February 20, 2012
Preliminary Results of Braking Tests on Snow-Covered Asphalt Roadways
We have prepared an article that discusses the results of our recent experimentations involving braking on snow-covered asphalt roadways. …Read Full Article Here
Review of Evidence At Fatal Head-On Crash on Plank Line (Hwy 19) North of Tillsonburg, Ontario
The cause of a fatal, head-on collision involving a Doug Coleman Transport Truck and a Cube Van on Plane Line north of Tillsonburg, Ontario is still unknown. The collision occurred on February 15th, 2012 and police are still looking for witnesses who might help in their investigation. In the meantime we examined the collision site in the late afternoon of the accident date and have prepared are article describing the collision evidence. …Read Full Article Here
February 17, 2012
Glanworth Curve – Further Site Analysis With Debris Field
Not all evidence valuable to an investigation can be documented and analysed on the day of a motor vehicle collision, particularly when unfavourable weather conditions prevent investigators from performing their work properly. Various situations including darkness, sun position, fog, snow-cover and wet roads can make it difficult to visualize the evidence and document it. It is recommended that an investigator return to the accident site when weather conditions improve to re-examine the site for additional clues that might be hidden from view by the environmental conitions. We have prepared an article discussing this issue based on a recent double-fatal collision that occurred on the Glanworth Curve on the south edge of London, Ontario, Canada. …Read Full Article Here
February 14, 2012
Glanworth Curve – A Candle In The Dark
We have prepared an article relating to the collision of an SUV into a tree on the Glanworth Curve on the south edge of London, Ontario. The somewhat unusual title reference to an old Elton John song (Candle In The Wind) perhaps may remind some of you of another difficult occasion when a collision took the life of another different kind of princess (and others) in a Paris tunnel. Although we have not been in contact with the affected family, or anyone associated with this tradegy, we cannot help but express our deepest sympathy to them at this difficult time.
The “Candle in the Dark” is also meant as a reminder of the darkness in which the public gropes when it seeks answers to how and why fatal collisions occur while being provided with few details. Due to the lack of these details we have prepared a rather general critique of various comments and conclusions that have been publicly aired in the mass media. …Read Full Article Here
February 12, 2012
Review of Another Glanworth Curve Collision from January 22, 2012
Due to the double fatality collision that occurred on Glanworth Curve just before 1300 hours on Saturday, February 11, 2012, we are attaching our news item from our News page from a January 22, 2012 collision that also occurred on Glanworth curve and may have involved a similar cause. We have examined the Glanworth site again regarding the double fatality and will provide a further review but in the meantime we offer our review of the previous collision as a reminder. …Read Full Article Here
February 10, 2012
When Where and Why Slippery Roads Occur – Some Objective Testing By Gorski Consulting
Every winter session we see a rash of deadly crashes involving slippery roads. Road maintenance personnel frequently indicate they have done all they can to prevent the condition. Police often tell drivers to drive “for the road conditions”. There are also a multitude of strong opinions from the public about “all the bad drivers out there”.
While driver behaviour has always been a concern there is little objective information available to the public about the detailed status of roads in their area and sometimes drivers find it difficult to tell when a road surface is slippery until it is too late.
At Gorski Consulting we are experimenting with multiple video cameras to provide detailed documentations of road conditions as a way of providing some objective facts to the discussion. We have prepared an article which provides a brief summary of our test method. …Read Full Article Here
February 9, 2012
Review of Physical Evidence at Site of Double-Fatal, Single Vehicle Collision on Coatsworth Road, South of Tilbury, Ontario
Shortly after mid-night on Sunday, February 5th, 2012, a vehicle travelling northwest on Coatsworth Road, south of Tilbury, Ontario, struck a culvert on the roadside and burst into flames. Infortunately two young men lost their lives. This article will focus on the details of the physical evidence at that colllision site. …Read Full Article Here
February 3, 2012
Characteristics of ABS Braking Tire Marks on Snow-Covered Asphalt
Frequently, the characteristics of tire marks are used by collision investigators and reconstructionists to help them resolve important facts about a collision. Anti-lock braking systems (ABS) have tended to remove the visibility of such tire marks in many scenarios. However braking in conditions of snow cover can be detected if the investigator knows what evidence to look for. Our article presents the results of some braking tests on different snow-covered asphalt surfaces to explore some of the evidence that is visible under this scenario. …Read Full Article Here
January 12, 2012
Elgin OPP Cruiser Crash – What Happened & Why Dangerous Driving Charge?
A lack of information about charges laid against an OPP Constable has caused the public to speculate why. The charges laid against Constable James Morrow stem from an accident that occurred on October 1, 2012 at the intersection of Colonel Talbot Road and Glanworth Drive. Due to the lack of further information we have prepared an article that discusses the physical evidence that was present on the day of the collision.
