Beyond the Last Precrash Speed Value
DATE: Friday, 05 December 2025 TIME: 12 noon - 2pm EST (GMT-5, or 9am-11am Pacific Time) COST: Free for NAPARS members; $6 for non-members ACTAR: This event has been approved by ACTAR for 2 CEUs. Accredited attendees should be ready to sign in with the i-Attend app.
All attendees will be able to request an attendance certificate during the show.
The show will be recorded and put in the Reference Library along with various supporting material.
Crash investigators often open an EDR report, look at the last speed value recorded, and say, "That's the speed at impact." And while it _might_ be true, one can be terribly mistaken. Also, failing to examine the rest of the report leaves a ton of information on the table - yaw rate, steering angle, brake fluid pressure, wheel speeds, and actual precrash acceleration, for instance. This session will explore extracting that data from a report and using it to understand the whole event. We will discuss the mechanisms of traction and steering that manifest in the sensor data.
-A little history -Where is speed data coming from? -Making tabular data useful -Vehicle Dynamics and Friction -Newer = more sensors & more data = opportunity to answer lots of questions: -What is the driver doing with the controls? -What is the car commanding? -What is the chassis experiencing? -Confirming data with multiple sensors
SPEAKER: Wade Bartlett has over 30 years of experience in all aspects of crash reconstruction, focusing heavily on friction, motorcycles, and EDRs. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in NH, holds ACTAR #789, and has been a part-time police officer in NH since 2003. He occasionally teaches for IPTM. He is the administrator of NAPARS.
Wade chasing EDR data around 2004.
Hydroplaning - 2 hour Zoom Training
DATE: Friday, 16 January 2025 TIME: 12 noon - 2pm EST (GMT-5, or 9am-11am Pacific Time) COST: Free for NAPARS members; $6 for non-members ACTAR: This event has been submitted for ACTAR CEU consideration.
All attendees will be able to request an attendance certificate during the presentation.
The presentation will be recorded and put in the Reference Library along with any supporting material.
TOPICS TO BE DISCUSSED:
==> Traditional derivation of hydroplaning – aircraft, tire pressure, locked wheel skid
==> Application to road vehicles – tire size, tread depth, surface macrotexture, water film thickness
==> Modern testing of wet tire performance
==> Wet tire characteristics – pneumatic trail and hydrodynamic drag
==> Comparison of hydroplane testing and theory to hydroplane case studies (Daytona, Oscoda, LA)
==> Application of hydroplaning theory in accident reconstruction
Alan Moore is one of our favorite guests. He is a mechanical engineer and principal of A.B.Moore Forensic Engineering. (https://www.abmoore.com/home.html) He specializes in vehicle accident reconstruction, vehicle design analysis, and mechanical engineering consulting. Mr. Moore holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan State University and a Masters degree in Business Administration from the University of Florida. He is a licensed Professional Engineer, a Board Certified Forensic Engineer, and an ACTAR-certified accident reconstructionist. His past experience includes two decades of accident reconstruction and automotive engineering. He previously worked at Ford Motor Company as a design engineer on the Ford Expedition and Excursion. Mr. Moore also serves as a high-performance driving coach for aspiring race car drivers through the Porsche Club of America.
Some Hydroplaning references to freshen up with before the show:
Start with Frank Navin's SAE paper 950138, "Hydroplaning and Accident Reconstruction", and then "Single Vehicle Wet Road Loss of Control; Effects of Tire Tread Depth and Placement", Blythe & Day, SAE 2002-01-0553, and "Realistic Rear Axle Hydroplaning during Forward Motion" by, Metz, Kinney, and Herling, SAE 2006-01-1560
Then perhaps some of the early work:
Pneumatic Tire Hydroplaning and Some Effects on Vehicle Performance, Horne & Joyner, SAE 650145
Tires & Hydroplaning, Albert, SAE 680140
What makes Pavements Slippery?, Meyer, SAE 710572
Testing and Analysis of Tire Hydroplaning, Yeager & Tuttle, SAE 720471
Then perhaps some of the more recent work:
Braking Force Transfer Capabilities of Tires on Wet Roads, Topp, et al., 2008 EVU
Estimation of Tire-Road Friction Using Tire Vibration Model, Takaji Umeno, et al., SAE 2002-01-1183
Hydroplaning Effects of Tread Patterns of Motorcycle Tires. Journal of Transportation Engineering Part B: Pavements, 151(1), Article 04024052. Meethum, P., & Suvanjumrat, C. (2025). https://doi.org/10.1061/JPEODX.PVENG-1480
Numerical Study of Dynamic Hydroplaning Effects on Motorcycle Tires, Meethum, P., & Suvanjumrat, C. (2023). https://doi.org/10.15282/ijame.20.1.2023.04.0789
Rainfall-induced hydroplaning risk on continental USA roads, Salvi & Kumar, PLoS ONE 17(8):e0272993
Anatomy for the Crash Analyst
DATE: Friday, 13 February 2025 TIME: 12 noon - 2pm EST (GMT-5, or 9am-11am Pacific Time) COST: Free for NAPARS members; $6 for non-members ACTAR: This event will be submitted for ACTAR CEU consideration.
TOPICS:
-Body Position / Location nomenclature
-Bone and Muscle Anatomy - how they are made, how they break/tear
-The 3 stages of a collision
-Skull & Brain - Components and makeup
-Spine - Segments and function
-Bones of the ribcage and the organs within
-Pelvis, Hips, Knees,
-Upper Extremeties (Hands, Elbows, Shoulders)
-Using Medical Records
-Seatbelt injuries
Intro to Occupant Kinematics
DATE: Friday, 13 march 2026 TIME: 12 noon - 2pm EST (GMT-5, or 9am-11am Pacific Time) COST: Free for NAPARS members; $6 for non-members ACTAR: This event will be submitted for ACTAR CEU consideration.
