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Scene Mapping

Atlanta Engineering Services, Inc. offers scene mapping and land surveying services to document and gather evidence at the scene of an accident. Scene mapping is the process of taking measurements, collecting data and illustrating evidence on a scaled drawing of the roadway. Drafting personnel prepare the drawings using Computer Aided Design (CAD) programs, such as AutoCAD.

Scene mapping in traffice accidents provide the engineers with an overall view of where evidence is located in the roadway in order to reconstruct the accident. In accident reconstruction, the following must occur regarding matching the simulated path of vehicles with scene evidence:

the simulated path of a vehicle must match the skid marks on the roadway
the vehicles come together at the point(s) of impact and all damage is documented
the vehicles must stop at its point of residential scene evidence specific to the accident must be taken into account

Scene mapping depends on the type of accident that is being mapped, whether there are any roadway defects, roadway design flaws and roadway maintenance issues.

Scene Mapping for
Hydroplaning Accidents

Scene mapping is critical to hydroplaning cases. Hydroplaning accidents are one example in which a scene map will show the layout of the roadway. The geometry of the roadway is of particular concern. The roadway is surveyed and elevation data collected to prepare a topographic survey showing the slope of the roadway, drainage patterns, and existing stormwater systems.

The engineer analyzes the scene map to determine whether hydroplaning contributed to the cause of the accident.

Scene maps are also used to create surface models for 3-D Accident Simulation Videos.

Creating simulations is an iterative process in which multiple simulations are ran until the simulated path of vehicles corresponds with scene evidence, vehicle crush damage and other evidence. Using a site specific roadway environment in a simulation is critical in creating an accurate simulation, making scene maps ever so important.

Below is a sample scene map that was put together for a two car accident where a 2009 Honda Accord failed to yield the right-of-way when making a left turn.