A Video Tracking Photogrammetry Technique to Survey Roadways for Accident Reconstruction

When reconstructing vehicle accidents, it is often important to record the accident scene roadway geometry. Survey techniques such as the plane surveying method¹ and the coordinate and triangulation method², have been the most widely used recording methods and are generally accepted in the industry. This paper proposes to introduce video tracking photogrammetry as a new tool in gathering accident scene and roadway data. The video tracking photogrammetry technique makes it possible to use accident scene video to record the accident scene geometry by incorporating photogrammetry principles. This paper will also report on the accuracy of the video tracking photogrammetry technique and discuss its strengths and limitations.