A Study In Contact Accidents

Abstract

The Fact That Vehicles On The Highways Create Aerodynamic Forces That Affect The Other Vehicles They Pass Or Meet Has Been Well Known For Some Time. A Number Of Technical Papers Released In The Early 70S Addressed This Phenomenon And A Few Concluded That The Aerodynamic Forces Created By A Large Passing Vehicle Were Significant Enough To Cause The Vehicle Being Passed To Become Momentarily Unstable. This Paper Deals With The Reconstruction Of An Accident Caused By A Tractor Trailer Passing A Station Wagon Towing A Travel Trailer And Causing The Station Wagon And Travel Trailer To Go Out Of Control, Go Off A 65 Foot Bridge, Then Burn, Killing Both Occupants. The Decision In Favor Of The Plaintiff In This Case Was The First Such Decision In Georgia In A Non-Contact Accident.