Collisions and Road Safety
Browse evidence-based articles on collision investigation, traffic safety, municipal liability, forensic engineering, and roadway safety
This section features selected articles published in leading professional magazines and newsletters. These evidence-based publications explore collision analysis, traffic safety, forensic engineering, and municipal liability. New articles will be added regularly.
If you have any questions about the topics presented here or their application to a specific matter, please feel free to contact us.
Event Data Recorders: The Silent Witness in Collision Analysis
(From an article published in the September 2026 issue of WP Magazine)
Event Data Recorders (EDRs), commonly referred to as vehicle “black boxes,” can provide objective information about the critical seconds preceding a traffic collision.
Depending on the vehicle, recorded data may include speed, braking, throttle application, steering input, seatbelt use, and change in velocity (delta-v). This information can help reconstruct driver actions, assess impact severity, and confirm or challenge competing accounts of how a collision occurred.
EDR evidence should not be considered in isolation. Its proper interpretation requires specialized expertise and integration with physical evidence, roadway design, traffic controls, vehicle dynamics, biomechanics, and environmental conditions. Because some EDR records may be overwritten, timely preservation and proper chain of custody are also important considerations in serious collision investigations.
Click the image or the button below to read the full published article, which was authored by Dr. Essam Dabbour and published in the September 2026 issue of WP Magazine.
Integrating Micromobility into Canada’s Transportation System: Emerging Safety Challenges and Engineering Considerations
(From an article published in the August 2026 issue of the Safety Network Newsletter by the Canadian Association of Road Safety Professionals - CARSP)
Micromobility devices such as e-bikes, electric kick scooters, cargo e-bikes, and other lightweight personal transportation devices are becoming increasingly common across Canada.
While these modes can provide convenient, affordable, and environmentally sustainable transportation, their rapid growth creates new challenges for road design, regulation, and traffic safety.
Micromobility devices vary considerably in speed, mass, stability, braking capability, and wheel size. As a result, there is no single operating environment that is appropriate for every device. The following five principles are proposed for safe integration of micromobility into the Canadian transportation system:
- compatibility,
- predictability,
- consistency,
- risk-based decision-making, and
- rider protection.
These principles can help determine whether different classes of devices should operate on sidewalks, cycling facilities, or roadways.
The growth of micromobility also has implications for infrastructure design and maintenance because small-wheel devices may be particularly vulnerable to potholes, cracks, pavement joints, drainage grates, and other surface irregularities. Safe integration therefore requires coordinated action by federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments, supported by engineering, regulation, education, enforcement, and appropriate technology.
Click the image or the button below to read the full published article, which was authored by Dr. Essam Dabbour and published by the Canadian Association of Road Safety Professionals (CARSP) in August 2026.
Before Vision Zero: How a Canadian Magazine Article from 1937 Anticipated Modern Road Safety Thinking
(From an article published in the August 2026 issue of the Safety Network Newsletter by the Canadian Association of Road Safety Professionals - CARSP)
Many principles now associated with Vision Zero and the Safe System approach are often viewed as relatively modern developments. However, Dr. Dabbour discovered that similar ideas were being discussed in Canada as early as 1937, when Canadian physician and public-health pioneer Dr. Norman L. Burnette argued that traffic collisions should be treated as a preventable public-health problem rather than simply as isolated failures of individual drivers.
Dr. Burnette emphasized the importance of scientific investigation, understanding human behaviour, multidisciplinary collaboration, and evidence-based intervention. He also argued that effective safety measures require a systematic understanding of the factors contributing to collisions rather than assumptions about their causes.
Nearly 90 years later, these principles remain fundamental to modern road safety practice. Current approaches use collision data, human-factors research, predictive analysis, roadway engineering, and physical and digital evidence to identify contributing factors and develop effective countermeasures.
Click the image or the button below to read the full published article, which was authored by Dr. Essam Dabbour and published in the July 2026 issue of Municipal World magazine.
EVENT DATA RECORDERS AND MUNICIPAL LIABILITY
(From an article published in the July 2026 issue of Municipal World magazine)
Event data recorders (EDRs)—often described as vehicle “black boxes”—can provide critical evidence in traffic-collision litigation involving municipalities. EDRs capture objective, time-stamped information immediately before a collision, including vehicle speed, braking, throttle application, steering input, seatbelt use, and, in some cases, change in velocity during impact. This information can help determine whether a collision was primarily related to roadway conditions or to driver behaviour.
EDR evidence can challenge allegations involving roadway design, lighting, signage, or maintenance. When integrated with site inspections, roadway engineering, maintenance records, applicable standards, vehicle dynamics, and collision reconstruction, EDR data can support more scientifically robust and defensible conclusions.
However, EDR evidence has limitations, including short recording periods, manufacturer-specific differences, possible data loss, technical interpretation issues, and the need to maintain a documented chain of custody.
Municipalities and their legal teams are therefore encouraged to identify and preserve EDR evidence promptly and retain suitably qualified experts.
This topic matters to municipal officials, insurers, legal counsel, and risk-management professionals because reliable EDR analysis can clarify liability, strengthen engineering-based defence, reduce uncertainty and litigation costs, and support the earlier resolution of claims.
Click the image or the button below to read the full published article, which was authored by Dr. Essam Dabbour and published in the July 2026 issue of Municipal World magazine.
Automated Speed Enforcement and Municipal Liability
(From an article published in the January 2026 issue of WP magazine)
Managing vehicle speeds is one of the most important responsibilities of road authorities because speed directly influences both the likelihood and severity of traffic collisions. While automated speed enforcement (ASE), commonly known as speed cameras, has proven effective at reducing speeding in many locations, it remains the subject of ongoing debate. Some view speed cameras as an essential enforcement tool, whereas others advocate replacing them with physical traffic-calming measures such as speed humps, raised crosswalks, curb extensions, and roundabouts. In practice, each approach has distinct advantages and limitations, and the most effective speed-management strategies typically combine engineering, enforcement, education, and policy rather than relying on a single solution.
The topic is closely related to municipal liability because road authorities are responsible for selecting and implementing reasonable measures to address foreseeable road safety risks. Decisions regarding speed management, roadway design, traffic control devices, and safety improvements may become important considerations when collisions result in allegations that the road authority failed to provide a reasonably safe roadway and enforce speed limits using available tools, including ASE.
Click the image or the button below to read the full published article, which was authored by Dr. Essam Dabbour and published in the January 2026 issue of WP Magazine.
Proactive Winter Maintenance and Road Safety
(From an article published in the February 2026 issue of the Safety Network Newsletter by the Canadian Association of Road Safety Professionals - CARSP).
Winter maintenance is a critical component of road safety, municipal risk management, and the reliable operation of Canada’s transportation system. Effective policies must address not only snow removal, but also ice prevention, treatment priorities, response times, weather monitoring, patrolling, and the expected condition of roads and sidewalks after maintenance activities are completed.
The level of winter service generally varies according to roadway classification, traffic volume, speed limit, location, and available resources. High-priority roads may be maintained to a bare-pavement standard, while local or rural roads may be maintained to centre-bare, safe-and-passable, or packed-snow conditions. These differences reflect the need to balance safety, operational capacity, cost, and environmental impacts.
A modern winter-maintenance program should also extend beyond motor-vehicle lanes. Sidewalks, cycling facilities, multi-use trails, parking lots, and private walkways require appropriate service standards to protect pedestrians, cyclists, and other year-round users. Timely weather forecasts, pavement-temperature monitoring, road-weather information systems, and field patrols allow maintenance providers to move from reactive snow and ice removal toward proactive anti-icing. This approach can prevent ice from bonding to the surface, improve safety, and reduce material use.
Click the image or the button below to read the full published article, which was authored by Dr. Essam Dabbour and published in the Safety Network Newsletter by the Canadian Association of Road Safety Professionals (CARSP).
Evaluating the Decision to Ban Automated Speed Enforcement in Ontario
(From an article published in the February 2026 issue of the Safety Network Newsletter by the Canadian Association of Road Safety Professionals - CARSP).
Ontario’s decision to ban automated speed enforcement (ASE) raises broader questions about how road authorities should manage speeding and protect vulnerable road users. Evidence from Ontario and other jurisdictions indicates that speed cameras can reduce vehicle speeds, improve compliance with posted speed limits, and contribute to reductions in collision frequency and severity.
Although physical traffic-calming measures such as speed humps, raised crosswalks, curb extensions, and roundabouts can also reduce speeds, their suitability depends on roadway function, traffic volume, available space, winter-maintenance requirements, emergency access, and implementation cost. Engineering measures and enforcement therefore perform different functions and are not always interchangeable.
From a Safe System perspective, effective speed management relies on multiple layers of protection, including roadway design, education, enforcement, and public policy. Removing one of these tools entirely may create enforcement gaps, particularly in school zones and locations where physical traffic calming is impractical.
Click the image or the button below to read the full article, which was authored by Dr. Essam Dabbour and published by the Canadian Association of Road Safety Professionals (CARSP).
Managing Safety and Liability in Temporary Work Zones
(From an article published in the sixth issue, 2023, of Good Road Quarterly)
Temporary work zones create unfamiliar and frequently changing conditions that can increase risk for motorists, cyclists, pedestrians, and construction personnel. Uneven surfaces, temporary detours, reduced lane and shoulder widths, lower operating speeds, and unclear pedestrian or cycling routes may contribute to collisions, trips, falls, or vehicles entering restricted work areas.
Effective work-zone safety therefore requires more than placing cones and warning signs. Road authorities and contractors should develop coordinated plans that address traffic movement, worker protection, pedestrian accessibility, cycling accommodation, pavement markings, signage, and changing site conditions. Under Ontario’s framework, a Transportation Management Plan typically includes both a Traffic Protection Plan to safeguard workers from vehicular traffic and a Traffic Control Plan to guide and protect road users.
Proper training, supervision, documentation, and regular inspection are also essential. Personnel responsible for establishing or modifying a work zone should understand the applicable requirements and be competent to implement the necessary safety measures. Maintaining records of plans, inspections, training, and corrective actions can help demonstrate due diligence and support a municipality or contractor if an incident results in litigation. Because work-zone conditions evolve as construction progresses, safety measures should be continually reviewed and adjusted rather than treated as a one-time installation.
Click the image or the button below to read the full published article, which was authored by Dr. Essam Dabbour and published in Good Roads Quarterly by Good Roads.
More articles to be published soon!
Additional articles and professional publications will be added to this section as they become available. We invite you to visit this page regularly for new insights into traffic safety, forensic engineering, municipal liability, occupiers' liability, and related topics.
If you have any questions about the topics presented here or their application to a specific matter, please feel free to contact EDA Forensics.