TOPICS: When available.
Bendix Data Recorder
DATE: Friday, 10 April 2026 TIME: 12 noon - 2pm EST (GMT-5, or 9am-11am Pacific Time) COST: Free for NAPARS members; $6 for non-members ACTAR: This event will be submitted to ACTAR for CEU consideration.
SPEAKER: Matt Disogra
2026 Symposium on EDR Research and Testing
April 14th - 16th, 2026
Location: Embassy Suites2321 Lifestyle Road Chattanooga, Tennessee 30742
423.602.5100
NAPARS is proud to continue sponsoring top-quality training around the country and the globe, by bringing the third Symposium on EDR Research and Training to Chattanooga TN. Our host facility is the Embassy Suites Chattanooga Hamilton Place, located approximately 5-7 minutes from the Chattanooga (CHA) Airport.
ROOM RATES:
Suite with one King bed: $149/night
Suite with two Queen beds: $169/night
This link takes you directly to the booking page at the hotel:
Embassy Suites Chattanooga Hamilton Place
I encourage everyone to make their reservations early as we have a limited number of rooms, and based on the last two years, they will go fast. The Embassy Suites will offer a cooked-to-order breakfast each morning and lunch will be served all three days. A Ruth's Chris Steak House is on site, and there are dozens of local restaurants within walking distance of the hotel.
SPEAKERS
Brad Muir: Crash Data Specialists, LLC (https://www.cdr-trainers.com)
Greg Russell: JS Held (https://www.jsheld.com/)
Matt DiSogra: Delta-V (https://www.deltavinc.com/)
Nick Manz: Toyota Canada
Tim Reust: Accident Science, Inc. (https://www.accidentscience.com/)
Shawn Gyorke: Crash Data Services, LLC (https://crashdataservices.net/)
Gary Johnson: VEAR (https://vearinc.com/)
Bill Rose: Bosch
Peter Green: Volkswagen
Weston Brown: Weston Forensics (https://www.westonforensic.com/)
Wade Bartlett: Mechanical Forensics Engineering Services (https://mfes.com/)
Steve Anderson: Forensic Training Group
$1000 for non-members
If you chose to register for the class and receive an invoice, that invoice will need to be paid no later than April 1, 2026, to remain on the roster. As most of you know, NAPARS does refund your registrations fees if you need to cancel. Thank you for understanding.
**(This class is a Hybrid Class. You do not have to attend in person. If you chose to attend virtually, you will receive a link for attendance.)**
Class Description:
Obtain a better understanding of the human role in various crash scenarios and learn to compare and evaluate human actions. Curriculum includes driver and pedestrian behaviors, response and reaction times, delayed response, recognition and perception, nighttime recognition and impairment, and more. Participants also are introduced to Driver Research Institute’s Response, a cloud-based tool that helps analyze driver responses. Students receive a 7-day trial and learn how to incorporate it into their reconstructions.
Bicycle and e-Bike Crash Analysis
DATE: Friday, 15 May 2026 TIME: 12 noon - 2pm EST (GMT-5, or 9am-11am Pacific Time) COST: Free for NAPARS members; $6 for non-members ACTAR: This event will be submitted to ACTAR for CEU consideration.
- Controls, Geometry, Nomenclature
- Dynamics:
-Forces, including aero
-Lean angle & lateral movement
-Speed/Radius/Friction relationship
- Speed from Gear
- Normal riding speeds for men/women of various ages
- Mountain bikes v. Road Bikes
- Acceleration (including pedicab!)
- Braking dynamics / timing / rates
- Pitch-over calculation & Testing
- Tire Marks & Tire damage from braking
- e-bike testing
- Surmounting obstacles
- GPS devices (Garmin, Strava)
SPEAKER: Roman Beck has been working in the crash reconstruction field for more than 25 years, and riding bicycles much longer than that. Two years of Electrical Engineering undergraduate work combined with his BA and MA in Anthropology form a solid foundation to analyze crashes. He is an instructor for the League of American Bicyclists. His reference book on bicycle crash investigation is available on his website: http://www.beckforensics.com/
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THREE-DAY CLASS (Live)
This course will teach the reconstructionist how to use Microsoft Excel to solve just about every reconstruction problem that may be encountered. NO prior experience with Excel is necessary. This course begins at Step 1! Some of the topics covered:
Requirements: All students must have completed reconstruction or technical and must have access to a laptop running Microsoft Excel version 2010 or greater.
This course has been approved for 24 ACTAR CEUs
Tuition includes a printed and bound copy of Microsoft Excel for Traffic Crash Reconstruction: A Concise Reference, by Andrew Rich
If you choose to be invoiced for the registration, please have your registration paid in full, no later than 45 days prior to June 2nd, 2026. If you are with a Law Enforcement Agency, and your agency is responsible for your registration and they want to pay by check, please have them contact our Administrator Wade Bartlett at admin@napars.org asap to set the payment up please. Thank you for your understanding.
Fort Worth PD has recommended lodging at the Hyatt Place Fort Worth/Cityview at 5900 Cityview Blvd. Fort Worth, Texas 76132. (The hotel is approximately 7 miles from the facility hosting the class) They have offered a special rate by clicking on the link below.
https://www.hyatt.com/hyatt-place/en-US/dfwzc-hyatt-place-fort-worth-cityview
NAPARS, PO Box 866Farmington NH 03835603.923-8077admin@napars.org
