Tactical and forensic support of general inspection of the road traffic accident scene

Pinchuk Levon Viktorovich ORCID: 0009-0002-1732-5146 PhD in Law Associate Professor, Department of Judicial Proceedings and Law Enforcement Activity, Ryazan State University named after S.A. Esenin 46 Svobody str., Ryazan, Ryazan region, 390000, Russia l.pinchuk@365.rsu.edu.ru Other publications by this author

Turning to the official indicators of the state of road safety in Russia, we see that in 2022, 14,172 people died as a result of road accidents (- 4.7% compared to the same period last year (hereinafter - APPG)) and 159,635 people were injured (– 4.9% APPG) ^[1]. Despite the existing positive trend in 2022, the situation has changed dramatically in 2023, the positive trend has changed to a negative one: as a result of road accidents, 14,506 people died (+ 2.3% of the APPG) and 166,500 people were injured (+ 4.3% of the APPG) ^[2]. With regard to crime rates in Russia, a similar picture can also be observed, if in 2022 out of 126,705 (- 5.0% APPG) ^[1] 17,595 committed traffic offenses (- 3.4% of the APPG) ^{[3, p. 8]} are qualified as a criminal violation of traffic rules and vehicle operation (13.89% is the ratio of the number of registered traffic offenses (hereinafter referred to as accidents) to registered traffic offenses), then for 2023 out of 132,466 (+ 4.5 % APPG) ^[2] 17,865 committed traffic offenses (+ 1.5% of the APPG) ^{[4, p. 8]} are qualified as criminal violations of traffic rules and vehicle operation (13.49% is the ratio of the number of registered accidents to registered traffic offenses). In such circumstances, the need for forensic support for a timely and effective investigation of an accident cannot cause any doubt.

With such a high prevalence and a negative trend associated with an increase in the number of registered accidents, the law enforcement officer needs to have a clear understanding of the possibilities of forensic investigation support. Taking into account the materials of current judicial practice in this category of criminal cases and the provisions available in the forensic literature, it is necessary to provide the law enforcement officer with the most correct and effective forensic recommendations for the production of specific investigative actions.

An inspection of the accident site allows you to obtain criminalistically significant information about most of the components of the accident mechanism. Inspection of the accident site provides a unique chance for the law enforcement officer, provided competent, well-organized work on the spot, to receive very important and necessary information about the accident event.

Certain provisions of the accident investigation methodology are reflected in the works of M.V. Belyaev, B.M. Vashchenko, O.P. Vdovina, A.N. Dudnichenko, K.S. Latypova, T.A. Mokhova, E.A. Popov, G.I. Safonov, L.B. Syromli, V.I. Tarasova, etc. The issues of forensic support for the inspection of the scene were considered in the dissertation study by A.A. Bulbacheva (2017). Tkach V.Yu. prepared a dissertation on the topic: "The scene of an accident as an object of forensic research: problems of scientific, technical and organizational support" (2015). Noting the importance of the above-mentioned studies for the topic under consideration, it should be said that they cannot fully meet the modern needs of law enforcement practice. The need to further improve the tactical and forensic support for the inspection of the accident site determines the relevance of scientific research in this area.

The importance of tactical and forensic support for the inspection of the accident site during the investigation of an accident is predetermined by the following circumstances:

1) The trace pattern at the scene of the accident allows the investigator to further know the actual situation that took place at the time of the accident itself.

When searching for traces at the scene of an accident, it should be borne in mind that the transience of the accident itself leaves an imprint on the mechanism of trace formation, as a result of which, in the absence of objective means of traffic control (CCTV cameras at intersections, on nearby buildings, in the field of view of which elements of road infrastructure fall, with which contact interaction of persons and vehicles was carried out (hereinafter referred to as the vehicle) – participants in the accident; vehicle DVR cameras that recorded certain moments of the accident) it is the trace pattern at the scene of the accident, including micro–objects, that helps to establish most of the circumstances characterizing this accident. According to O.P. Vdovina, micro-objects can be detected by an investigator independently "with the help of a simple magnifying technique or without it at all (for example, microparticles of glass on a dark surface)" ^{[5, p. 24]}. So, "during the inspection, the situation at the scene was recorded and micro-objects were removed from the windshield of the car" ^[6]. These micro-objects were subsequently sent for forensic chemical examination, which established that "on the presented piece of light dactyloplen with microparticles seized during the inspection of the scene, a fragment of thread was found consisting of gray and gray with unpainted sections of cotton fibers and single gray, gray with unpainted sections of cotton fibers, coinciding in a number of generic characteristics with similar fibers included in the fibrous composition of the jacket FIO8" ^[6].

2) The use of ideal traces in establishing the circumstances of an accident is quite limited.

The transience of the accident itself also leaves an imprint on possible media about this accident: eyewitnesses can see and capture in their memory only a separate episode of the accident, since, basically, people react when they see a vehicle that leaves its lane or out of the general flow, with this maneuver having to be abrupt, in a significant way, out of step with the speed characteristics of the general flow of the vehicle. So, "Witness G. at the court hearing, as well as during the preliminary investigation (l.d.99-100) explained that on December 31, 2020, at about 15 hours and 30 minutes, he drove a Toyota Land Cruiser and drove along the Kungur-Solikamsk highway, his son B. was in the car as a passenger. The car was moving with The speed was 40-50 km/h, visibility was good, there was light precipitation, there was ice on the roadbed. Having passed the city of Chusovaya and moving towards the city ofOn 117 km of the highway, at a distance of 150-200 meters, he saw a VAZ-21074 car moving in the opposite direction. About 50 meters away, he saw that the VAZ car had entered his lane, so he took measures to prevent an accident, but he could not avoid a collision with the VAZ car. He did not see that the VAZ car was spinning on the highway" ^[7]. Khurum Fayzan notes that in some situations of investigation, eyewitnesses refuse to give evidence at all ^{[8, p. 413]}.

The reaction of eyewitnesses of an accident may also be related to the sharply changing background sound of the traffic flow (sounds of braking, sounds of a vehicle collision (sounds of deformation of body parts, sounds of headlights breaking and interior glazing)). So, "Witness FIO7 testified that he was driving a car on the highway on September 22, 2017 <data has been withdrawn> from the side <the data was withdrawn> when I heard the sound of colliding cars at the rounding of the road, after which a car moving from the opposite direction under the control of FIO3, lost control, drove into their lane and collided with another car" ^[9]. Therefore, eyewitnesses do not always have the opportunity to provide information about all the elements of the accident mechanism – their information about the entire mechanism is very subjective, since they are influenced by a large number of factors – starting with the age and physiological characteristics of the eyewitness and ending with the distance at which he was from the accident site.

Moreover, ideal traces can disorient the law enforcement officer, can add a large amount of procedural work, contribute to the promotion and verification of such versions that are not applicable to the situation under investigation at all. That is why obtaining the maximum possible information about the accident can be established if the necessary forensic recommendations are followed during the inspection of the accident site,

3) The trace pattern at the scene of an accident may change or be lost in a short period of time.

Mokhovaya T.A. points out that traces of contact interaction that can be detected at the scene of an accident are subject to fairly rapid changes due to atmospheric phenomena ^{[10, pp. 132-133]}, as well as due to the fact that another accident may occur at this place. So, according to the testimony of "witnesses FIO5, FIO6, FIO7, FIO8, who initially turned out to be at the scene of the traffic accident and who told in detail about the condition of the road surface and the time of the change in weather conditions, namely that at the time of the traffic accident the road was dry, and snow began after arrival ambulance, task force, while witness FIO6 explained that it snowed when the scene was inspected, as well as the testimony of witness FIO20, who explained that when he was at the scene, the road was dry and there was no precipitation" ^[11].

Such situations of investigation require the law enforcement officer to take clear actions at the scene of an accident, since any delay both at the beginning of the production and during the inspection may lead to the loss of important evidentiary facts. Therefore, here the law enforcement officer is faced with a difficult choice of his actions: 1) carry out the inspection quickly, realizing the risk of missing and not recording important evidentiary facts; 2) carry out the inspection slowly, carefully examining each evidence on the spot. Here, the law enforcement officer is recommended to act in accordance with the situation at the scene of the accident, paying attention to the possible deterioration of meteorological conditions, as well as to use an up-to-date methodological arsenal in relation to the inspection of the accident site.

Another vehicle may run over a vehicle participating in an accident, since in most cases, vehicles participating in an accident block the passage of the general flow, significantly reduce the speed of traffic flow, while drivers participating in an accident do not always have the physical opportunity due to injuries to properly perform duties in accordance with the Rules of the road and provide other road users advance notification of an incident on this section of the roadway. So, according to the testimony of a witness, "he moved away from the scene of the accident by 15-20 m., but after that there was another accident similar to the previous accidents. Their car was hit by a gray Honda Integra car. During the impact of the Honda Integra car, the Ford Explorer car turned in the direction of Leninsk-Kuznetsky. and as a result of this accident, FIO1 was seriously injured, as well as a man who presented himself as a doctor" ^[12].

Without assuming or designating the task to specify an exhaustive list of circumstances that can indicate the importance of tactical and forensic support for the inspection of the accident site during the investigation of an accident, we believe that the circumstances indicated by us indicate that the inspection of the accident must be carried out without fail as soon as possible, with careful examination of both the roadway itself parts of the vehicle involved in the accident, as well as the surrounding environment, with the task of identifying objective means that could fix this accident (outdoor video surveillance cameras, dashcam cameras of the vehicle, phone cameras of eyewitnesses who managed to capture the moment of the accident). Every element of the tactical and forensic support of the inspection is important here:

1. The first such element is the preparation for the inspection of the accident site. This element includes the necessary organizational and preparatory actions of the law enforcement officer, each of which contributes to compliance with the procedural procedure for the production of this investigative action, in accordance with the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, and also creates prerequisites for the most effective receipt of information during the inspection. A.A. Gontarev indicates the importance of this element of tactical and forensic support for the production of an accident site inspection since it is precisely the timely preparation for the inspection that allows "to preserve the initial situation at the scene of the incident, reduce the time of the investigative action and significantly facilitate the upcoming work on the spot" ^{[13, p. 139]}.

2. The second element is the inspection of the accident site. This element includes the necessary tactical recommendations regarding the procedure for detecting and collecting information about an accident event. It is necessary to agree with V.I. Tarasova, who points out certain requirements for the knowledge of a law enforcement officer who will have to inspect the scene of an accident – he must "know typical traces, their features, as well as modern possibilities of using information and technical resources in proving criminal cases" ^{[14, p. 48]}.

3. The third element is the recording of the progress and results of the inspection of the accident site. Such an element includes the necessary technical recommendations regarding the procedural order of fixation, as well as the use of forensic equipment for these purposes.

As part of the current study, we will be interested in such elements of tactical and forensic support for the inspection of the accident site as tactical recommendations regarding the actual inspection. Based on the available forensic recommendations, the investigative examination should be divided into certain stages: the first stage is a general examination and the second is a detailed examination.

A general inspection of the accident site involves such actions by the investigator, during which the situation of the accident site does not change, consistent observation of all objects and traces at the accident site is carried out, prerequisites for a qualitative study of traces during a detailed inspection are created.

Here a certain algorithm (program) of the law enforcement officer's actions can be proposed during the general inspection of the accident site.

First of all, the law enforcement officer is recommended to familiarize himself with the accident site itself and determine what type of incident can be attributed to what happened at this place (vehicle collision, hitting a pedestrian, overturning, etc.). At the same time, it is immediately necessary to clarify and find out whether and what changes were made at the scene before the inspection. Starting to understand the events of the past, the law enforcement officer is invited to put forward his versions concerning a certain type of incident and individual elements of the mechanism of this incident. Also, special attention should be paid here to the search for virtual traces contained in objective means of traffic control, including data from dashcam cameras of law enforcement agencies that were the first to arrive at the scene of the accident, as well as those who guarded the place.

Secondly, in order to orient the accident site in space, the law enforcement officer needs to identify one or more permanent objects (house, building, intersection, kilometer pole, railway crossing, bridge) indicating the exact geographical and administrative-territorial names (the name of the settlement, avenue, highway, street, passage, lane, etc.) Temporary structures and objects for the orientation of the accident site in space should not be used, since they can subsequently be moved or destroyed. So, "the starting point was a kilometer-long pillar <data has been withdrawn> On <The data was seized on the highway <data is withdrawn> by message <address> at a distance of 96 meters from the reference point on the right side of the road during the inspection there is a road sign 2.3.2 "Junction of a secondary road". At a distance of 82 meters from the specified road sign on the right side of the road during the inspection, there is a metal pole equipped with a traffic light (which is in a continuous flashing yellow light"with a sign 5.19.1 "Pedestrian crossing". At a distance of 0.5 m. from the specified pillar on the carriageway there is a pedestrian path leading from the right edge of the carriageway to the opposite left edge of the carriageway, where there is a public transport stop and equipped with a traffic light (which is in a continuous flashing yellow light"metal pillar with the sign 5.19.1 "Pedestrian crossing"" ^[15].

Thirdly, having oriented himself in space and assuming the type of incident, the law enforcement officer needs to determine the boundaries of the inspection and the area of the inspected territory, as well as the starting point of the inspection and the way in which a consistent study of the situation of the accident site will be carried out. To determine the boundary of the inspection, it is necessary to walk along the road (street) 200-300 meters in both directions from the scene of the accident, identifying traces of the vehicle and physical evidence. At the same time, it is necessary to determine the position of the accident site in relation to the nearest road sign. V.I. Tarasova concludes that the definition of the boundaries of the inspection is carried out in each specific case, based on the main goal - to identify traces and establish factual circumstances essential to clarify the causes of the incident ^{[14, p. 132]}. The accident site can have a significant length and it is often difficult to determine the boundaries of the inspection in advance.

Fourth, the law enforcement officer needs to understand the condition of the road and its illumination, which is a specific part of the general inspection of the accident site. E.A. Popov points out that the correct definition by the law enforcement officer of the type of pavement (asphalt concrete, cement concrete, crushed stone, gravel, dirt, etc.) is of great importance for further use as one of the initial data. and its condition at the time of inspection (dry, wet, polluted, covered with sand, snow (wet, rolled, rolled), treated with sand or road reagents, frozen, icy) ^{[16, p. 104]}.

Fiolla Elshani also insists that determining the condition of the road surface is one of the tasks of the procedural body at the scene of an accident ^{[17, p. 378]}. It should be borne in mind that the condition of the roadway at the time of inspection may differ from that which took place at the time of the accident for various reasons (changes in meteorological conditions for the better or for the worse, treatment of the roadway with fire extinguishing foam by employees of the Federal fire service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia).

A.A. Dudnichenko notes that during the general inspection it is important to establish the existing defects of the road and the conditions of its illumination, the profile of the path, the presence of fences ^{[18, p. 135]}. During the inspection, according to T.A. Mokhova, factors such as the absence or presence of the Moon, its phase, etc. should also be taken into account at night. ^{[9, p. 51]}.

Fifth, the law enforcement officer needs to understand during the general inspection the essential elements of the road, which include: the roadway, curb, ditch, sidewalk, as well as the available means of organizing traffic on this site. The presence and height of the curb stone is noted, as well as the presence of road markings, pedestrian crossings, public transport stops, and traffic lights at the scene of the accident. The presence and location of road signs should be characterized by their numerical and alphabetic names in accordance with the rules of the road, as well as by reference to the scene of the accident. Thus, according to B.M. Vashchenko, the significant disadvantages of inspecting the accident site are not specifying by law enforcement officers all the characteristics of traffic control devices, "road signs, markings, barriers, road fences" ^{[19, p. 183]}.

Sixth, the law enforcement officer must understand the external situation (environment) of the scene of the incident, which is determined by the presence of buildings, trees, shrubs, etc., as well as their location. K.S. Latypova emphasizes that it must be remembered that a proper description of the external situation largely allows us to conclude about the visibility of the road, or to testify about the possible unexpected appearance of an obstacle on the way of the vehicle ^{[20, p. 49]}.

Thus, the tactical and forensic support of the general inspection of the accident site is quite significant for law enforcement practice and involves the implementation by the law enforcement officer of certain actions included in the program of his actions during the general inspection of the accident site. This program includes the following actions:

1) familiarization with the place takes place and the type of incident becomes clear;

2) a version is put forward regarding the mechanism of a particular type of incident;

3) one or more permanent objects are determined to orient the accident site in space, indicating the exact geographical and administrative-territorial names;

4) the boundaries of the inspection and the area of the inspected territory are finally determined;

5) the starting point of the inspection and the method by which the sequential study of the situation of the accident site will be carried out are chosen;

6) the condition of the road and the conditions of its illumination are determined;

7) the essential elements of the road are inspected and recorded, as well as the organization of traffic on this section;

8) the external environment of the scene is recorded.