GB2437597A

GB2437597A - Road traffic accident recordal stencil

Info

Publication number: GB2437597A
Application number: GB0608174A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Craig Mccall
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-04-25
Filing date: 2006-04-25
Publication date: 2007-10-31
Also published as: GB0608174D0

Abstract

A road traffic accident recordal stencil or template comprises a circular perforation 6; a slotted perforation 7-15; and a substantially rectangular perforation 17-20. The stencil facilitates the preparation of clear drawings of the scene of a road traffic accident. It includes D-shaped perforations 21 for representation of a traffic island and bulbous perforation 16 for representation of a traffic light. Edge 4 is concave. Substantially rectangular perforations 17 and 19 respectively represent a car and a truck.

Description

Stencil The present application relates to stencils of the type that a

person might use in order to draw lines and shapes on a page which are of a quality similar to what might normally be achieved by printing or by the use of computer aided design.

After a road traffic accident, the position of the vehicle or vehicles involved might be important in any investigation. Police officers arriving at the scene of a road traffic accident will, in addition to many other tasks, sketch the scene of the accident including the road layout, the position of the vehicle or vehicles after the accident, the position of glass and other debris which may indicate where the accident took place, and the location of witnesses and injured parties. Other information might also be included in this sketch. Unfortunately, the quality of sketches produced by some police officers at the scene of the accident are very poor, and make very little contribution to the investigation of the causes of the accident. Additionally, some police officers are reticent to sketch the scene of the accident because they lack confidence in their drawing skills. It is speculated that some police officers will, instead of drawing the scene of the accident, make a note to the effect that the vehicles were moved before they arrived at the scene, which obviates the necessity for preparing a sketch.

Additionally, in the aftermath of a road traffic accident, motorists are normally asked by their insurance companies to provide a sketch of the scene of the accident showing how the accident took place. Unfortunately, the quality of the drawings which are supplied to insurance companies are often not of a sufficient quality that blame can correctly be apportioned, resulting in blameless motorists being forced to take responsibility for accidents that they have not caused. The subsequent insurance premiums of the blameless motorist are likely to increase, and any existing no claims discount may be lost.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a road traffic accident recordal stencil comprises: a circular perforation; a slotted perforation; and a generally rectangular perforation which is tapered towards one end. By use of this invention, sketches of the scene of a road traffic accident can be prepared to a much higher standard, assisting in investigations of accidents, and in the correct apportionment of blame in insurance claims. The stencil may be appropriately sized that it will fit comfortably within a police officer's notebook or within the glove box of a vehicle.

Preferably, the slotted perforation includes first, second and third limbs. The first and second limbs can positioned 900 to each other. This may enable the user to draw road features such as a road junction. The second and third limbs can be positioned 450 to each other. This enables the user to draw a significant number of road features which would otherwise be difficult to draw freehand.

The generally rectangular perforation can be stepped in and then taper. This arrangement can give a very clear indication of which end of the rectangle is which.

The stencil might include a traffic light perforation including three intersecting bulbous regions defining a bulbous body. This perforation will enable the feature of a traffic light to be drawn much more quickly and clearly than would normally be achieved freehand.

The stencil might include a double D-shaped perforation including two D-shaped perforations aligned with the curves of the Ds facing away from each other. This perforation will enable the feature of a traffic island to be drawn much more quickly and clearly than would normally be achieved freehand.

The stencil might further include a V-shaped slotted perforation.

The stencil might further include a straight external edge having a graduation marked adjacent thereto.

The stencil might also include a concave external edge, and/or a radiused corner between two external edges. Where both are included, the radiused corner might be arranged to meet the concave external edge.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a method of graphically recording a road traffic accident comprises the use of the stencil according to the first aspect of the invention in the preparation of a graphic representation of the accident.

According to a third aspect of the invention, a road traffic recordal stencil comprises perforations and/or edges which are: a. shaped and arranged to be representative of road features; and/or b. shaped and arranged to be representative of vehicles.

The road features might include any one or more of the following: road layouts and shapes, junctions, roundabouts, traffic lights and traffic islands.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to Figure 1 which is a plan view of a stencil according to the present application.

A stencil 1 is shown in Figure 1 which is generally of rectangular shape having a first external edge 2 which is straight, and which includes a graduation 3 adjacent to that edge. The graduation 3 runs along the entire edge 2, and is marked in tens of millimetres.

Opposing the first external edge 2 is a second external edge 4 which is primarily concave in shape, the concave part of the edge having a radius of 125 mm. Towards one end of the second external edge 4 is a radiused corner 5 leading into one of the other two edges which lie generally perpendicular to the first and second external edges (2,4). The radiused corner 5 (convex) has a radius of 20 mm, and meets with the concave part of the second external edge 4.

It is intended that the external edges of the stencil 1 be used for sketching road layouts easily. For example, if the road on which the road traffic accident occurred was a straight one, then one of the straight edges (2, 4) can be used to give a good quality line indicating the edges of the road. If the accident occurred at a corner, then either one of the curved external edges can be used, either the second external edge 4 or the radiused edge 5, as is most appropriate, again giving a high quality line.

Within the stencil 1, there are eight perforated devices or perforations, each of which allows a user to use a pencil or pen to draw through the perforations in the stencil 1 in order to draw the devices on the surface beneath, normally a piece of paper.

A circular perforation 6 is located on the stencil 1, and is formed by a circular hole.

The circular perforation 6 is 30 mm across, which corresponds to a typical sized traffic roundabout or traffic circle.

