Scientific Evidence in Cases of Motor Accident
| Published date | 01 July 1940 |
| Author | F. G. Tryhorn |
| Date | 01 July 1940 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X4001300305 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Scientific Evidence in Cases of
Motor Accident
By F. G. TRYHORN, D.Sc., A.I.e.
Professor of Chemistry, University College,
Hull
IN
motor accidents damage may be done to persons or objects
or to the car itself.
The
number of such accidents must tend
to increase with the development of motor traffic, and, although
the diminished number of cars on the road in war-time condi-
tions may cause a decline in the number of accidents, this must
to some extent be set off by the difficulties of night-driving
under black-out conditions.
The
restriction of expenditure on
road upkeep will probably act as an accident-promoting factor
when motor traffic increases again after the war.
In those cases in which the vehicle involved is sufficiently
damaged to be unable to be removed from the scene under its
own power, no difficulty arises in the matter of its identifica-
tion;
but
when the car suffers slight or no damage and is driven
away by its driver in an endeavour to escape the consequences
of the accident the problem of identification may present
difficulties. Eye-witnesses' descriptions of a moving vehicle
are often hazy and inadequate, especially if their attention has
been focussed on the damage to persons or property caused by
the accident. Dirty number-plates may result in such an eye-
witness being unable to give even a single letter or number of
the registration mark, and a vague description of a " long black
car " or an " oldish saloon " may be all the information that is
available.
The
officer attempting to trace the car has then to rely on
enquiries at garages over possibly a wide area or on such
inferences as may be made from an examination of the scene
of the accident or of injured persons.
It
is often through
garage enquiries or reports that success in the search occurs;
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