Physics Related Activities

• Projectile Motion - Impact Speed in a Fatal Crash - Students analyze police evidence and determine the speed of a motorcycle involved in a fatal crash.
  
  
  
  
• Using an Autopsy Report to Determine Who Was Driving - Biology students map injuries to determine if the person was a passenger or driver - ideal for anatomy studies.
  
  
  
• Investigating a MV Homicide - Students design questions to ask of witnesses, what physical evidence to document, photographs to take, etc. Develops critical thinking skills.
  
• Reconstructing a Murder by Automobile - Working with an actual police report students reconstruct speed using conservation of energy; includes a video animation used at trial.
  
  
  
  
• Linear Momentum Takes the Witness Stand - Students look at the certainty of police testimony in a DWI homicide case by applying a momentum calculation to the crash evidence.
  
• Newton Would Have Worn a Seat Belt! - Students analyze video footage of a real crash to determine why the belted driver survives the violent rear-end collision.
  
• Skateboards and Cars Don't Mix - Students measure the speed of a skateboarder and then determine if an accident is avoidable if the skateboarder goes out into the street from a driveway.
  
• People Can't Fly - And They Don't Land Well Either - Students look at the energy that must be absorbed to avoid an injury and the importance of staying inside the car.
  
• Kinetic Energy and Insurance Fraud - Students determine whether a witness statement about speed is true, and how the truthfulness of the statement uncovers a fraudulent insurance claim for personal injuries.
  
• Distractions Can Be Deadly! - Students measure the distraction caused in typical situations and the consequences of being inattentive.
  
• Measuring Road Friction with a Police Drag Sled - Includes calculations of stopping distances, following too closely, etc. as it relates to the coefficient of friction of the roadway.
  
• Projectile Motion in Accident Reconstruction - Examples of projectile motion equations related to pedestrian collisions, vaulting from the roadway, etc., including uncertainty considerations.
  
• Weighing a Car with a Bath Scale - Applications of torques to a hands-on problem.
  
• Reconstructing a Vehicle-Motorcycle Crash - Using conservation of energy students reconstruct the speed of the motorcycle to determine liability.
  
• Parametric Equations and Tractor Trailer Speed - By algebraic simplification the equations of motion are used to determine tractor trailer speed from tire marks on the roadway.
  
• Using Linear Momentum in Accident Reconstruction - Students determine speed, including use of a spreadsheet analysis to show the certainty of the conclusion. Ideal for computer classes.
  
• Quadratic Equations in Accident Reconstruction - Students see the general quadratic equation applied to pedestrian throw distance, debris rest position in a crash, etc.
  
• Vehicle and Occupant Kinematics - Newton's First Law applied to injury mechanisms in cars.
  
• How Do Crumple Zones Save Lives? - Newton's Second Law applied to preventing injuries.
  
• Newton's Laws in the Courtroom - Actual police files (2 different cases) on intersection collisions - students use Newton's Laws to determine who was at fault.
  
• Examining Lamps for ON/OFF - Students determine, by applying Newton's Laws, whether a lamp was on or off at the moment of impact; includes lamp photos and magnifiers.
  
• Was It Safe to Cross? - By using equations of motion, students measure pedestrian walking speeds and are able to see how far away a car must be to allow safe crossing.
  
• Determining Whether a Vehicle Ran a Stop Sign - Students measure vehicle acceleration to determine whether a vehicle stopped before entering an intersection.
  
  

Alcohol Related Activities

• Determining BAC When a Driver Flees the Scene - A hit-and-run driver turns himself in to police the next day, and students are asked to determine his impairment level in the previous night’s crash.
  
• Alcohol and Driver Performance - Using BACSIM software students measure their reaction time, and then see the effect of alcohol on reaction time. Additional activities related to alcohol impairment include:
        Determining the Reaction Zone in Front of a Car
        Finding Stopping Distance for an Impaired Driver
        Calculating Impairment Level from Number of Drinks
  
• The Intoxilyzer as Scientific Proof of Impairment- Students investigate the theory of breath analysis and have a police officer demonstrate the breath test machine as a source of evidence at trial.
  
• It’s All in the Blood - The problem of converting a hospital blood test for alcohol into the legal units is based on the various components of the blood, particularly the blood serum.
  
• The PBT as Legal Evidence of Impairment - A police officer demonstrates the hand-held breath test device used to do a “preliminary breath test.”
  
• “I Only Had Two Beers” - Students research the ethanol content of popular brands of beer to show how different brands can cause differing degrees of intoxication.
  
• Under the Limit, But Seriously Impaired - Students research the effects of alcohol at levels below the legally defined level of assumed intoxication to find that many driving skills are impaired at low BAC levels.
  
• You Can’t Afford a DWI - The total cost of a DWI conviction is calculated, including lost wages, fines, etc. after students do research into the various costs associated with a DWI.
  
• The “Cough Medicine” Defense to DWI - Students calculate how much cough medicine would have to be ingested to develop an impaired driver’s blood alcohol concentration detected during an arrest.
  
• Observing Impairment in Driving Tests - Students make observations of drivers who are given alcoholic beverages and then perform driving maneuvers in a controlled driving test to pick out the classic symptoms of alcohol impairment.
  
• Plus additional activities from the included text, Physics of Automobile Crashes:

Measuring the Headlight Pattern of an Automobile

Dispersion Pattern of a Traffic Hazard Lamp

Mathematical Model of Road Friction

Measuring the Rolling Friction of a Bicycle or Car

Determining the Reaction Zone for a Moving Automobile

Interpreting Driver Reaction Time Statistics

Calculating Impact Forces on Vehicles and Occupants

Crush Damage from Utility Pole Impacts

Measuring Vehicle Accelerations

Interpreting Motorcycle Test Results

Analysis of an Intersection Crash

Documenting Evidence at a Crash Scene

Crash! The Science of Collisions is available for purchase online by accessing our order form here. High school teachers or administrators who wish to obtain a Crash! package for their high school or who would like assistance in locating a funding resource in their community should e-mail Michael Lyons, President of Tower Publishing, for more information.