December 14, 2011
Head-On Tree Impact On Highway 59 In Oxford County
What caused a southbound SUV to collide, head-on, with a tree on Highway 59, between Tavistock and Hickson, Ontario on December 12th, 2011?
November 28, 2011
Fatal Rollover South-East of Tillsonburg, Ontario – Review of the Evidence
Gordon Alexander Oakes, 40, sustained fatal injuries as a result of a single vehicle rollover collision that occurred on Middleton North Walsingham Townline Road, on Friday, November 28, 2011. We examined the accident site and have prepared a review of the physical evidence. Read Full Article Here…
November 18, 2011
Pavement Edge Drop-Offs Continue to Persist Despite Years of Complaints and Maintenance
Despite official complaints and apparent maintenance actions by municipal employees many edge drop-off roadway defects continue to exist over many years because the motions of traffic and the geometry of the road are never addressed. An edge drop-off problem at Veterans Memorial Parkway in London, Ontario, Canada is used as an example to explore the issue. Read Full Article Here…
October 31, 2011
16-year-old Female rider of ATV Is Critically Injured in East Zorra Township
A collision of an ATV rider and passenger car at the intersection of 11th Line and Cassel Side Road in East Zorra Township occurred earlier this week. It raises that common problem that fall crops at intersections provide visibility obstructions that are often not appreciated, not only by the general public but also by roadway inspectors who job it is to keep us safe. …Read Full Article Here
October 30, 2011
Kitchener, Ontario, Canada Experiences Traffic Chaos In A Roundabout Way
The new, and very large, roundabout at Homer Watson Boulevard and Block Line has experienced numerous traffic accidents since it opened this late summer. Why? Isn’t a roundabout supposed to be safer than our traditional North American Intersection? …Read Full Article Here
October 2, 2011
Mount Salem Site of Fatality Reveals Complicated Traffic Issues
Although Craig Chittenden was killed in a traffic accident over a week ago, we have prepared an article regarding our findings at the collision site in Mount Salem, Ontario, to focus on other issues beyond that tragedy. …Read Full Article Here
September 11, 2011
Jogger Meets With Unusual Misfortune
A jogger was reportedly struck and sustained life-threatening injuries as a result of a strange set of circumstances at the intersection of Adelaide and Ten Mile Road at about 10:20 A.M. this morning, north of London, Ontario. …Read Full article Here
September 9, 2011
Harpoons Are Hazardous
The results of an intersection collision of a London City Bus this evening contains some unusual warnings in the aftermath that the public is unaware of. …Read Full Article Here
September 8, 2011
Research Into Loss-of-Control Collisions Through Examination of Tire Marks
One of our studies into the cause of loss-of-control collisions involves the details of tire marks of vehicles that travel off an edge drop off at a rural roadway curve. Some pictorial results are provides in this article. …Read Full Article Here
Results of High Speed Braking Tests
Experiments we conducted this summer with a modern passenger car equipped with a modern braking system. The tests involve maximum braking at speeds of 60, 80 and 100 km/h on an aged tar and chip road surface. The characteristics exhibited in the visible skids are shown in detailed photos as well as some brief discussions of our findings. …Read Full Article Here
September 1, 2011
43-Year-Old Westbound Driver on QEW in Mississauga Was Killed by Object That Penetrated Through His Windshield
Where is the object that reportedly ruptured the windshield of a westbound car on the QEW this morning and caused the fatal injuries to the 43-year-old male driver? …Read Full Article Here
August 30, 2011
Evaluation of 2nd Degree Murder Charge of Norman McEachern for Intentionally Killing Kaufman on a Kitchener, Ontario Street
Proving that an impact with a pedestrian was an intentional act of murder is the task of investigating police in an event that occurred on Homer Watson Boulevard near Hanson Avenue in Kitchener, Ontario. While an argument between the driver, Norman McEachern, and his passenger, Brett Kaufman, may have occurred that will not be sufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that intent was present in McEachern to kill Kaufman. …Read Full Article Here
August 25, 2011
Malfunctioning Traffic Signal Not Reported In Official Police Investigation of Crash South of Sarnia, Ontario
The fact that a malfunctioning traffic signal could have contributed to a serious collision on Monday, August 22, 2011, south of Sarnia, Ontario is an important issue. The fact that police reportedly did not identify this malfunction in their investigation and that the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, who reportedly repaired the signal a day after the collision, stated that the traffic signal malfunction was likely not related to collision, is disturbing. …Read Full Article Here
August 13, 2011
Ottawa Area Man Dies In Collision South-West of Stratford, Ontario
Yesterday, August 13, 2011, a fatal collision occurred on Embro Road and Perth County Road 26 on the south-western outskirts of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. An Ottawa resident, Mr. Ralph Fildes, 78, was northbound, pulled out from a stop sign and his vehicle was struck in the left side by an eastbound Chevrolet Cruze. I examined the site and offer some of my comments. …Read Full Article Here
August 11, 2011
Truck Trailer Impacts Highway 19 Overpass at Ingersoll Ontario In Early Hours of August 10, 2011
It was a fortunate sequence of events that led to no injuries when an eastbound tractor-trailer loaded with peaches collided with a concrete bridge support near Ingersoll, Ontario, yesterday but no injuries occurred. …Read Full Article Here
August 11, 2011
Woman Killed on Highway 401 Over-night on August 11, 2011 Near Woodstock Ontario
Several vehicles have reportedly struck a woman who entered the lanes of Highway 401 this morning near Woodstock Ontario. A belief by some readers that drivers should have been able to avoid the woman is a misunderstanding of the capabilities of drivers under high-speed night-time conditions. …Read Full Article Here
August 10, 2011
Is Luck At Brink Of Running Out For Loss-Of-Control Collisions On Clarke Road in London, Ontario?
