PEARL, MS (Mississippi News Now) -
State accident investigators are hoping to learn more about motorcycle accidents, by causing one themselves.
The simulated wreck is being used to help state troopers when they respond to accidents in the future.
State crash investigators say motorcycle car collisions are on the rise in Mississippi.
They're hoping to use the data they collect in efforts to understand how the wrecks are happening and if they can prevent them.
Thursday, a motorcycle car crash demonstration was held at the Mississippi Law Enforcement Officers' Training Academy in Pearl. Several dozen state trooper cadets and other accident investigators from around the state were on hand to witness the event.
The demonstration included a motorcycle with a dummy on board, who was pulled at a high rate of speed towards a car blocking the road.
The dummy fell off the motorcycle causing it to miss the vehicle altogether. It still tumbled several times, giving investigators a crash site to study. In Mississippi last year, 42 people lost their lives in motorcycle crashes. 235 in the last year.
Master Sergeant Ronnie Rayburn of the Mississippi Highway Patrol said, "We use this in accident training with cadets and show them what to look for, specifics to look at in a crash as far as damage to vehicles, motorcycles, even the physical injuries to the occupants of the motorcycle that will give us an idea of what happened, what speeds are generated in a crash scenario."
The speed of the motorcycle in Thursday's crash was about 40 miles per hour. The demonstration is part of a week long training class for state, county and local law enforcement to learn advanced techniques on reconstructing motorcycle collisions.
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