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Traffic crash exercise

This is a simplified Missouri classroom exercise. Use fictional facts provided by your instructor. It does not replace the official Missouri Uniform Crash Report or determine fault, speed, or how a real collision occurred.

Build the vehicle / driver pairs

Enter the crash date, location, county, streets, and conditions. Newton County and Neosho are editable suggestions recognizing the program’s origin.
Complete Vehicle 1 / Driver 1. You may link records already entered in People and Vehicles; corrections to those records update the crash section. To type separate details, select Enter here (no link).
Complete Vehicle 2 / Driver 2 for a second vehicle. Leave that pair blank for a single-vehicle exercise. Vehicle numbers identify records; they do not establish fault. Use Unknown driver or No driver / parked when appropriate.
Record each vehicle’s movement, traffic control, initial contact area, damage, occupants, injury information, statements, and disposition. Identify the source of any reported speed. Use Unknown when the scenario does not establish a fact.

Create the street diagram

Name the streets and choose a four-way intersection, a T intersection with the stem down on the page, or a straight road. This is a simulated street layout, not a map service. The north symbol stays at the top right and can be rotated to match the scenario.
Choose whether the vehicles depict positions at impact or final rest positions. Describe any difference between those positions in the narrative.
Drag V1 and V2 into position. Rotate them with the buttons or the blue Rotate handle. The arrow indicates the vehicle’s front. Before moving or explicitly placing an object, its faded starter position is omitted from the PDF.
Move the impact marker to the supported area on the roadway. If it cannot be established, select Impact location unknown and explain why.
You can also select an object and use the direction, rotate, Place, or Remove buttons. Keyboard users can focus an object, use arrow keys (Shift for larger steps), [ or ] to rotate, and Enter to place.

The initial contact area describes a part of a vehicle, such as its front left. The impact location describes an area on the roadway. Explain the observations or statements supporting your chosen location. Do not treat a vehicle’s final resting place as proof of where impact occurred.

Travel direction records the vehicle’s movement before the crash; the diagram arrow shows the front of the vehicle. These can differ when a vehicle backs. If a vehicle was turning, distinguish its approach direction from its position in the diagram. If available facts cannot support a diagram, leave it excluded and explain why.

Set north

Drag the north symbol at the top right, use North −15° / North +15°, or enter a whole-number angle from 0 to 359. Zero points up; 90 points right. With the symbol focused, arrow keys rotate one degree, or 15 with Shift. Older crash reports retain their original north-up direction. Clearing north shows N? and a completion reminder. The arrow does not rotate vehicles or change measured distances. Street field labels and movement buttons refer to the page; driver travel directions remain compass directions. North and the NOT TO SCALE label are retained in the PDF.

Reference points and measured markers

In Traffic crash, use Markers / measurement grid below the street diagram. Expand crash workspace gives the drawing and table more room. New crash reports start with no measured markers or distances.

Choose Reference point, select a symbol, and click Add to diagram and grid. Describe each fixed reference and the exact measurement location, such as the north edge of a utility-pole base at ground level. Drag the marker into position. Up to six reference points are labeled R1–R6.
Add Collectible evidence for collected items, numbered 1–15, or Recorded scene feature for uncollected locations, lettered A–O. The combined limit is 15 entries. Available symbols include evidence markers, exact measurement points, debris, tire marks, and gouges. The student supplies all descriptions and facts.
Keep V1 and V2 as the vehicle identifiers. To measure a specific part of a vehicle, add a lettered feature marker and describe the exact point, such as V1 left front tire contact patch. Measured markers move independently of vehicles. Place or adjust each marker yourself when depicting another position or phase; changing the picture never changes the entered field measurements.
Reference points appear as table columns. Numbered items appear first in the rows, followed by lettered features. Enter both feet and inches, including explicit zeroes. Feet must be whole and nonnegative; inches must be from 0 to less than 12, with decimals permitted for fractional inches. An empty cell is not zero. For example, 8 ft 6 in is 8.5 decimal feet, not 8.6 feet.
Every entry needs distances from at least two distinct reference points. Extra distances from the other references are optional. The full table supports 15 entries by 6 reference points (90 distance cells). Invalid or unfinished values are saved as draft inputs and do not count toward completion.
Select a row label or reference heading to highlight its marker on the diagram. Selecting a marker highlights the matching row or reference column. Use the marker controls for its description, exact measurement-location note, permitted label, rotation, size, and position. The road diagram shows the marker identifiers to keep vehicle positions readable. Full descriptions and exact-location notes appear in the grid and PDF key. The diagram and exported table use the same labels.
Drag a marker or its blue Rotate handle. Hold Shift while rotating to snap to 15-degree steps. With the handle focused, arrow keys rotate 1 degree, or 15 with Shift. The existing move buttons, arrow keys, and bracket keys also work. Labels remain upright. Undo diagram change and Redo diagram change cover marker, vehicle-position, and measurement changes.