No sooner had I reported (see website article “Ontario Regulation Allows Existence of Dangerous Drop Offs at Edge of Asphalt Rural Roads”) on the precarious safety status of Clarke Road in London, Ontario, Canada then I attended the site this morning and observed evidence of several more loss-of-control events that occurred in the last 24 hours. Here is a sample of some of the evidence. …Read Full Article Here
August 10, 2011
Ontario Regulation Allows Existence of Dangerous Drop Offs at Edge of Asphalt Rural Roads, Posting Date: August 10, 2011
Ontario has enacted legislation that protects defendant municipalities from almost every form of negligence when dangerous conditions exist at the edge of its highways. This article uses our analysis of conditions on Clarke Road, north of Fanshawe Park Road in north-east London, Ontario to demonstrate that the enacted regulations are unreasonable. …Read Full Article Here
August 5, 2011
Fatality in Low Speed Rollover Near Camlachie (Sarnia) Ontario Is A Clear Example of Why You Should Wear Your Seat Belt
Just after midnight on Thursday, August 4th, 2011, Travis Sitter was driving his Hyundai Accent north on Lakeshore Road, north-east of Sarnia Ontario when his vehicle entered a east ditch causing his fatal injuries. The low speed of this accident is a clear indicator how a seat belt would have prevented this tragedy. …Read Full Article Here
A video documentary of this crash result is also available on the Videos page of this website.
July 21th, 2011
Welcome to the new website location of Gorski Consulting. There has been an interruption in our normal activities since late May, 2011 while we re-build our website. We are slowly introducing new content as well as loading articles/news from the previous website. This takes some work so please be patient. Below you will see the articles from the previous website being slowly re-introduced:
67-Year-Old Female Driver Fatally Injured Near Mt Brydges Ontario Is Another Lesson To Be Learned
Posting Date: 07 Oct 2010
I attended the site of this unfortunate fatality this afternoon after hearing of its occurrence yesterday afternoon, October 6th. It is always a fine line between trying to educate the public while potentially causing additional difficulties to the family and friends of this person. However it must be done. …Read Full Article Here
Another Collision And Anti-Racing Charges Against Elgin County OPP
It was reported yesterday, July 23, 2009, that another Elgin County OPP Constable was charged under the new anti-racing law as a result of a collision that occurred south-east of St. Thomas, Ontario. …Read Full Article Here
Fatal Loss-of-Control Collision on Oxford County Road 6 North of Brooksdale
Posting Date: 28 Oct 2010
It seems Brooksdale, Ontario has become a hot bed of fatal collisions recently. I had visited the area on October 27th, with the intention of examining a reported rollover collision that occurred on October 16th. I began reporting on the facts I uncovered and indicated that the collision was not a rollover but in fact was an impact with a tree. It seems the site I examined was in fact the site of a second fatal collision that had occurred on Tuesday evening, October 26th. …Read Full Article Here
Calvin William Gogo Charged: Double Fatal On Pressey Line, Malahide, March 26th, 2011
It has been reported that at approximately 10:35 P.M. on Saturday, March 26, 2011, an eastbound GMC Pick-up truck, carrying a driver and four passengers collided with the south concrete bridge abutment on Pressey Line just west of Carter Road, just north-east of Aylmer, Ontario. I was out at the accident site this afternoon and have the following to report. …Read Full Article Here
