Vehicle Accident Sounds

INTRODUCTION

A vehicle accident involves a complex series of events that result in a unique and specific accident scenario. Even small differences in the details of the accident can have dramatic changes in overall accident sequence. The speed, weight, and orientation of the vehicles at impact, for instance, affect where the impact occurs, the impact duration and severity, and the final rest positions of the vehicles. Likewise, the sound that results from a vehicle accident is affected by similar parameters such as the dynamics, position and orientation of the vehicles. The unique circumstances of the accident determine the sound pressure level, the duration of the sound, the directivity of the sound, and the sound’s frequency spectra. Some vehicle accidents involve tire skidding, glass breaking, engine noise, and tearing metal while other vehicle accidents include only some of these sound sources. These sounds depend on many variables and parameters such as the vehicle’s characteristics, the vehicle’s dynamic, and their surrounding environment.