The PC Crash Program
The PC Crash Program was developed by Dr Hermann Steffan, who is proprietor of DSD, Austria. The program was developed in the 1990s and works on the basis of 3-dimensional Momentum as defined by Kudlich and Slibar. The kinetic engine in PC-Crash has been validated many times over the ensuing years and when used correctly, it will give very accurate estimates of the pre-impact speeds of the vehicles in a collision. The system can deal with complex accidents, which cannot be calculated using the standard 2-dimensional equations, which have been the main stay of road traffic accident investigation for many years. As the program is using computer technology, it can carry out kinetic calculations every 5 milliseconds throughout the impact phase, rather than treating a collision as a single impact. It also generates the motion of vehicles in the 6 degrees of freedom (x, y, z, roll, pitch and yaw).
Whilst the kinetic algorithms have not changed over the years, the program is continually advancing both through additional modules attached to the original program and through improving the quality of the video simulations as computer memory and processor speed improves. The addition of some functions from an associated program, called PC-Rect has added to the usefulness of the program for evaluating CCTV through the superimposition of 3D models in the scene, enabling vehicle speeds to be calculated. This function is extremely useful where vehicles are moving away or towards the CCTV camera.
There are numerous functions within PC-Crash which are of assistance to the Accident Investigator and Mr White would be happy to discuss any specific elements of the program if required.
