HALL - CARPENTER, CO.

By Edwin T. Scallon, Copyright © 1990, 1995, 2008 All Rights Reserved

ACCIDENT RECONSTRUCTION AND BAC CALCULATION PROGRAMS

MOTOR VEHICLE VAULTS OR FLIPS    

     Motor vehicles may move through the air not only by falling and landing right side up, but also by leaving the ground in a flip, in which teh vehicle usually lands on its top.  Falls and flips are quiet different.

    The vault formula is somewhat complex, so I thought I would keep the text light, but fail not, all the mathematical nuts and bolts are in these documents.  I thought the best way to describe the vault formula is to understand its origin and derivation.  The below documents are the actual pages from my text when I attended accident reconstruction school.  Follow the algebraic progression as the formula reveals the useful formula we use in the field.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

   Now once you have completely understood the formula we will with an example vault.  Let's assume that the operator is still driving on the 10 year old rural asphalt road which has a drag factor of 0.8g.