When a crash, roadway issue, or traffic-related dispute becomes the subject of litigation, answering the question of “what happened?” requires more than witness statements and police reports. It often requires technical engineering analysis, which can play a critical role in uncovering the facts and helping legal teams evaluate liability, causation, and damages.
This comes from forensic transportation engineering. In this practice, engineering principles are applied to investigate transportation-related incidents and provide objective findings for legal, insurance, and regulatory proceedings. A forensic transportation engineer uses these findings to help decision-makers understand how roadway design, traffic control devices, human behavior, vehicle movements, and other factors may have contributed to an incident.
What Is a Forensic Engineer?
A forensic engineer is an engineering professional who investigates failures, accidents, incidents, or disputes. They apply their technical expertise to determine what occurred and why. Unlike engineers primarily focused on planning or designing future projects, forensic engineers analyze events after they occur.
Their work is commonly used in:
- Litigation and legal disputes
- Insurance claims investigations
- Regulatory reviews
- Arbitration and mediation proceedings
- Risk management evaluations
Forensic engineers span numerous disciplines, including structural, mechanical, electrical, civil, and transportation engineering. Each specialty applies the same fundamental investigative approach within a specific area of expertise.
In transportation-related cases, that specialty becomes forensic transportation engineering.
What Is Forensic Transportation Engineering?
Forensic transportation engineering is the application of transportation engineering, traffic engineering, roadway design, and highway safety principles to investigate transportation-related incidents and disputes.
Specifically, a forensic transportation engineer examines the interaction between people, vehicles, infrastructure, and traffic control systems to determine whether transportation-related factors contributed to an event. While this work often includes reconstructing a crash, it also extends beyond that to include evaluating whether the transportation environment itself played a role.
Common areas of investigation include:
- Motor vehicle collisions
- Truck crashes
- Pedestrian and bicycle incidents
- Roadway design defect claims
- Traffic signal and traffic control disputes
- Construction zone incidents
- Sight distance concerns
- Highway and street safety evaluations
Forensic transportation engineers can present findings from these investigations through a variety of channels, including expert reports, depositions, declarations, mediation support, or courtroom testimony.
What Does a Forensic Transportation Engineer Actually Do?
Every case is unique. However, in practice, forensic transportation engineers typically perform a combination of technical analysis, evidence review, and expert communication.
This includes six primary tasks.
1. Conduct Site Inspections
Site conditions can provide critical information that may not be fully captured in photographs or reports. Engineers may visit a location to evaluate:
- Roadway geometry
- Traffic control devices
- Visibility conditions
- Sign placement
- Signal operations
- Surface conditions
- Access management features
These observations help determine whether roadway characteristics contributed to the incident.
2. Review Evidence and Documentation
Forensic transportation engineers analyze a wide range of information, including:
- Police and crash reports
- Photographs and videos
- Vehicle data
- Construction and design plans
- Traffic control plans
- Historical crash data
- Signal timing records
- Witness testimony
A thorough review allows engineers to evaluate competing narratives and identify technical issues that may influence liability determinations.
3. Apply Industry Standards
One of the most important aspects of forensic transportation engineering is evaluating conditions against accepted engineering practices and standards. Depending on the case, engineers may reference one or more sources, including The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), The AASHTO Green Book, The Highway Safety Manual (HSM), state and local design standards, and/or agency policies and procedures.
Understanding how infrastructure compares to established standards can provide important context when assessing whether a roadway or traffic control system functioned as intended.
4. Perform Technical Analysis
Transportation engineers use engineering methods and analytical tools to examine issues and help develop an objective understanding of the factors contributing to a transportation-related event.
Some issues they examine may include:
- Vehicle movements and trajectories
- Driver perception and response opportunities
- Stopping sight distance
- Intersection operations
- Traffic signal performance
- Speed and timing relationships
- Roadway design consistency
5. Create Reports and Demonstrative Exhibits
Complex engineering concepts often need to be communicated clearly to attorneys, judges, juries, mediators, claims professionals, and other non-technical audiences. It is critical to create exhibits that help non-experts understand engineering findings and case issues.
Frequently, forensic transportation engineers are responsible for preparing or supporting the preparation of:
- Expert reports
- Technical memoranda
- Visual exhibits
- Diagrams
- Animations
- Reconstruction graphics
6. Serve as Expert Witnesses
Many forensic transportation engineers provide expert witness services throughout the litigation process. Their role is to provide objective engineering analysis, not advocacy for either side.
Their responsibilities as an expert witness range from preparing expert opinions and participating in depositions to providing trial testimony and explaining technical findings to judges and juries
When Do You Need a Forensic Transportation Engineer?
