Tire Marks

Truck accidents can be difficult to reconstruct in truck accident litigation. Often, forensic experts trained in reconstructing truck accidents are brought in to help reconstruct the scene. In reconstructing the scene a valuable piece of evidence are tire marks left behind by the truck.

Braking Force

What is the significance of a tire mark? The presence of a skid mark shows that the truck exerted braking force at some point during the accident. The absence of skid marks however is in no way conclusive of the premise that the truck did not exert braking force. There are plenty of scenarios where a truck driver steps on the brakes but does not leave skid marks on the road.

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Tire Marks vs. Skid Marks

At this point, it’s worth noting that tire marks do not necessarily equate to skid marks. Skid marks are just one of the many different tire marks that a commercial vehicle can leave on the road. Some of the tire marks which a vehicle may leave are:

• Yaw Marks
• Imprints
• Shadow Marks
• Collision Scrubs

Some of the more common tire marks are:

• Skid marks – These marks are left by a truck when the tires are sliding while in contact with the road instead of rolling.
• Skip Skid marks – These are similar to skid marks. These may also indicate that the tires are sliding while in contact with the road instead of rolling. Skip skid marks often have the appearance of a dotted line, because they are often caused by the bouncing of lightly loaded axles when a heavy commercial vehicle is hard breaking.
• Flat Tire Marks – These marks show tires that are either under-inflated or overloaded.

Commercial vehicles have two different axles. Most of them have one steer axle and one or more drive axles. In some models, there may also be non-powered non-steer axles. Steer axles normally do not leave skid marks. When they do, it may indicate that the tires are locked instead of rotating.