcycles, and light trucks with trailers or heavily loaded
trucks having duel tires on the rear wheels. Uneven weight with a spin requires special
calculations.

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(d) This method gives you a figure for the sliding distance of the vehicle. It is not necessary to
compute it more accurately than to the nearest foot. For this length you may have two
figures, one a positive distance and one a possible distance.

g. Unfortunately, many investigations are carelessly made. For example, investigators may:

(1) Fail to show whether all wheel slid.

(2) Fail to include in the sliding distance a skid shown by a shadow as well as that more
clearly shown by the smear of the hot tire.

(3) Neglect to note whether they are gaps in any of the skidmarks.

(4) Show only an overall length without separate measurements for each wheel. This usually
includes the wheel base of the car with the result that the sliding distance appears to be
length longer than it really is.

(5) Fail to note whether the skidmarks are straight or a spin.

(6) Measure straight across from beginning to the end of a curve skidmarks rather than
around its length.

h. If the facts are not all there, assumptions should have to ‘be made about the distance the
car slid. For legal purposes, you may assume only what may be true beyond reasonable
doubt. Hence, poor observations and measurements often leave you little value to go on.

i. Nevertheless, reasonable assumptions regarding conditions which more definitely observed

in investigations may be very helpful in coming to a conclusion about what probably
happened.

2. Coefficient of Friction or Drag Factor. It is the measurement of the maximum frictional

resistance of pavements. It is equal to the force exerted when the wheels are skidding divided
by the weight of the car.

Slipperiness of surface must also be known in order to calculate speeds from skidmarks. We
tell what this slipperiness by a number, usually decimal less than 1.00. When any object is
sliding, the surface it slid on puts a friction drag on sliding tire that slows the car. A slippery
movement creates a small friction drag and an abrasive |pavement a big drag. If we divide
the amount of friction drag in pounds by the weight of the car in pounds, we get the number
that describes the slipperiness.

a. Principle of Computation. For example, the drag of the pavement on the sliding tires of
an automobile is 3,000 Ibs.. The automobile weights 4,000 Ibs. The number representing the
slipperiness of the pavement, or its friction drag, is then 3,000 divided by 4,000 or 0.75.

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(1) This friction drag factor or slipperiness number is called technically the “COEFFICIENT
OF FRICTION.” You can measure the drag factor of a pavement by making a test skid which
tells how far a car slides on that pavement while stopping from a known speed.

(2) The drag factor or coefficient of friction can be determined by use of a formula. If we let
"S" stand for the speed in miles per hour from which the test skid is made and "D" the
distance in feet that car slides in coming to stop, then the drag factor, which we call."F", the
formula will be:

F=S | 30(D)

(3) The "30" is the formula because speed is given in miles per hour and the distance in feet
(transformation of feet per ‘second to miles per hour). It is called a constant because it stayed
the same in all problems for which the formula is used

(4) Thus, to find slipperiness number, F, we multiply this speed by itself and then divided by
30 times the stopping distance. You do not need to carry the division out more than two
places to the right of the decimal point.

b. Applying the Principle of Computation. On a test to measure pavement slipperiness, a

car was stopped in 40 ft. from 30 miles per hour.

(1) Substituting these numbers for the letters representing them in the formula, and doing
the arithmetic involved, we. have:

(2) It is very important that the test skids to measure pavement slipperiness be correctly
made. You are unlikely to do it right without special experience.

(3) At least two skids are desirable. Compute the slipperiness separately for each. Unless
these are within 0.05 each other friction calculated from any of several test skids made on
the same paving. This is necessary if you want to be sure beyond reasonable doubt of
calculated speeds.

(4) Test skids using the same car that was in the accident are the best. They thus take care
of some of the minor factor such as the weight of. the car, the tire material, the tread pattern,
tire pressure and therefore, make the estimate more reliable.

3. Grade or slope (Gradient). This i is the degree of inclination or declination of the road. It
is quicker to stop uphill than on level road and downhill road.

a. Grade is: measured by a number usually less than 1.00. The measurement is the number
of the feet that the road rises or falls for each of feet of the horizontal distance.

b. To find: divide the vertical rise or fall by the horizontal distance. It is not necessary to
carry these divisions more than two places to the right of the decimal.

c. Use this formula: horizontal distance

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d. Possible ranges of pavement Drag Factors for rubber tires. The drag factor or coefficient of
friction of a pavement of a given description may vary considerably. because quite a variety of
road surfaces maybe described in the same way. Some of these ‘variations are due to the
weight of the vehicles, air pressure in the tire; tread design, air temperature, speed and some
other factors.

