I’ve spent the majority of my 16 years in law enforcement investigating
motor vehicle crashes, first as a crash investigator and later as an
accident reconstructionist. Although I no longer perform those duties as a
police officer, I still sometimes work in the private sector assisting in
follow-up investigations. Such was the case last week when I was called to
follow up on a motorcycle crash. Because the case is still under
investigation, I won’t mention names or places. This is the synopsis of
what occurred. 

A northbound pickup truck pulling a trailer made a left hand turn across
the path of a southbound motorcycle. The motorcycle struck the right side
of the pickup truck and trailer, causing minor damage. The motorcycle rider
went to the hospital with severe injuries. To add insult to injury, the
driver of the motorcycle was cited for speeding. 

I went to the site of the crash and measured 60.5 feet of pre-impact skid
mark left from the motorcycle.  Even if I use a 20MPH impact speed
(severely overestimated based on the minor vehicle damage), I'm still
calculating 40MPH for the speed of the motorcycle prior to skidding. The
posted speed limit is 45MPH. I'll be interested in finding out what made
them think the motorcycle was speeding.