Ruhl's News

New Trucking Book

Due to the popularity of Truck Accident Litigation, Second Edition, a book edited and contributed to by Ruhl Forensic and published by the American Bar Association, Laura Ruhl, Esq. is serving as editor for a third edition. The book combines the expertise of experienced truck accident litigators with trucking industry professionals, engineers and reconstructionists to provide insights and information into the reconstruction of truck accident cases involving both over-the-road and vocational trucks. Look for the book in Summer, 2012.

Train Accident Reconstruction

Ruhl Forensic, Inc. provides accident reconstruction services relative to passenger and freight trains in the areas of at-grade crossing accidents, sight lines and visibility, analysis of locomotive event recorder downloads and human factors analysis. More information about this service can be found at Train Accident Reconstruction. There is also a bulletin available entitled "The Complexity of Train Accident Reconstruction" which discusses the types of data available in a train/tractor-trailer collision and the challenges and importance of synchronizing the information.

Publications

A new informational bulletin, "The Role of ECM Data in Accident Reconstruction," is now available from Ruhl Forensic. The bulletin discusses the importance of accessing and analyzing ECM data correctly and in conjunction with the physical evidence to produce accurate and reliable results. It also uses a case study to show how ECM data can be misinterpreted. There is also a new web page devoted to ECM data and its interpretation, ECM (Black Box) Data Analysis.

Presentations

Peter Philbrick and Greg Wright were invited to speak at the 360 Advocacy Trucking Litigation Seminar in New Orleans in June, 2011. Mr. Philbrick and Mr. Wright spoke about commercial vehicle driver training and the mechanic in wheel off and brake maintenance cases. Both men were participants in the panel discussion at the conclusion of the seminar.

Peter Philbrick was once again invited to speak at the PA Bar Institute’s Litigating Tractor Trailer Accidents Seminar in June, 2011. His topics were "The Safety Manager’s Point of View" and "Truck Driver’s Point of View." The presentation also included a hands-on demonstration of a commercial vehicle pre-trip inspection.

Dwayne Owen presented a program to the Ken Nunn Law Firm in Bloomington, IN entitled "The Role of ECM Data in Accident Reconstruction" on July 8, 2011. Mr. Owen discussed the importance of accessing and analyzing ECM data correctly and in conjunction with the physical evidence to produce accurate and reliable results.

Dr. Mark Strauss was invited to speak at the European Accident Reconstruction Group Conference in Wildhaus, Switzerland. His presentation, "How Well Can the Average Person and Police Estimate Distance Along a Roadway?," was based upon his independent research. He was also invited to speak at the International Federation of Automotive Engineers (FISITA) 2010 World Automotive Congress in Budapest, Hungary where he presented test results related to the ability of people to estimate distances along a roadway and how their education, hobbies and careers affect their accuracy.

Dr. Strauss addressed a session of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) 2010 World Congress; he discussed his original research involving observed errors in distance estimation. The research has been published as SAE paper 2010-01-0046, "Observed Errors In Distance Estimation." Dr. James Carnahan is co-author of the paper.

Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Sponsorship

Ruhl Forensic was pleased to sponsor the Continuing Legal Education programs for both the Interstate Trucking Litigation Group and the Railroad Law Section, Railroad/Highway Crossing and Derailment Litigation Group at the recent American Association for Justice convention in New York City. Dr. Mark Strauss was available to answer questions from the participants.

Professional Development

Dwayne Owen, certified accident reconstructionist, attended a week-long class on accessing, recovering and interpreting data from commercial vehicle event data recorders (ECM's) offered by the University of Tulsa's Continuing Engineering and Science Education Department. Mr. Owen specializes in reconstructing crashes involving commercial vehicles.

Peter Philbrick attended training sessions on CSA 2010 offered by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. He also attended a J.J. Keller workship on Flatbed Cargo Securement. Both Mr. Philbrick is a commercial vehicle safety specialist and Certified Safety Director.

Dwayne Owen and Scott Duvall attended the Vextronic / Bosch Crash Data Retrieval Analyst and Technician courses. They are Certified Crash Data Retrieval System Operators which means they have been industry trained in the correct procedures for downloading and analyzing data from the air bag and powertrain control modules of vehicles that have been involved in a crash.

Research and Testing

Dr. Strauss is continuing his research into the accuracy of the typical adult’s ability to view, then estimate distances along a roadway. An article based upon his research entitled "Distance Estimation Error in a Roadway Setting" has been published in the Police Journal. He has also presented his research to the Society of Automotive Engineers, the European Accident Reconstruction Group Conference and the International Federation of Automotive Engineers.

Dwayne Owen continues his research into the deceleration rates of motorcycles, passenger cars, light duty pickup trucks, and tractor-trailers of various configurations on a common surface. He is being assisted in this testing by Scott Duvall and Ed Sebak.

Please feel free to call us at any time at 800-355-7800 or 800-235-2808 with questions regarding the work we do.