The Identification of Tool Marks
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X3901200107 |
| Date | 01 January 1939 |
| Author | A. E. Harwich |
| Published date | 01 January 1939 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
The Identification of Tool
Marks
WITH
PARTICULAR
REFERENCE
TO
A
RECENT
CASE
OF
MOTOR
MANSLAUGHTER
By A. E.
HARWICH,
F.R.M.S.
Assistant
Superintendent
of
Police,
Uganda
IN
the issue for October, 1937, of THE
POLICE
JOURNAL
(The
Use
of
a Graph in Relation to a Recent Motor Accident Case,
p. 455) was described one of the many accidents which
invariably accompany the marketing of the cotton crop in
Uganda. Another more serious case is related below and is
particularly interesting as being the first occasion in the
history of the country on which laboratory work helped to
prove as reckless an example of bad driving as can be imagined.
One day during the 1937 cotton season in the Masaka
district, a lorry driven by a native, one Muhammadu, left
the garage for a tour of nearby villages where cotton might
be found.
The
lorry, a very old British Bedford, was of the
platform type, that is, there were no side-boards to prevent
the load from sliding or rolling off. At the time of the accident
there were eight persons on board, three in the driver's cab
and the others, together with about a ton and a half of raw
cotton, were somewhat precariously perched at the back.
It
appears that shortly before reaching a bend Muham-
madu saw ahead of him in the distance another lorry which he
recognised as belonging to a rival firm. Clapping on all speed
and blowing his horn furiously he managed to overtake and
pass the other lorry, the driver of which had halted and waved
him on. By that time, however, Muhammadu had attained such
a speed that he was unable to slow down sufficiently to take
the corner on his correct side nor, having negotiated the corner,
could he straighten
out;
instead his lorry left the road on the
wrong side and travelled with both offside wheels in the high
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