Pedestrian, Cyclist & Micromobility Accident Reconstruction

Why is a multidisciplinary approach so important for investigating accidents involving pedestrians and cyclists?

Exponent's multidisciplinary teams take a comprehensive approach to pedestrian and cyclist accident reconstruction, thoroughly analyzing sites, including damage to involved motor vehicles, bicycles, and fixed objects, and evaluating interaction forces among impacting vehicles, objects in the physical environment, and cyclists and pedestrians. Beyond this information, our biomechanical experts gather facts about injuries and accident narratives from law enforcement and medical records, interpret physical evidence, and apply biomechanical engineering principles to analyze how an injured pedestrian or cyclist interacted with a vehicle, the ground, and other environmental structures. These analyses include determining specific pedestrian or cyclist kinematics, assessing forces applied to the human body, and correlating injury mechanisms with vehicle interactions.

As part of our multidisciplinary team approach, our human factors scientists can also assess the human effects and potential accident causes — such as driver, pedestrian, cyclist distraction; sight lines; and pedestrian-cyclist visibility and conspicuity.

Many factors can influence the biomechanics of a pedestrian or cyclist accident. In the case of a single cyclist, the rider's helmet use can significantly affect the risk and severity of injuries. Exponent has extensive experience and unique capabilities evaluating helmet use and its role in injury mitigation. We also have experience and testing capabilities to evaluate case-specific pedestrian and cyclist protection, impact avoidance, and the injury mitigation potentially provided by crash avoidance and pedestrian protection automotive technologies. Road hazards and possible line-of-sight obstructions can also affect the responsiveness of drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists.