These introductory courses are offered at Northwestern University and other schools. In the first class, you'll begin to learn the skills necessary in determining the cause of a crash. "The course[s] focus on analyzing and interpreting information that has been collected at lower levels of investigation in order to describe the crash and the events leading to actual impact in as much detail as possible," according to Northwestern University. You'll learn by way of lectures, course materials and real case studies. Topics covered include Newton's law of motion, speed estimation, types of collisions, kinetic energy, road marks and more. These courses cover collisions involving cars, motorcycles, pedestrians, trains and trucks. In Accident Reconstruction 2, you'll continue learning reconstruction skills on more complicated accidents.
Also at Northwestern University, this class will educate you on the intricacies of reconstructing accidents involving large vehicles such as 18-wheelers. Northwestern's course "includes four hours of field testing to demonstrate various braking and acceleration characteristics of heavy vehicles and to allow students the chance to analyze and apply the collected data." The course uses case studies to show reconstruction techniques can be applied to real crashes. Topics covered in this course include air brakes, tires, determination of velocity, rollover and computer analysis. At Northwestern, you must have passed Traffic Crash Reconstruction 1 and 2 before taking this course.
At Michigan State University, there are 24 courses in traffic investigation, including Tire Dynamics and Examination. In this course, you'll learn how to determine whether tire failure contributed to an accident.
Also at Michigan State, you can learn the proper techniques and procedures involved in photographing accident scenes. Topics include camera operation, daytime vs. nighttime photography, and existing-light photography.
Another course offering at Michigan State is this class, about the use of seat belts and their role in accidents. Topics include child car seats, injury pattern analysis and collision dynamics.