Forensic Failure Analysis
in Vehicle Crash
Reconstruction
By Zarir Hafiz Zulkipli
Crash Reconstruction Unit,
Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research
I
n order to recommend high impact interventions
towards road safety, the Malaysian Institute
of Road Safety Research (MIROS) not only
concentrates on research projects, but also
conducts real-world in-depth crash investigations.
This continuous effort started since the
establishment of MIROS in 2007. The primary
purpose of MIROS’ crash investigation is to
identify in detail as many factors as possible that
contribute to crashes and the resulting injuries to
occupants, particularly factors that have not been
previously identified. This process is expected to
lead to the development of counter measures
that will help to reduce the human and economic
impact of road crashes on Malaysian society.
MIROS’ crash investigation work covers all types
of road traffic collisions in Malaysia, including Sabah
and Sarawak. The crash investigation involves the
inspection of crash scenes and the documentation
of all necessary and available information of
each component (i.e. human, vehicle, and road-
environment). In the process of investigating and
reconstructing the crash, a forensic engineering
approach is utilised because at the core of most
crashes is the failure of something — a person, a
component of a vehicle or road infrastructure —
working or reacting properly.
Since 2007, MIROS has investigated over
1,000 cases. Whilst most causes of the cases
can be attributed to driver failure, the failure of the
vehicle or road infrastructure amplified the severity
of the crash. The following case studies provide
examples from real-world crashes, involving failure
analysis of the vehicle and road infrastructure
which contributed to crash and occupant injury
severity.
1. Vehicle Structural Integrity Failure
Numerous MIROS crash investigations of heavy
commercial passenger vehicle (HCPVs) accidents
found that there was a significant number of
HCPVs, suffering from degraded superstructures,
that mechanically failed in collision. These
collisions resulted in multiple fatalities and
injuries. Some of the structures were found to be
designed not according to any standards and their
structural integrity had been seriously degraded.
In one crash that resulted in six fatalities and
25 injuries, a bus ran off-road and went through
a guardrail before colliding with a tree stump and
overturning. The impact caused the entire roof to
collapse and eventually flatten the passengers’
cabin (Figure 1). Inspection of the bus registration
history revealed that the bus was already 16 years
old and the structure was badly rusted (Figure
2). Further inspection revealed that one of the
major factors that contributed to the structural
failure was the highly deteriorated roof structure
material. The manufacturer used welding to
connect the pillars, instead of using a continuous
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