All About HVE Accident Reconstruction Software

HVE stands for Human Vehicle Environmental computer analysis and simulation software. This technological and analytical breakthrough is often praised as one of the best tools to come along in the past 20 years. Gary Jernigan, P.E., the Vice President of Mechanical Engineering at System Engineering and Laboratories (S.E.A.L.) says that HVE has the ability to clarify situations in accident reconstruction and analyses. With this software, insurance companies and lawyers are able to take a look at how an accident happened and determine what factors are most to blame.

The “human” element of HVE has to do with all driver-related factors in an automobile accident. These include things like speed, awareness, distraction, intoxication, and other factors that could cause an accident to occur. The HVE software also evaluates a car’s acceleration and deceleration patterns prior to a crash and the operation control inputs like steering and breaking. HVE also considers a driver’s training and adherence to traffic rules. The HVE system will look at a driver’s fitness and evaluate whether a carrier or owner and operator of the equipment maintained good care of the vehicle.

As well, there is a “vehicle” element to the HVE analysis. This encompasses all equipment and the design of that equipment. This section of an HVE analysis will look at how a car or truck was manufactured and whether or not it was given the regular maintenance and proper inspection needed to ensure that it was a safe vehicle for operation. There are times that different maintenance workers on a vehicle will disagree about maintenance issues. For example, a company that owns a vehicle may say that they are not going to do a lube change while the subassembly provider responsible for the vehicle may insist that the lube change take place. If an accident takes place following a lack of attention, it can become a serious issue.

Also included in the vehicle component of an HVE evaluation is a probe into the thoroughness of all maintenance checks. As technology progresses, more and more car manufacturers are discovering ways to make trucks and cars with less time-consuming maintenance requirements. For example, the S.E.A.L. newsletter writes that some vehicles now allow workers to complete an inspection of complete wheel ends without actually disassembling the wheel ends. While this may save time, technicians can often miss mechanical failures. This can result in a “wheel off” accident which occurs when a wheel spirals off of a vehicle and causes a terrible spin out.

Lastly, the accident analysis HVE software looks at “environmental” factors. This includes all roadway configurations and conditions as well as how the weather contributed to an accident. As well, the HVE software looks at whether or not an unexpected event such as an animal or a barrier in the road way caused an accident, or if there was limited visibility because of fog, stormy conditions or the position of the sun.

Since February 2001, S.E.A.L. has been using this HVE software to determine now only why an accident happened, but how it can be prevented from happening against. In addition to helping companies understand the importance of safety, the HVE system helps insurance companies and investigators to understand exactly what went wrong when an accident occurred. The HVE-CDI Crash Reconstruction Software for Law Enforcement is a special program because it focuses specifically on the needs of the law enforcement crash reconstructionists. The program will provide reconstruction and simulation capabilities so that an investigator can piece together the reasons an accident occurred. The HVE system also includes features from EDCRASH and EDSMAC, two other popular software that aid in accident reconstruction. The tools from these programs have been validated and the results have been accepted in courts worldwide for over 20 years.

If you are involved in an accident, then an attorney may be able to utilize this reconstruction software in order to help you. Talk to an attorney at Arnold & Itkin today if you want more information about how to research an accident or hire a reliable reconstructionist who can help you with your case. Using the tools in accident simulation software like HVE, you may be able to prove that you were not in control of an accident and deserve to receive damages from another party that was affiliated with the collision. Whenever you file a claim with an insurance company or take a car accident case to court, it is essential that you have the proper legal advocates there to fight for you. At Arnold & Itkin, we want to help. Contact us today!