Crash reconstruction: A crash reconstruction must include all the components of a crash investigation, plus additional data collection and analysis that “utilizes principles of physics and empirical data to analyze the physical, electronic, video, audio, and testimonial evidence from a crash to determine how and why the crash occurred” (SAE International). Crash reconstructions are typically completed by specially trained law enforcement officers or contracted third parties.

Heavy-duty truck: Heavy-duty trucks, or Class 7/8 trucks, have a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 26,001 pounds or more. Examples of heavy-duty trucks include truck-tractor semi-trailers, furniture trucks, garbage trucks, and cement trucks.

MCSAP: The Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) formula grant provides financial assistance to State and local law enforcement agencies to increase CMV-related enforcement and safety activities nationwide. These MCSAP lead agencies work together with FMCSA to reduce the number and severity of crashes and hazardous materials incidents involving CMVs.

Medium-duty truck: Medium-duty trucks, or Class 3–6 trucks, have a GVWR of 10,001-26,000 pounds. Examples of medium-duty trucks include bucket trucks, box trucks, city delivery vans, and full-size pickup trucks.

Police crash report: A police crash report (PCR) is a form for collecting data at the scene of a motor vehicle traffic crash. PCRs are typically completed by local/county/State law enforcement personnel and undergo quality control before being uploaded to a central crash report database.

Post-crash inspection: A post-crash inspection is performed by a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) inspector certified to conduct commercial vehicle inspections through the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA). Post-crash inspections are recorded on driver/vehicle examination reports and document violations and defects discovered at the time of the inspection. These inspections assist in identifying where regulatory non-compliance by a driver may have contributed to crash causation and identify whether vehicle defects existed prior to or resulted from a crash.

Post-crash investigation: A post-crash investigation is a more thorough investigation of the crash event report with more crash details than a PCR. Typically completed by a law enforcement officer, a post-crash investigation report involves the collection of additional data elements beyond what is collected as part of a standard PCR but is not as expansive as a crash reconstruction.