City Of London Blames Increased Crash Claims on Legal System – A Biased London Free Press Article Posting Date: 01 Apr 2011
The London Free Press has authored a rather biased article in its April 1st, 2011 edition suggesting that Ontario’s legal system is to blame for the City of London being named in several law suits relating to the City’s inadequate maintenance of its road system. …Read Full Article Here
Collision at Queens Ave and Ontario St, London – Why Should We Be Surprized? Posting Date: 26 Jan 2011
The London Free Press had made it appear that there is a genuine mystery why more collisions are occurring at the intersection of Queens Avenue (an east/west, one way arterial) and Ontario Street ( a north-south, two-say collector street). To me there is little mystery. …Read Full Article Here
Collision Deformation Classification – A Brief Review
Posting Date: 30 Dec 2007
It has been apparent from examinations of visits to our website that many investigators/researchers are interested in the definition of the Collision Deformation Classification or CDC. So here is our brief review. …Read Full Article Here
Congratulations To London City for Proper Maintenance on Veterans Memorial Parkway, Posting Date: 13 Jun 2010
While I complain a great deal about improper actions of various official entities in the realm of motor vehicle safety, there are occasions when applause is due for a job well done. …Read Full Article Here
Court Fails to Convict Drunk Driver Due to Misunderstanding of Witness Inaccuracy, Posting Date: February, 2011
Once again an Ontario court has relied on witness information as the basis for deciding the guilt/innocence of an accused party. Wrong again. …Read Full Article Here
Cyclist On Hyde Park Rd South of Ilderton In Critical Condition, Posting Date: 26 Aug 2010
This morning a 42-year-old female cyclist was reportedly struck from behind by an SUV while travelling southbound on Hyde Park Road just on the southern outskirts of Ilderton, Ontario. …Read Full Article Here
Deer Collision A Close Call For Ford Focus Driver, Posting Date: May 5, 2010 2011
This morning the northbound driver of a Ford Focus encountered a deer running westbound across Clarke Road, just north of the bridge over the north branch of the Thames River. The aftermath is as shown in the photos. …Read Full Article Here
Dr. Kelly Shaughnessy of Ingersoll Reportedly Fatally Injured in Head-On Collision, Posting Date: 01 Nov 2010
It is being reported that a popular local physician, Dr. Kelly Shaughnessy, was killed in a head-on collision on Saturday, October 30th, 2010 at approximately 2200 hours. It is reported that his 2004 Honda SUV “drifted into an oncoming lane and struck a pick-up truck head-on” (London Free Press). Further, a 52-year-old male passenger of the 2001 Dodge Pick-up truck was also fatally injured while the 31-year-old driver of the Pick-up truck sustained non-life threatening injuries. …Read Full Article Here
Dr. Shaughnessy Collision Site – Additional Line of Sight Testing on Jan 13, 2011, Posting Date: 16 Jan 2011
I was informed by a neighbour of the accident site at the intersection of Oxford County Road 55 and Muir Road (Oxford County Road 130) that a rollover collision occurred on January 12th, 2011 and so I attended the site to investigate further. It turned out that the event was fairly minor, was a simple loss of control into a ditch and was likely not related to the line-of-sight deficiencies that I reported in my original article regarding the Saughnessy collision in early November, 2010.
However, since I was already there I decided to conduct a further analysis of the line of sight at the intersection. …Read Full Article Here
Dynamic Road Surface Depressions Due to Frost are Sometimes Left Un-Detected, Posting Date: 27 Mar, 2010
Over the winter months we have been tracking the road conditions at various sites around London, Ontario. As an example, Sunningdale Road, runs east-west across the northern portion of the City. While driving this stretch westbound from Clarke Road this winter my first encounter was of a sudden bottoming out of my car. …Read Full Article Here
Farm Machinery On Highway Exceptional Danger In Fall Season
Posting Date: 22 Sep 2010
Every year the fall season brings on exceptional dangers of impacts between regular traffic and farm machinery. …Read Full Article Here
Fatal Acura Impact On Hwy 53 West of Burford April 8th, 2011, Posting Date: 08 Apr 2011
A fatal loss-of-control collision occurred this early morning on Highway #53 west of Burford, Ontario. The right front occupant, Sheldon Howell, sustained fatal injuries while the driver survived. Although news reports indicate this was a rollover that is not true. …Read Full Article Here
Fatal Collision on Highway 8 South of Cambridge, May 30th, 2010 – Review of Evidence
Thirty-two-year-old Laurie Banks of Troy, Ontario was fatally injured in a head-on collision on Highway 8, just south of Cambridge, Ontario on Sunday, May 30th, 2010. …Read Full Article Here
Fatal Head-On Collision East of Thorndale Typical of Loss of Control Event, Posting Date: 17 Sep 2010
It was reported that a fatal head-on collision occurred yesterday afternoon, September 16th, 2010 on Thorndale Road. Roy Dyer, 85 of Orangeville, Ontario, was travelling westbound when his vehicle crossed the roadway centre-line and collided with an eastbound vehicle operated by Andrew Holptrop, 28, of Thames Centre. …Read Full Article Here
Fatal Loss-of-Control Collision on Gideon Drive Is A Testimony For Seat Belt Use, Posting Date: 13 Jul 2010
Just yesterday I prepared an article on the loss-of-control collision of an Elgin County OPP police cruiser where the vehicle was obviously travelling at tremendous speed, yet the Constable survived. Unfortunately these events are a toss of the dice in that you can never predict the outcome. Such is true of the subject of this article whereby a driver of a pick-up truck sustained fatal injuries as a result of a loss-of-control collision on Gideon Drive, on the western outskirts of London, Ontario on July 7th, 2010. I examined the site today and have the following photos to share. …Read Full Article Here
Fatal Hit and Run On Trafalgar Road In London Not Good Mix With Road Depression
It is reported that an elderly pedestrian was struck and killed last night on Trafalgar Road between Crumlin Road and Shaw Road in London, Ontario. I looked at the site this afternoon and here are my thoughts. …Read Full Article Here
Fatal Pick-up Truck Collision on Perth County Rd 112 on July 29, 2010 – Was Visibility A Factor?, Posting Date: 29 Jul 2010
It was reported that this morning, shortly after midnight, a pick-up truck collided with a tree and earth embankment at the intersection of Perth County Road 112 and Perth-Oxford Road, just south of Harmony, Ontario. Un-earthing clues in the soil could explain what happened. …Read Full Article Here
Felecia Ann Pearson Fatally Injured And Possible Cause Not Discussed, Posting Date: 05 May 2011
Felecia Ann Pearson was a 21-year-old driver of a Ford passenger car when she was tragically killed on Tuesday afternoon, May 3rd, 2011. The news media report that her westbound vehicle travelled through a stop sign on Concession #8 at its intersection with Wellington Road #9 south east of Palmerston, Ontario. The news media reported that she “failed to stop for a stop sign” but that is debatable. …Read Full Article Here
Guilt In 17-Yr-Old Driver’s Fatal Collision of September, 2008 Is Evaluated, Posting Date: 22 Jul 2010
An unidentified, 17-year-old male driver was convicted of careless driving in a Kitchener-area court on Tuesday in relation to a crash that occurred in September, 2008 on Wilmot Line near the intersection of Cedar Grove Road just north-west of Waterloo, Ontario. The crash took the life of his young passenger and girl-friend, 17-year-old Hayley Price-Geddes. It has reported that the collision occurred in darkness when the Ford Escort attempted to negotiate a right curve. A police expert claimed the vehicle could have stopped if it had been going the posted speed limit of 60 km/h. …Read Full Article Here
High Speed Neon Rollover On Oil Heritage Road In Lambton County, Posting Date: 27 Aug 2010
It was reported that a Dodge Neon was involved in a rollover collision on Oil Heritage Road, north of Fisher Line in Lambton County this morning, August 27, 2010 just before 0800 hours. The driver of the Neon, Kyle Van Moorsel, 22, was taken away by air ambulance and is listed in critical condition. His passenger, Marc Piquette, 24, suffered non-life-threatening injuries. …Read Full Article Here
Horizontal Posts, Fence Boards, Etc. Are Unknown Roadside Dangers,
Posting Date: 26 Mar 2011
Relativity is an interesting concept. In motor vehicle accident analysis the cause of accidents is sometimes relative to where you live. But the word “relativity” also suggests the word “relative” which can mean something belonging to the same family. …Read Full Article Here
How Do We Know That You Wore Your Seat Belt?, Posted on 07 Oct 2009
