The_Assessor_Summer 2026 Web - Flipbook - Page 16
JOURNAL
IAEA: ITAI CRASH DAY 2026
SEEING THE
EVIDENCE:
ITAI CRASH DAY 2026
Live, staged collisions, technical presentations, vehicle demonstrations
and an industry exhibition, the IAEA reports from the ITAI’s Crash Day.
he Institute of Traf昀椀c
Accident Investigators
(ITAI) brought collision
investigation into sharp
focus at its 10th Crash
Day, held on 18 June 2026 at the
former RAF and USAF air昀椀eld at Upper
Heyford in Oxfordshire.
T
Now established as a key date in the
collision investigation calendar, Crash
Day returned for its 10th edition on 18
June 2026, moving to the former RAF
and USAF air昀椀eld at Upper Heyford in
Oxfordshire.
The IAEA joined 20 exhibitors
who welcomed guests, including a
number of IAEA Members, while an
on-site lecture programme provided
opportunities for attendees to explore
technical developments and emerging
issues affecting collision investigation.
The Crash Day has become an
important 昀椀xture for those involved in
understanding what happens before,
during and after a road collision. Its
value lies in taking the theories and
calculations associated with forensic
collision investigation and putting them
into a real-world context.
For insurers, claims professionals,
repairers and vehicle manufacturers,
understanding how collisions occur and
how evidence is interpreted can have
implications for everything from liability
and claims assessment to vehicle repair
and road safety.
Day provided a rare opportunity to see
collision dynamics unfold 昀椀rst-hand
– and to examine the evidence left
behind.
For those involved in vehicle
assessment, the ability to interpret
damage accurately is fundamental.
It can in昀氀uence decisions around
repairability, causation, liability and,
ultimately, the most appropriate course
of action for the vehicle and its owner.
The growing complexity of the vehicle
parc makes that understanding
increasingly important.
For 2026, the Upper Heyford site
provided a new setting for the
programme, which included a series
of staged crashes alongside practical
‘driver experiences’. Attendees were
able to explore vehicle handling
and HGV driving, adding another
dimension to the event and providing
valuable continuing professional
development opportunities.
Among the demonstrations were
collisions involving pedestrians,
passenger movement and emergency
vehicles. The programme also featured
articulated lorries, buses and tippers,
together with practical experiences
examining areas such as low-type
pressure handling, incomplete wheel
locking and critical curves.
could inspect vehicle damage and
debris 昀椀elds.
That physical evidence is central to
collision reconstruction. Damage
patterns, debris distribution, vehicle
positions and other scene evidence
can all contribute to establishing what
happened during an incident. Seeing
those factors develop in controlled
conditions provides investigators with
an opportunity to compare practical
observations with the data and
analytical techniques used in real-world
investigations.
The event also re昀氀ected the
increasingly broad range of expertise
involved in collision investigation.
Delegates included vehicle examiners,
members of the emergency services,
insurance claim management
professionals, highways specialists,
students and representatives from the
motor industry. Suppliers of forensic
equipment, incident-scene mapping
technology and vehicle data-capture
systems were also represented.
Modern vehicles are also generating
increasingly sophisticated data,
while technologies such as advanced
driver assistance systems, connected
vehicles and electronic data capture
are changing the evidence available
following a collision.
The event highlighted the importance
of collaboration between engineers,
investigators, emergency services,
insurers, vehicle specialists, technology
providers and the wider automotive
sector.
For vehicle assessors, understanding
how damage occurs is just as important
as knowing how to record it. ITAI Crash
For investigators, one of the most
valuable aspects of the day was the
opportunity to examine the aftermath
of each staged collision at close
quarters. Following the crashes, the
trackway was opened so participants
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THE ASSESSORS JOURNAL | SUMMER 2026 | www.iaea-online.org/news/the-assessor
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