Expert witness and crash investigation services

Datum Road Safety investigates car, truck, motorcycle, bicycle and e‑mobility crashes, including collisions involving negligent driving, road design issues, sight‑line limitations, distraction, speeding, seatbelt usage, and injury causation. Insights can be used to assist the court on criminal on personal injury matters.

A forensic investigation typically includes:

• Reviewing all available evidence (photographs, police reports, CCTV, statements).
• Site inspection and documentation of key physical evidence such as impact marks, vehicle rest positions, and environmental conditions.
• Engineering analysis to reconstruct vehicle movements, speeds, and collision dynamics.
• Assessment of human factors such as driver perception‑response time, visibility, and behaviour.
• Determining probable collision scenarios and likely causes of injury and identifying contributing factors.

Investigations are led by David Beck, a recognised expert with:

• Qualifications in Biomedical, Mechanical and Traffic engineering
• Experience analysing hundreds of crashes and presenting expert evidence in court
• Two decade's experience in road‑safety roles, spanning road operators, government, research and consultancy
• Expertise spanning road and vehicle safety, biomechanics, and the safe system approach to road safety.

A professional crash investigation can help answer:

• What caused the collision? (vehicle dynamics, road design, human factors)
• Did any factors exacerbate the extent of injuries (seatbelt use, vehicle age, vehicle incompatibility)
• Was excessive speed a factor?
• Did driver behaviour contribute? (e.g., distraction, lane position)
• Could the crash have been avoided?
• Were injuries consistent with the collision mechanics?
• Did road design, vehicle design or signage contribute to risk?

Yes. We provide comprehensive engineering reports suitable for coronial, civil and criminal matters, including expert‑witness testimony. Reports follow the required structure for courts and include an Expert Witness Code of Conduct certificate, engineering opinion, objective findings, and supporting calculations or evidence review.

Depending on availability, investigations may use:

• Police reports and witness statements
• Photographs, dashcam footage and CCTV
• Medical reports
• Site and vehicle inspection findings
• Insights from connected vehicles and event data recorders (EDR)
• Traffic signal report
• Specialist research and engineering references.

Yes. Many crashes involve roadway contributors. Datum assesses:

• Sight lines and visibility
• Delineation, line‑marking and signage
• Road geometry and shoulder condition
• Speed‑environment alignment

This helps determine whether infrastructure contributed to the collision or increased injury risk.

Yes. Many crashes involve vehicle contributors. Datum assesses:

• Driver field of view and potential blind spots
• Restraint performance, including 
• In-vehicle distractions
• Variances in crash outcomes due to vehicle age and design, including crashworthiness, restraint performance, and presence of safety technology
• Advanced driver assist systems (ADAS), such as autonomous emergency braking, lane keep assist, blind-spot monitoring and their likely influence on crash prevention and mitigation.

Yes. Reports can examine the likelihood of:

• Speeding
• Distraction
• Unsafe manoeuvres
• Failure to keep a proper lookout

These assessments combine human‑factors analysis with physics‑based reconstruction.

Yes. Datum specialises in understanding injury mechanisms for motorcyclists, bicyclists and e‑bike/e‑scooter riders, including protective‑equipment performance and road‑environment factors.

While based in Sydney, we are happy to provide our services across NSW and Australia.

Our standard turnaround time is within six weeks. This window ensures we can maintain the high quality of our analysis while also preserving capacity for urgent or time‑sensitive matters. If you require a faster turnaround, please get in touch as we accommodate urgent work on request.