In modern days investigators find it more convenient to simply look at the download from an event data recorder (“Black Box”) in order to determine whether a front-seat occupant was wearing a seat belt during a crash. But this information is sometimes incorrect because of issues such as power failure, buckling the seatbelt behind the body or simply because the occupant of interest is not a driver. It is important therefore to be familiar with the physical evidence to independently confirm that a seat belt was worn. But not only that. Such analysis can also determine how the system was worn; as in whether it was worn properly. …Read Full Article Here
Death of 17-Year-old Lyndal Huber Marks Annual Beginning of Roadway Killing Season, Posting Date: 21 Mar 2011
Unfortunately, every spring we see the heightening of major collisions in Ontario. I have come to term this the Killing Season in an attempt to raise awareness to this fact. Yesterday evening’s fatal collision near Palmerston, Ontario is an example of what typically occurs. …Read Full Article Here
Impact of Rear Wheel of Trailer South of Amberlee Ontario on May 25, 2011, Posting Date: 27 May 2011
A curious impact occurred just south of the village of Amberlee, Ontario, just to north east of Stratford on Perth Road 107 on May 25th, 2011. A young man was northbound in his car to meet with his mother who was just a few kilometres away when, for some unexplained reason, his car crossed the roadway centre-line and collided with the rear wheels of a truck trailer. …Read Full Article Here
Impaired Driver John Bartlett Fatal Crash Not Fully Explained, Posting Date: 10 Mar 2011
On Friday night, March 4th, 2011, at approximately 11:30 P.M., a Ford Pick-up truck was eastbound on Jerseyville Road, on the outskirts of Hamilton, Ontario. John Bartlett was the driver. Reportedly impaired by alcohol Bartlett’s vehicle struck a tree resulting in fatal and serious injuries to his passengers. But nothing was said about the road conditions. …Read Full Article Here
Intersection Collision of Oxford Cty Rd 74 and 43 April 6th, 2011, Posting Date: 07 Apr 2011
It has been reported that at two-vehicle, intersection collision occurred involving a westbound “SUV” on Oxford Rd 74 and a northbound “Hyundai” on Oxford Road 43. Two male occupants of the Hyundai tried to accelerate from a stop sign and were struck in the right side by the front of the SUV. …Read Full Article Here
Interview on Rogers First Local News of May 5, 2010
As arranged through contact by Rogers news, I was interviewed on site on Veterans Memorial Parkway to follow up on my presentation to the Argyle Community Association of April 22, 2010. At that meeting one of the points that I discussed was the condition of certain portions of Veterans Memorial Parkway such that there was an excessive edge drop-off, the lane edge line was at the edge of the pavement which itself was broken away, and there was an excessive slope leading into the grass median. …Read Full Article Here
Is Drinking In a Cemetery Drunk Driving?
An enlightening of judicial reasoning unfolded recently with the Reasons for Judgment handed down by Justice J. Pettetier of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in R. v. William G. Murray. Mr. Murray was originally found guilty under Section 253(B) of the Criminal Code as “…having car or control of his car at a time when his blood alcohol level exceeded the legal limit”. This was in relation to his visiting his parents grave and drinking beer while sitting in his car throughout the night. …Read Full Article Here
Johnson V. Milton – My Response to Judgment by Ontario Court of Appeal, Posting Date: 04 Jun 2008
Today marked the release of the judgment by the Ontario Court of Appeal with respect to the appeal of the judgment of Justice Gerald E. Taylor of the Superior Court of Justice dated July 28, 2006, regarding Johnson v. Municipality of Milton (Oakville). This was a case involving the collision of a tandem bicycle against an embankment in Oakville, Ontario on September 13, 1992. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson were riding their tandem bicycle down a steep slope when they encountered a bumpy road surface just before crossing a narrow bridge. Their collision with a rock embankment resulted in fatal injuries to Mr. Johnson and major injuries to Mrs. Johnson. …Read Full Article Here
Justice Moldaver Veils Prejudicial Personal Attack in Judgment
I would have left matters alone had I not (again) turned up another legal article this weekend quoting the outrageous personal attack of Justice Moldaver of the Ontario Court of Appeal upon my testimony with respect to the matter of Johnson v. Milton. …Read Full Article Here
Legality of Minimum Maintenance Standards (MMS) To Be Addressed At Trial in the Fall of 2010, Posting Date: 23 Jul 2010
In 2002 the Ontario government adopted Regulation 239/02 entitled Minimum Maintenance Standards for Municipal Highways. This set of rules discussed issues such a frequency of road patrols, snow and ice removal, roadway/roadside deficiencies, luminaire repair, regulatory/warning sign replacement, traffic signal repair and bridge repairs. The rules were developed by a task force organized by the Ontario Good Roads Association (OGRA) made up principally of those agencies who are defendants in law suits brought upon them by plaintiffs. The Standards were found wanting in an earlier trial (Thornhill v. Shadid, 2008) wherein Justice J. Howden had concerns over the issue of notice versus constructive notice, as well as other matters. …Read Full Article Here
Mis-Leading News Media Reports About London’s Most Dangerous Intersections
Every year the London Police Force releases data on intersections within the City of London that have experienced the most traffic accidents. This year’s release was broadcast yesterday and today by most news outlets. It should be clear to anyone that suggesting that more accidents indicate more danger is incorrect if the results are not controlled for other factors such as traffic volume. Indeed these reports do not control for any factors and no explanation is provided to the public in these news releases. It appears from the comments provided by the public that they are mis-led by the meaning of the data. …Read Full Article Here
Paul-Michael Foster Disappeared Then Found In 24 Feet of Water
I noted a story this morning (October 15th, 2010) in the Hamilton Spectator newspaper discussing the death of Paul-Michael Foster. Reportedly Foster went missing in January of 2010. Last month divers accidentally came upon his truck with Foster inside, in 24 feet of water in the Hamilton harbour. …Read Full Article Here
Bus Crash, New York City: Fatals Caused By Low Guard Rail
The World Wide Tours bus crash that occurred on I-95 at Hutchinson Parkway yesterday, March 12, 2011 was mainly the result of a low guard rail that caused the bus to fall over top of it. …Read Full Article Here
OPP Officer Charged With Street Racing – This Is Not The First Time, Posting Date: 12 Feb 2009
By pure coincidence I happened to flip through the National Post newspaper yesterday and came across the following article “Police car impounded after officer allegedly clocked at 165 km/h”. …Read Full Article Here
Peel Regional Police Officer Fatally Injured In Crash On March 1st, 2010
We are making it a habit to comment on Police fatal collisions lately. It has been reported this morning that a Peel Regional Police officer died of his injuries following a collision “in the Airport Road and Steeles Avenue area…”. The marked cruiser was reportedly involved in a collision with another vehicle before its right side slammed into a light standard. …Read Full Article Here
Preliminary Review of Fatal: March 10, 2011: Egremont & Coldstream Road
It is reported that a fatal collision occurred yesterday, March 10th, 2011, at approximately 1340 hours, at the intersection of Egremont Drive and Coldstream Road just north west of London, Ontario. It would appear that a 75-year-old male driver entered the intersection from a stop-sign control on Coldstream and was struck in the driver’s door area by the front end of a General Motors (Regal or Century) passenger car that was travelling straight through on Egremont. …Read Full Article Here
Roof Pillars Can Be A Visibility Obstruction, Posting Date: 19 Jul 2007
As Reconstructionists we like to simplify things to a set of analyses that suggest a complete understanding of an event when in fact reality is quite a bit more complicated. Take the circumstance where a driver says he/she did not see another vehicle at an intersection where the line of sight appears to be clear. Many analysts have stated in their reports that it is obvious that the person was mistaken or simply lying, since the position of one vehicle with respect to another clearly showed the driver should have seen the other vehicle. …Read Full Article Here
“Rural Road Safety In Canada” – A Research Critique by Gorski Consulting, Posting Date: 29 Sep 2010
In my recent interest in rural, loss-of-control collisions I stumbled upon a research report prepared for the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA) entitled ” Rural Road Safety in Canada: Traffic Collision Trends & Recommended Strategies” (2006). I have had a chance to glance through a couple of the report’s pages leading to my decision to critique its content. …Read Full Article Here
Scott Ineson Reportedly Killed on QEW Bronte Road On-Ramp
The Hamilton Spectator Newspaper has reported that Scott Ineson, 31, was one of two persons killed when their car struck a utility pole on the Bronte Road on-ramp to the Queen Elizabeth Way at approximately 0600 hours on Monday, December 20th. The newspaper report indicated “The head-on crash split the car in half…”. …Read Full Article Here
SIU, Police Association and Politics Are Creating Black Pots and Kettles, Posting Date: 28 Feb 2011
It was reported in the Toronto Star newspaper last week that the Ontario Law Society dismissed a complaint made by Ontario’s Police Association against Mr. Ian Scott, Director of the Ontario Special Investigations Unit (SIU) for “bias against police officers”. The SIU is an investigative unit that handles complaints of police wrong-doing in incidents where significant harm has occurred to individuals during police activities. Since Mr. Scott is lawyer the Police Association attempted this approach apparently as a means of resolving problems they have perceived in the Mr. Scott’s activities as the SIU’s director. …Read Full Article Here
Snow Plowed Onto Guard Rails Is Dangerous
Well over 20 years ago the University of Western Ontario Multi-Disciplinary Accident Research Team wrote a research paper entitled “Unsatisfactory Roadside Barrier System Performance in Real-World Collisions: Lessons to be Learned” (SAE, 1987). One of the cases that we high-lighted in that paper was of snow that was plowed onto a guard rail that was placed in front of a bridge abutment. In cold weather the snow solidified into ice. An out of control vehicle travelled toward the guard rail but, instead of striking the “W” bar of the rail it rode over top of the ice/snow embankment and struck head-on into the concrete bridge abutment. This was a lesson to be learned. …Read Full Article Here
