Crash Investigation Equipment

Crash investigators need equipment to measure, mark and examine perishable evidence. The information below provides a list of the necessities when creating a tool kit.

• Two 100-foot non-metallic measuring tapes. Fiberglass tapes are superior to steel tapes because they won't kink and break when traffic runs over them. Tapes come as metric units, feet and inches, feet and tenths of feet, or both (one measurement unit on one side, the other on the reverse). The TSTC recommends buying tapes marked in feet on one side and tenths of feet on the reverse.
• Five 25-foot retractable metal tapes.
• A high-quality digital camera.
• Several cans of high-visibility marking paint.
• Twelve lumber crayons in yellow, white and red.
• Twelve 1-inch surveyor’s nails (also known as PK nails).
• Twelve soffit nails to mark locations in soft ground.
• Magnifying glass or jeweler’s loupe (for on-scene examination of evidence such as lamp filaments).
• A 24-inch carpenter’s level.
• Traffic templates.
• Tools such as a hammer, wire cutters, screwdrivers and visegrips.
• A bag to carry the equipment.