Collision Investigation News

Throughout the UK Police Forces are equipping their Collision Investigation Units with VERICOM Brake and Dynamics testers from DATRON TECHNOLOGY.
A total of 16 Police Forces in England,Wales and Ireland are now using the VERICOM VC3000 & VC4000 products with several more planning to order in 2010.

The Vericom instruments offer many advantages over the types of Skid Testers and Decelerometers that have been in use by Police C.I.U's for many years.Having Dual and Tri-axis accelerometers built-in Vericoms are able to measure not just vehicle Skid-to-Stop and Road Friction Co-efficent but also vehicle accelerations to set speeds,between set speeds and also over time and over distances which are defined by the user.

In addition to the standard braking and acceleration testing some Forces have purchased
VERICOM DAQ (Data AcQuisition) models to undertake more complex testing functions such as Air and Hydraulic Brake pressure recording on HGV's and LGV's to determine the effectiveness of the braking system.
Up to 12 additional sensor may be connected to the Vericom DAQ models so the data from these sensors will be recorded simultaneously with the braking parameters.

Other applications for which the Vericoms are being used are.............
# Motorcycle braking and acceleration testing,including Horsepower calculations to establish if a bike has been de-restricted.
#Recording forward and lateral accelerations over short distances when pulling out from a T- junction.
#Brake pedal pressure and travel recording during braking.                                                                                                           #Using the GPS sensor data (optional on VC4000PC & DAQ models) for geographical location data where tests are done.

and many others.....................................

For the latest information and prices on the Vericom VC4000 range or if you would like a demonstration and evaluation contact the Datron team.

Datron exhibitied at the Institute of Traffic Accident Investigators (ITAI) Conference and Exhibition on 26th/27th September 2009.The event,which takes place every two years,was at the Hinckley Island Hotel,Hinckley, Leicestershire,U.K.and was held in conjunction with the German-based EVU,an allied organisation.Papers were presented by scientists and practitioners from both organisations to delegates from all parts of Europe,North America and the Far East.

Datron exhibited the VERICOM range of testers together with the OXTS RT and Inertial+ dynamics and survey products.

The VERICOM VC4000 range is the latest in a line of products in use by Accident Investigators for over 25 years worldwide.On show were the VC4000PC and VC4000DAQ models together with their accessories and the Profile4 analysis software.
The VERICOM Testers are now in use by many Police Forces in the U.K and Ireland.They offer many more functions than the traditional skid-to-stop testers including acceleration tests,GPS data,lateral G measurement and many more.
The VC4000DAQ model has inputs for up to 12 additional sensors so for example can be used to record pressure data from air brake systems on HGV's.

Also examples of the OXTS RT2500 and Inertial+ products were exhibited.The OXTS products have applications for some of the more  unusual measurements in accident investigation;for example a coach roll-over accident.
The OXTS products are also used by many organisations for surveying road surface quality,road system infrastructure and also in aerial survey work.

DATRON offer an Instrument HIRE service of both Vericom and OXTS products.This is ideal for those practitioners who do not have a constant requirement for test instruments.        Call us today for hire prices and to reserve a unit.

Datron are pleased to be the sole UK supplier of the VERICOM VC3000 & VC4000 range of instruments which are used in Collision Investigation for measuring and recording deceleration,coefficient-of-friction and skid-to-stop testing.
These outstanding products have been developed over many years in the USA in close co-operation with police and university establishments.
They are in use by Police Collision Investigation Units (C.I.U) throughout North America,Australasia and many other parts of the world.
The VERICOM is quickly becoming the instrument of choice of many UK Police C.I.U's throughout the country.

There are several basic products available today for braking and coefficient of friction measurement.The feature-rich VERICOM goes much further by having many additional measurement functions such as forward acceleration measurement,lateral acceleration
measurement, instant viewing of test results and large data memory; to name just a few.

A unique feature of the VERICOM is it's Run Duration Protocol (RDP) function.Many deceleration testers measure the deceleration from (typically) a minus 0.2G falling trigger point through to a rising minus 0.2G stop point.This does not give true test results because the measurement should stop when the vehicle speed is zero and not when the deceleration reaches the minus 0.2G rising point.This can be responsible for a considerable error in the calculation of deceleration,speed and distance (i.e. inaccurate data).By using a VERICOM with it's RDP function collision investigators can be confident that their test data is completely accurate.

Using the VERICOM DAQ models it is possible to input signals from sensors which will be integrated with the basic time,deceleration,speed and distance measurements.One typical application is recording pressure information from sensors attached to points on HGV air brake systems.Another is measurement of brake pedal force and travel. 

It is very important for Collision Investigation Officers to be able to provide comprehensive and accurate data in a courtroom situation.
Using the VERICOM computer-based data analysis software officers can easily integrate graphs and numeric data into their accident reports to give clear and concise evidence.This is very important in securing convictions enabling many reckless and dangerous drivers to be kept off UK roads.
DATRON are pleased to be able to support UK Road Safety in this small way.

A comprehensive two-day training course in the use of VERICOM products in Accident Investigation is now offered by the  Accident Investigation Training School (A.I.T.S.).Information is available by logging on to www.aitsuk.com or call 01285 864650.

If you are a Police C.I.U. Officer or an independant C.I practitioner and want to know more about the VERICOM please call Datron today for full product information and to arrange a demonstration/evaluation.