Speed Estimates From Slide To Stop Formula
I have noticed a large number of inquires on this website seeking information about speed estimates from the “slide to stop” formula. So this is my technical derivation and explanation. …Read Full Article Here
Speed Necessary To Produce 50 Metre Skid Mark
I noticed an interesting search item that led the searcher to our Gorski Consulting website wherein the person searched for an answer to how quickly might a vehicle be travelling in order to produce a 50 metre (164 foot) long skid mark. I’m not trying to dodge the question but that really depends on the conditions and what you assume. …Read Full Article Here
Stephanie Fairweather Identified as Woman Fatally Injured on Third Line East of Iona Road, Posting Date: 03 Dec 2010
It is reported that she was westbound on Third Line “…when the vehicle left the roadway on the south side, striking trees and coming to rest in two pieces” (OPP Constable Michelle Murphy). While all collisions have an element of uncertainty and uniqueness, after having reviewed the evidence at the collision site it leaves my mind with considerable confusion. …Read Full Article Here
Testing To Estimate How Often Driver’s Use Their Mirrors
In motor vehicle accident analysis there has to be a reasonable foundation for conclusions about what a normal driver is capable of perceiving and whether a collision was avoidable. Thus it is important for analysts to conduct a variety testing to understand how a normal driver might function under various driving environments. There are a number of sophisticated analyses that can be accomplished using fairly precise equipment. At Gorski Consulting we have tried to conduct such in-situ testing using inexpensive, consumer-type video cameras. The present article will discuss our most recent testing to estimate how often driver’s might look into their mirrors while travelling in a variety of environments. …Read Full Article Here
Thomas Walters of Blenheim, Ontario Died of “Medical Condition” But Physical Evidence Suggests Caution, Posting Date: 29 Nov 2010
It was reported that Thomas Walters of Blenheim, Ontario died yesterday morning (Sunday, November 28, 2010) “as a result of a heart-related medical condition” and not due to the single vehicle collision that he was involved in on Middle Line just east of Charing Cross Road, south of Chatham, Ontario. …Read Full Article Here
Tim Best Trial Proves Worst For Former Mayor Anne Marie DeCicco, Posting Date: 24 Jan 2011
Here in London, Ontario, Canada there is a trial taking place that is larger than its small players in that it illuminates the worst parts of our global, human character. I am writing of an insignificant event involving an alleged drunk driver who happens to be involved in two minor collisions and flees the scene. A fellow driver sees the impacts and begins a relentless chase through the rural outskirts east of London. The alleged drunk driver is ultimately caught by police and therefore the reason for the current trial. …Read Full Article Here
Tree Impact On Ferguson Line On April 3rd, 2011 Leads to Critical Injuries
It was reported that an eastbound vehicle on Ferguson Line, Elgin County struck a tree just west of Highbury Avenue. The 33-year-old unidentified, female St. Thomas resident was reportedly in critical condition. I examined the site this afternoon with the following photos. …Read Full Article Here
Viper Rollover On Hwy 402 Results in Fatal Injuries to Driver, Posting Date: 29 Nov 2010
It was reported that on Saturday morning, November 20th, 2010 Kenneth Frederickson of Glencoe, Ontario was fatally injured as a result of a rollover of his Dodge Viper as he travelled westbound on Highway 402 just west of London, Ontario. Police reported that Frederickson was ejected from his vehicle during the crash. Witnesses were reported to say that the vehicle was not travelling at a high speed before the crash. I examined the site on November 22nd and can report the following. …Read Full Article Here
Visibility and Lighting Issues in Accident Reconstruction
Drivers and witnesses make a variety of claims that are difficult to assess scientifically. Visibility issues are almost always present in any reconstruction of a motor vehicle accident. One of the most important activities in a visibility assessment is to document the lighting that may have helped or hindered visibility. A light meter is an analyst’s helpful friend in this cases. …Read Full Article Here
Woman Dies in Single-Vehicle Collision on Kent Bridge Road East of Chatham, Ontario, Posting Date: 15 Oct 2010
It has been reported that a 56-year-old woman from the Chatham-Kent region died as a result of serious head injuries suffered in a single-vehicle collision on Kent Bridge Road, just south of Front Line in the Harwich Township area. The collision occurred yesterday, October 14, 2010. …Read Full Article Here
What Important “Accidents” Are Being Reported?, Posting Date: 13 Aug 2010
This morning I came across a situation of a Chrysler vehicle stopped and blocking the curb lane of Highbury Avenue in London and the angle of its left front wheel was noticeably peculiar. …Read Full Article Here