When handled, interpreted, and analyzed properly, video can be utilized to extract objective information about time and position in order to estimate speed in accident reconstruction. In this piece, we’re going to detail how video evidence is used in accident and collision reconstruction. Take a look.

Sources of Video Evidence

Many security systems tend to keep videos for short periods before they are overwritten, making it crucial to access them as quickly as possible. Here are some common sources of video footage accident reconstruction experts tend to look for:

• Security footage from nearby residential or commercial buildings
• Interior and exterior security views from transit vehicles
• Dashcam video from the vehicle involved in the accident
• Dashcam video from a witness’s vehicle
• Dashcam video from a vehicle/vehicles that arrive at the scene after, such as police vehicles
• Video from news media drones/helicopters
• Video from photojournalists at the scene of the accident
• Video from involved parties’ cell phones at the scene of the accident



Understanding the Information That Be Gleaned from Video Evidence

Just as photogrammetry allows collision reconstruction experts to extract measurements from photos, ‘videogrammetry’ is a similar type of methodology used for analysis of videos.

Analysis of video footage allows reconstruction experts to extract measurements of positions, as well as important information about time, which is extracted via the camera’s frame rate. By extracting both position and time information, experts can precisely estimate the speed on impact and measure the vehicle’s acceleration. Moreover, if there is accompanying audio in the footage, it can help make a more precise estimate of the speed on impact.



The level of complexity of the video analysis depends on the type and quality of the video footage. At times, video analysis can be relatively simple. However, if scaling needs to be used to determine the vehicle’s speed on impact, then that can take more time.

TLS Forensic Engineering—Accident and Collision Reconstruction Experts

We are leading experts in the field of injury and accident reconstruction. With our complete mechanism for accident reconstruction and injury analysis, we can provide you with a detailed understanding of the sequence of events in vehicle accident cases.

Get in touch with our team for more information.