Not every transportation-related case requires engineering expertise. However, a forensic transportation engineer may be valuable when technical questions affect liability or causation.
Here are a few examples of when a forensic transport engineer can be helpful.
Motor Vehicle Crash Litigation
Engineering analysis can help evaluate factors involved in:
- Passenger vehicle crashes
- Commercial truck collisions
- Pedestrian incidents
- Bicycle crashes
- Multi-vehicle events
Technical analysis may clarify how roadway conditions, traffic control devices, visibility, or operational characteristics influenced the event.
Roadway Design Defect Claims
Some cases involve allegations that the transportation infrastructure itself contributed to a crash. These claims often require a detailed understanding of transportation engineering principles and standards.
Potential issues include:
- Inadequate sight distance
- Improper roadway geometry
- Confusing traffic control devices
- Deficient signing or pavement markings
- Signal timing concerns
- Unsafe access configurations
Government and Municipal Liability Cases
Claims involving public agencies frequently require evaluation of roadway design, maintenance practices, operational decisions, and compliance with applicable standards.
A forensic transportation engineer can help determine whether transportation-related factors may have contributed to the incident and whether those factors were foreseeable or addressable.
Mediation and Alternative Dispute Resolution
Technical disputes are not always resolved in court. Engineering expertise can also help parties evaluate strengths and weaknesses before trial.
Objective engineering analysis often helps facilitate mediation, arbitration, settlement negotiations, or early case evaluation.
Forensic Engineer vs. Accident Reconstructionist: What’s the Difference?
This is one of the most common questions attorneys ask.
An accident reconstructionist typically focuses on the physical dynamics of a crash, including vehicle movements, speeds, impacts, and collision sequences.
A forensic transportation engineer may perform reconstruction analysis but often provides a broader evaluation. In addition to examining what happened during a collision, they may assess:
- Roadway design
- Traffic operations
- Traffic control devices
- Sight distance
- Safety performance
- Engineering standards compliance
For example, if a driver runs a red light and collides with another vehicle, an accident reconstructionist might determine the vehicles’ speeds, impact location, sequence of events, and whether either driver could have avoided the collision. However, a forensic transportation engineer could take the analysis a step further by examining whether roadway conditions contributed to the crash. They might evaluate whether the signal timing met accepted engineering standards, whether vegetation or roadside features restricted visibility, whether signage was adequate, or whether the intersection had a documented history of similar crashes.
This level of expertise is especially important when a case involves questions about infrastructure, roadway design, traffic engineering, or agency decisions.
Why Choose Kittelson LLC for Forensic Transportation Engineering?
For more than 50 years, Kittelson has helped clients understand complex transportation challenges through practical, evidence-based engineering analysis. The firm’s multidisciplinary team includes transportation engineers, human factors specialists, and visualization professionals who work together to evaluate transportation-related incidents and disputes.
Unlike firms that focus exclusively on litigation support, Kittelson remains actively engaged in transportation planning, traffic operations, roadway design, and highway safety projects nationwide. This ongoing practice experience provides current, real-world insight into the standards and engineering considerations that often become central issues in litigation.
Talk to a Forensic Transportation Engineer About Your Case
Whether you’re evaluating a motor vehicle collision, a roadway design claim, or a transportation-related dispute, experienced engineering analysis can provide valuable insight into the facts of your case.
Kittelson’s forensic transportation engineering team works with attorneys, insurance professionals, public agencies, and organizations to deliver objective technical analysis, expert reports, and testimony support.
Contact our team to discuss your case and determine whether forensic transportation engineering services may help clarify the issues involved.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a forensic engineer?
A forensic engineer investigates accidents, failures, and disputes using engineering principles to determine what happened and why. Their findings are frequently used in litigation, insurance claims, and regulatory proceedings.
What does a forensic transportation engineer do?
A forensic transportation engineer analyzes crashes, roadway design issues, traffic operations, and transportation-related disputes. They conduct investigations, apply engineering standards, prepare reports, and may provide expert testimony.
How is forensic engineering used in court?
Forensic engineers provide objective technical opinions based on engineering analysis. Their work may be presented through expert reports, depositions, visual exhibits, and courtroom testimony.
What is the difference between a forensic engineer and an accident reconstructionist?
An accident reconstructionist generally focuses on crash dynamics and vehicle movements. A forensic transportation engineer may perform reconstruction analysis while also evaluating roadway design, traffic operations, infrastructure, and compliance with engineering standards.
When should an attorney hire a forensic transportation engineer?
Attorneys often engage forensic transportation engineers when a case involves complex questions related to crashes, roadway design, traffic control devices, visibility, transportation standards, or governmental liability.