COMPUTER VISUALIZATIONS 
OF TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS USING PHOTOGRAMMETRY 
By T. 
ABSTRACT: 
K. Koo 
This paper documents the results of various 
experiments in the use of non-metric close-range 
photogrammetry for traffic accident mapping. 
Photographs from amateur cameras were geometrically 
restituded by desk-top PCs for generating three dimen- 
sional wire-framed and shaded models of traffic acci- 
dent scenes. 
INTRODUCTION 
The use of close-range photogrammetry for 
documenting traffic accidents is well 
established in parts of Europe and Japan. 
One of the first countries to 
systematically use photogrammetry for 
traffic accident mapping is Switzerland 
where the first traffic plans were 
produced in 1933. Subsequently, in 1935 
Germany followed suit. Today 
photogrammetry is an accepted practice in 
most parts of Europe. However, few 
countries have embraced this technique 
with as much enthusiasm as Japan (Ghosh, 
1980). It was noted by Ghosh (1980) that 
"there is no road accident related court 
case pending anywhere in Japan beyond one 
week after the accident." 
But elsewhere in the world, there is, 
unfortunately, very much less enthusiasm 
for using photogrammetry for documenting 
traffic accidents. Commonwealth countries 
like Singapore which has inherited the 
English laws do not normally accept 
traffic plans generated from photographs 
as admissible evidence in courts. For 
this reason, research into photogrammetry 
for traffic accident mapping is mostly 
carried out in non-English speaking 
countries. 
Instrumentation for traffic accident 
mappin 
Traffic accident maps in these countries 
are traditionally compiled from 
photographs taken with stereometric 
cameras and restituted from special 
analogue plotters. An excellent review 
of the instrumentation available for 
traffic accident mapping is given by 
Atkinson (1988). 
In recent years, non-metric (meaning off- 
the-shelf) and semi-metric cameras (like 
the Rolleiflex 6006 system) have been 
preferred, and analogue plotters are 
usually being upgraded to, or else being 
replaced altogether by, analytical 
plotters 
But the use of expensive analytical 
plotters for traffic accident mapping may 
not be cost effective because the 
accuracy demands for traffic accident 
maps are not exacting. Hence, since the 
beginning of the late 80s, traffic 
accident mappers have turned to small 
format, low cost, analytical systems 
(like the Adams system) and 2-dimensional 
cartographic digitizes (eg the 
Rolleimetric ). 
  
  
     
  
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FiG. 1. A typical traffic accident plan prepared from close-range pho- 
togrammetry (original scale 1:100).