Paul W. Jacobs

Every crash has a story to tell — not just about physics and motion, but about the human element’s interaction with the environment and its influence on a crash. Visibility analysis adds a facet of understanding that is often overlooked. When combined with solid accident reconstruction, visibility evidence will often influence how a case is understood, argued, and resolved. Here are a few examples — drawn from real-world patterns and anonymized for confidentiality — that show how visibility...

This was the tow truck driver's view of a cyclist 3 seconds away. Once detected, the driver must undergo perception, response and finally bring his truck to a stop, or maneuver around the hazard. Crash cases often hinge on the smallest details — a second of reaction time, a few feet of sight distance, or a moment of glare. Attorneys know that to present a compelling case, every variable must be explained clearly and credibly. That’s why the most successful litigation teams often rely on two...

When attorneys and jurors hear “visibility,” their understanding is intuitive — if it was dark, it was hard to see; if it was daylight, it was easy to see. But analyzing the factors that make something visible are more complex and often require careful explanation. Drawing from physics and human factors science, visibility analysis seeks to objectively answer one of the most important questions in crash litigation: What could have been seen, and when could it have been seen? Do you see the...