4. Reaction Time. This is the distance traveled before applying the brakes. It is computed
by:

a. Divide seconds in an hour (3,600) into feet in a mile (5,280) = 1,467.

b. To determine distance you will travel in one second, multiply 1.467 (1.47 or 1.50) times
the speed at which you are traveling.

c. Time to get foot off the accelerator and slam it on the brake is 3/4 of a second on the
average. The age of the driver should be considered.

d. X speed = length in feet covered before brake works.

5. Brake Tests. The brakes of the car can be tested when the test skids are made. If the
brakes are inadequate, the operator should be advised that he may attempt to demonstrate
their adequacy.

a. In most states (U.S.), a vehicle traveling at 20 mph must stop within ‘the following
minimum distances: 7wo-wheel brakes-foot ° pedal: vehicle should stop within 45 ft; four-
wheel brakes foot pedal: vehicle should stop within 30 ft.; and hand brakes: vehicle Should
stop within 75 ft.

b. Brake tests should not. be conducted. when the road surface is wet. Tests on wet surfaces
may result in personal injuries to bystanders or others concerned in the tests. The vehicle
should be examined to ascertain if it complies with legal safety requirements and whether its
braking system is in operating order.

c. Use of Decelerometers. These.are devices which hold their readings and indicate on a
Clocklike face braking efficiency of the car being tested.

K. Procedure Followed by the Philippine National Police (PNP)

Members of the PNP when considering skid mark as evidence observe the following:

1. The officer submits as evidence in a case the measurements of the skidmarks and the
Court interprets the facts in the light of other evidence: Some courts require the assistance of
an expert; measurements should be accomplished by two men and sketches and
photographs with measurements indicated should be made soon after the accident.

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2. Some police departments have their officers skid a vehicle to a stop from the legal speed
limit, if this can be done safely, and compare the skidmarks with those in the accident.

3. Some would draw conclusions from tests based’ on physical calculation.

4. Measurement of Skidmarks.

a. Should meet legal standards. Officers measuring the skidmarks and the distances should
verify each other's measurements so that they can corroborate each other's testimony in
court.

b. Evidence should be presented to show ‘that the skidmarks were made by the suspect car.

c. Witnesses should testify in court.

L. Basic Principles in Calculating Speeds from Skidmarks

1. Energy and vehicle speed. An automobile moving at any speed possesses energy. As the
speed of the vehicle increases, the resulting energy developed also increases as the square of
the ratio of the increase in speed. Examples: 20 kph = 40 30 kph = 90 40 kph = 160

2. Stopping a Motor Vehicle. Whenever a moving vehicle is stopped, the energy which it
possesses at that time must be _ expended or spent. It is only when most or all of the
vehicle's energy _ is expended through skidding of tires that a fairly accurate calculation may
be made.of the vehicle's speed before the accident.

3. Test Runs. In making calculations for speeds from skidmarks, it is often necessary to
conduct one or more test runs, using the vehicle involved in the accident or, if it cannot be
driven, another vehicle of similar characteristics may be used.

a. Conditions should be the same as those existing when the accident occurred. The
character of the road, whether wet or dry, should be the same.

b. Conduct tests on the same road surface and in the same direction.

c. Vehicle's speedometer should be checked, and any difference from accurate calibrations
should be noted.

d. A speed consistent with safety, such as 20 or 30 miles per hour, should be selected for the
test run.

e. Brakes should be applied suddenly and as hard as possible when the car is moving at the
selected test speed.

f. The length of each skid mark should be measured.

g. If a brake detonator is available, the total braking distance should be accurately

determined using such equipment, either mechanically or electrically operated.

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h. It is advisable to conduct two or three tests at the selected speed. The test of longest
braking distance which favors the defendant is used in calculation.

i. To avoid ‘possible differences in the application of brakes by | the driver, it is advisable to

have the driver of the ‘accidents vehicle. drive the car in the test runs.

M. Speed Calculation. If vehicle stopped solely by skidding, it is possible to-calculate the

speed of the vehicle at. the beginning of the skid by using the formula based on. the principle
that skidding or braking distances vary as the square of the speed.

When accident vehicle cannot be driven: When the vehicle is damaged that it cannot be
driven, part of the vehicle's energy is expended in damaging the car and the object struck.

1. A calculation of speed ‘from skidmarks left under these Circumstances gives a speed based
only on the amount of energy expended in the skidding.

2. Consequently, the resulting speed value may be considerably less than: the actual pre-
accident speed, since it is hot possible to

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