A first geometric perforation 7 forms a slot having three limbs. A first limb 8 connects to a second limb 9 positioned at 90 to the first limb, and which continues on to join with a third limb 10 extending from the second limb 9 at an angle of 45 . The slot from the first to the third limbs is continuous allowing a person to draw through the slot on to a surface from the first to the second and from the second to the third limbs without lifting the pencil or pen from the surface. Each of the three limbs 8, 9, 10 is 15 mm long.

A second geometric perforation 11 is also included which is a mirror image of the first geometric perforation 7, the perforation 11 forming a continuous slot with first, second and third limbs 12, 13 and 14 angled at 90 and 45 with respect to each other, and each having a length of 15 mm.

Both of the first and second geometric perforations 7, 11 are intended to make it easy to draw a road junction depending on the angle of the roads at the junction.

A V-shaped perforation 15 is included which forms a V-shaped slot through which two lines can be drawn at right angles to each other, the two limbs of the V each being 15 mm long. Of course, this V-shaped perforation 15 could equally well be shown as an L-shape, still retaining the 90 angle between the limbs. The V-shaped perforation 15 can be used to assist a person in drawing traffic junctions, walls, buildings and other things.

A fifth perforation 16 is shown which is elongate, and towards one end is thin and rectangular, and towards the opposite end includes three intersecting bulbous regions defining a bulbous body. This perforation 16, when used in drawing a road traffic accident, represents a traffic light.

A sixth perforation 17 is generally rectangular in shape, but is slightly tapered 18 towards one end. This sixth perforation 17 is 20 mm in total length, 5 mm of which is tapered. The rectangle is generally 10 mm wide, and at the tapered end reduces to 7 mm wide. The sixth perforation 17 may be used to sketch the outline of a car (automobile).

A seventh perforation 19 is again generally rectangular in shape, but towards one end 20 is stepped inwards and tapered. The perforation is 30 mm long, the last 5 mm of which are stepped in and then tapered. The width of the rectangle is 10 mm, stepping down to 7 mm at the stepped and tapered end 20. The seventh perforation 19 represents a small truck which is longer than the sixth perforation 17 representing a car. The stepped in and tapered end can be used to indicate the front of the vehicle.

In both the sixth and seventh perforations (17, 19) the front of the vehicle may be shown as tapered, as stepped or with any other feature which makes it clear which way the vehicle is facing when it is being drawn.

An eighth perforation 21 is shown which is formed by two D-shaped perforations, one being a mirror image of the other, and the two being aligned with the curves of the D pointing away from each other. The height of each D is 6 mm and each D is elongated between the curve and the upright part of the D by 4 mm.

The eighth perforation 21 may be used to assist the user in drawing a traffic island.

The stencil I shown in Figure 1 includes most of the shapes which might be used in order to sketch the scene of a road traffic accident. Of course, the radii of the second external edge 4 and the radiused edge 5, and of the circular perforation 6 may be increased or reduced as appropriate, and this application is not limited to those exact radii. Likewise, some minor modifications to some of the other shapes may be made, this embodiment providing a preferred but not limiting description of the invention.

In this embodiment, the stencil is made from a transparent thin material which allows a user to be able to place the stencil over any lines already drawn on a surface so that it can be aligned by looking at the lines already on the surface through the stencil.

According to another embodiment (not shown) the stencil is opaque. In some embodiments the stencil might be translucent. The stencil may be made from any of a number of materials, many of which are already known in the field of stencils. The material might be nylon, PET, polyethylene, or any one of a number of other materials.

The stencil will be thin. In the preferred embodiment, the stencil is less than 3 mm, and preferably between 0.5 and 2 mm. The thickness will depend, to some extent, on the material from which the stencil is to be made. It would be advantageous if the stencil were somewhat flexible so as to resist breakage when kept in a police officer's notebook, or in the glove box of a vehicle.

Claims

Claims 1. A road traffic accident recordal stencil comprising: a

circular perforation; a slotted perforation; and a substantially rectangular perforation.
2. A stencil according to claim 1, wherein the substantially rectangular perforation is tapcred towards one end. l0
3. A stencil according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the slotted perforation includes Iirst, second and third limbs.

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4. A stencil according to claim 3, wherein the first and second limbs are ". 15 positioned 90 to each other. S.. *5S*

5. A stencil according to claim 3 or 4 wherein the second and third limbs are

SI

positioned 45 to each other. I... * S S...

*:*. 20 6. A stencil according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the generally rectangular perforation is stepped in and then tapers.

7. A stencil according to any one of the preceding claims further comprising a traffic light perforation including three intersecting bulbous regions defining a bulbous body.

8. A stencil according to any one of the preceding claims further comprising a double D-shaped perforation including two D-shaped perforations aligned with the curves of the Ds facing away from each other.

9. A stencil according to any one of the preceding claims further comprising a V-shaped slotted perforation.

1 0. A stencil according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a straight external edge having a graduation marked adjacent thereto.

II. A stencil according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a concave external edge.

12. A stencil according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a racliused corner between two external edges.

13. A stencil according to claim 12, wherein the radiused corner meets the concave external edge of claim 11.

14. A method of graphically recording a road traffic accident comprising the use of ****** 15 the stencil according to any one of claims 1 to 13 in the preparation of a graphic S...

representation of the accident. S...

S S...

SS

* 1
5. A road traffic recordal stencil comprising perforations and/or edges which are: a. shaped and arranged to be representative of road features; and/or S...

*:*. 20 h. shaped and arranged to be representative of vehicles.

1
6. A stencil according to claim 15, wherein the road features include any one or more of the following: road layouts and shapes, junctions, roundabouts, traffic lights, traflic islands.

17. A road traffic recordal stencil constructed and arranged substantially as described herein with reference to the drawing.