Clarification of a Night-Time Pedestrian Accident by CCTV Video taken from a Passing Bus

More information

Main author

Brooking, J. W.

Co-Authors

-

Type of media

PDF

Publication type

Lecture

Publication year

-

Publisher

18. EVU Conference, Hinckley

Citation

Brooking, J. W.:Clarification of a Night-Time Pedestrian Accident by CCTV Video taken from a Passing Bus. 18th EVU Conference, Hinckley (UK) 2009

English, 18 pages, 17 figures, 44 references

In the case studied an incident occurred in front of a London bus. A pedestrian, crossing the road at
a light-controlled pedestrian crossing, was struck by a van. Buses can be equipped with up to sixteen
cameras which show forward views, internal views and views down the sides. CCTV evidence was
taken from the bus and this showed that the traffic lights at the crossing changed some time before
the collision. The CCTV recording was used by the police for their collision investigation report.
On the basis of the collision investigation report a prosecution for Death by Dangerous Driving was
instigated against the van driver. A copy of the CCTV from the first bus was provided to the defence.
Analysis of the CCTV, by using a personal computer and readily available software was undertaken
to a greater depth than the initial police investigation. The result of this analysis and a scene visit
revealed circumstances which had not been taken into account by the police investigator. The release
of the CCTV from a second bus which was analysed in a similar manner provided further evidence
that the van driver had not approached the scene in a manner that was unreasonable.
The case was tried in the Crown Court, where both the prosecution and the defence relied on the
CCTV evidence to establish their case in the absence of scene evidence. At the conclusion of the trial
the defendant was found not guilty of Death by Dangerous Driving but guilty of Careless Driving.