THE QUERY PROJECT - European Commission - Europa

. . . Conference QUERY Phase II, Bratislava
At the second and last QUERY workshop, the evaluation of the
questionnaire was presented to the participants. This provided a
quantified overview both of the individual countries’ situations
and the respondents’ opinions regarding the minimum requirements
for the qualification of accident analysts.
Two presentations were then held, entitled ‘Training on the
Job vs. Academic Study’. These highlighted the fact that there
are two differing positions in Europe as to the qualification of the
accident analyst.
The QUERY partner from the Netherlands introduced the
participants to the Dutch system. There, only police officers with
adequate specialist training are authorised to deal with traffic
accidents, including their reconstruction. Detailed guidelines (‘GT
norms’, regarding forensic medicine and technical procedures)
specify which training courses a police officer must have attended
in order to gather evidence at an accident scene, to investigate
vehicles or to reconstruct accidents. For each field of activity there
is a separate ‘GT Norm’. There is also a supervisory body, the NFI
(Netherlands Forensic Institute), in existence. The NFI basically monitors
the work of the police. In the event of disputes relating to the
gathering of evidence or to the reconstruction of an accident, the
NFI can be called in.
In the Netherlands, the police officers who work in the above
fields generally do not possess an academic qualification. The
Dutch representative at the conference was of the opinion that
the training completed by the police can be seen as being on a
comparable level to the academic education in other countries.
Hence, while the Dutch model could not be applied in other
countries, as a comparable set-up does not exist elsewhere, he
considered the Dutch model as on a par with the systems in other
parts of Europe.
The British representative was of the same opinion. The system
there is very similar to the Dutch one. In the UK, a ‘City & Guilds’
certificate is available to police officers, which authorises them
to carry out accident investigation. There is also a superordinate
authority, the Forensic Science Laboratory, in existence.
In the UK, there are also guidelines as to the limitations of police
officers’ competencies and responsibilities. This can be seen in the
‘Road Death Investigation Manual’ published by the Association of
Chief Police Officers (APCO), an excerpt of which can be found in
appendix V. From the text it becomes clear that a police officer’s
training is not always sufficient for the reconstruction of complex
accidents.
The second presentation was held by the Polish representative.
In Poland, an academic degree is a prerequisite for obtaining
accreditation as court expert. Also, proof of working experience
in the field has to be produced. Currently, the Polish accreditation
criteria are in the process of being tightened further, with a specialist
two-year postgraduate training course being demanded.
The vast majority of experts attending the conference were of
the opinion that an academic degree in engineering, physics or
comparable was an indispensable prerequisite to the professional
qualification.
All participants agreed that neither the Dutch nor the British
model could be applied in other countries, as elsewhere no comparable
set-up exists and would have to be created first.
Furthermore all agreed that an ordinary police officer with only
very basic training in accident data collection is not in a position
t h E Q u E R y P R o j E C t
to carry out the reconstruction of an accident. This opinion is also
clearly reflected in the questionnaire results; see chapter 3.2.2.2.
In European countries other than the Netherlands or the UK,
there is no training on accident investigation available to the
police; yet, there are several countries in which the police investigate
accidents and are even asked to give evidence in court.
This may relate to how the accident might have occurred, an
issue on which no conclusions can be drawn without a specialist
qualification.
. . . Decision on the Proposal for Guidelines
In the discussion of the different points of view in relation to
the first recommendation, no consensus could be reached. All participants
except the Netherlands and the UK were of the opinion
that only academically qualified persons should carry out accident
reconstruction. The function of the police should be limited to the
gathering of accident evidence, while the analysis of same should
be left to academically qualified persons. Due to the disagreement
of the representatives from the above two countries, their differing
opinion was included in the first recommendation.
In May 2006, well after the conference, the Country Group
Austria let us know that in their country, students from both
the University as well as the HTL (Höhere Technische Lehranstalt
– Higher Institute of Technology) can presently obtain certification
as reconstructionists. While with an academic degree 5 years
of working experience are required, this increases to 10 years for
the HTL qualification. The qualification from the HTL can also
be credited towards a degree course at a University of Applied
Science – in that event, a degree can be obtained there after only
two further years of study.
The second recommendation was unanimously agreed upon.
All participants were of the opinion that a pan-European protected
title for the expert in accident reconstruction was urgently
needed.
The third recommendation was also decided unanimously. In
general, the gathering of evidence at an accident scene may be
carried out by the police. In the event of a more complex accident,
however, an expert with experience in reconstruction would need
to be called in. He or she would be in a position to gather and
analyse evidence details which an ordinary police officer might
overlook and thus not document. Also, this expert could already
make recommendations at the accident scene as to further necessary
investigation, both on the vehicles involved as well as in relation
to the documentation of evidence material. The importance
of evidence material may only become clear when the nature of
the marks left on road or vehicles has been analysed.
Consensus on the fourth recommendation was reached after
an in-depth discussion. All participants agreed that postgraduate
studies were of particular importance when they are based on a
degree which did not include accident reconstruction as a subject.
It was generally bemoaned that there were hardly any European
universities which offer accident reconstruction as a subject at
degree level. As a consequence, in some countries, there might
be an insufficient number of qualified reconstructionists available
in the near future. In others, such as Germany, this is already the
case today.
This situation could be improved if universities were to offer
the subject at least as an elective one.
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