Road traffic accidents can be attributed to three most common causation factors. These are:

1. Human Behaviour
2. Vehicle
3. Road Environment

A vehicle collision is usually one of the last in a chain of events brought about by some person's error or, as a result of a person's inability to control a particular situation. Rarely can only a single factor be attributed to a traffic accident. It is more common to find that a combination of factors, normally occurring in sequence, is responsible for the behaviour of the persons and vehicles involved. High proportion of accidents is due to one or more of the above factors. In every road traffic accident, contribution of the human factor is a common finding. This is followed with road environment and vehicle factors.

The effect of road environment factor and its contribution in any accident case is always in the heart and mind of the road authority. Their concerns are not only on the safety of the road users but also on the public perceptions and legal implications that may arise from accident cases. To understand the effect of road environment on how accident happened, it is important to investigate and analyse the condition before, during and after the crash situation. It may not be obvious as to what and how the road environment factor can cause an accident since the incident may well be due to human error alone.

Adverse road conditions are always the source of mishaps. Poor maintenance of the road such as potholes, water ponding, debris on the road edges and poor road surface can cause drivers to make surprise manoeuvres and increase the risk of accident. Roadside trees branching into the sight line of driver would obstruct or reduce the appropriate sight distance for overtaking any vehicle in front. These are some of the glaring cases that have much highlighted the consequences of poor maintenance of the road environment. 

Badly designed and poorly constructed roads are another cause of concern. Existing old roads which may have 'in-built' unsafe features are normally clustered with accident crashes. Even a safe design and construction of roads does not fully guarantee accident-free environment. 

Research in road traffic accident cases that focused on road features may help us understand the extent and effect of the road environment in an accident. Improvements to the road features can then be made to reduce the risk, frequency and the severity outcome of accident.

ROAD SAFETY FORENSIC UNIT

Road traffic accident investigation conducted by Road Safety Forensic Unit (RSFU) is a task undertaken subsequent to an accident to collect all relevant information regarding the accident and the scene of the accident. These shall include the properties and the conditions of all road features and furnitures.

Due to limited resources and time consumed, it is not possible for RSFU to investigate each and every accident that happened. Currently, the triggering factor for an investigation is based on the number of fatality in an accident. 3 deaths or more will prompt the RSFU to react and conduct further investigation of the incident. However, this intervention policy may change when the need arises. Commonly, the source of information on accident is the local newspaper and the electronic media.

In improving the collection and dissemination of information, RSFU has developed an on-line database web portal purposely for storing accident records. In the event of an accident, JKR District is required to conduct some preliminary investigation at the accident site. Information collected is then entered into an on-line database system. The data can easily be accessed by RSFU for review.

JKR District normally received Road Traffic Accident Reports (CARS/POL27) from the Local Police on a daily/weekly basis. These detail the main facts about each of the slight, serious and fatal accidents in the district. Reports may include POL27 for the particular accident under investigation. This report should highlight the cause and how the accident happened. A copy of the POL27 report should be submitted to RSFU before a Forensic Team is send to the scene of the accident.

The task of the Forensic Team is to gather all available information at the site. Each and every piece of evidence that can be gained might lead to the accurate reconstruction of the accident. This may also include the information and pictures of the crashed vehicles. Through the use of some common accident investigation and reconstruction techniques, it is often possible to reconstruct an accident, and in certain circumstances calculate the speeds of the vehicles involved, the behaviour of vehicles, drivers and even pedestrians. A detailed and accurate assessment of accidents also enables a more efficient accident prevention programme to be carried out.

RSFU REPORT

Road Traffic Accident Forensic Report format and content is as follows: