Accident Terms and Definitions

Excessive speed & Speeding
Speeding is defined as travelling faster than the posted speed limit, or travelling too fast for the road conditions even at speeds under the posted limit.

Impending Skidmarks
Also known as shadow skidmarks are small fragments of rubber, ground or scraped from the tire, at the tire and roadway interface, as the rotating tire slows to a locked position.

Subpoena
Document issued by the authority of the court to compel a witness to appear and give testimony or produce documentary evidence in a proceeding. Failure to appear or produce is punishable by contempt of court.

Collision Scrub
Occurs during a traffic collision when the downward and rotating forces cause a smearing of tire material on the road surface.

Raised Pavement Markers (R.P.M.)
Non-reflectorized ceramic pavement markers, also known as "Bott's Dotts", are most often used to delineate travel lane lines. Reflectorized RPM's come in many different colors and are used to delineate travel lane lines and outside boundaries.

Burden of proof
Measure of proof required to prove a fact. Obligation of a party to probe facts at issue in the trial of a case.

Failure to signal
There are laws and driving rules that instruct proper turning signals, at time a hand or a light signal is required to be used. A right hand turn may not be permited, or a turn in an intersection may be done incorectly.

Tire Problems
Under-inflation, the most frequent cause of tire failure, is considered the main culprit in the recent Firestone tire-failure fatalities. Uneven or worn-out tires are the next most serious problem and can also lead to tire failure.

No-Fault Auto Insurance
Some states are adopting a no fault auto insurance system which requires you to have minimum insurance in the event you're injured. Your insurance company automatically pays for your damages, regardless of who is at fault for the accident.

Reference Point
In angular momentum, the point in space around which the motion of an object is described. The angular momentum of an object is defined in relation to some point, the reference point. The velocity and radius of an object are measured from the reference point.