Deleting a measured entry removes only that entry and its distances. Deleting a reference point removes only its column and related distances, then updates completion status. Undo restores them. Surviving labels are never renumbered. Changing an object's measurement type removes its previous measurement relationships; relabeling within its type preserves them.

Recorded distances, not calculated reconstruction. Road geometry, vehicle size, and marker positions are illustrative drawing coordinates. Field distances are entered separately and remain unchanged when anything moves or rotates. A marker does not establish impact, speed, fault, or a scientifically calculated trajectory. Explain the supporting facts in your crash narrative.

The crash measurement grid is separate from the crime-scene measurement grid. Each has its own references and distances. Older crash reports reopen unchanged with an empty measurement grid until markers are added. Over-capacity saved grids are preserved and flagged; they are never silently truncated.

Size rooms, skid marks, and distances with measurements

Select a room and enter its width and length in feet and inches. For example, 20 ft 0 in by 10 ft 0 in makes a room twice as wide as it is long. In Traffic crash, choose Add skid mark or Add distance line, then enter Measured length. Scene diagrams also provide a Measurement line symbol.
Enter whole feet and decimal inches, including explicit zeroes. For example, enter 6.25 for 6 and one-quarter inches. Inches must be below 12; lengths must be positive. Unfinished or invalid entries are saved with a warning and leave the last valid drawing size in place.
Measured objects share consistent proportions within each diagram: a 30-foot line is twice a 15-foot line. The view automatically fits larger objects without shortening their entered values. Zooming the view does not move other objects or change saved measurements.
Drag an edge or corner to resize a dimensioned object and its feet/inches fields update (to the nearest hundredth of an inch). Moving or rotating preserves length. Use Undo to restore an accidental resize, or lock a finished object. Width/height in drawing units becomes read-only for measured axes.
A skid length is the measured straight span between its endpoints, not a curved-path calculation. Label each mark or distance to identify what was measured. Each mark has its own length. Reference-point grid distances remain independently entered and never change when drawing geometry changes.
Older saved rooms retain their original shape. Select Apply saved dimensions to drawing to size one from its saved dimensions. Save a new .rms.json file after editing. The PDF includes the dimension labels and full values in the object key, with no editing handles.

NOT TO SCALE overall. Measured rooms and lines use proportional geometry; other symbols, road layouts, and object placement are illustrative. Enter only measurements supported by the scenario. Reposition objects or labels that overlap before submitting.

Resize objects on the drawing

Select an unlocked object to reveal square handles on its edges and corners. Drag an edge to change one dimension, or a corner to change both. Hold Shift at a corner to keep proportions. The opposite edge or corner stays fixed, including on rotated objects. The round blue handle rotates the object. Arrow keys on a focused square handle resize; the width and height fields remain available.

Each completed drag is one Undo action. A locked object has no resize handles. Resizing a room changes only its boundary; furniture, evidence, photo positions, and other items inside it stay in place. Larger rooms can occupy most of the scene canvas. Resizing a dimensioned room, skid mark, or distance line updates its feet-and-inches fields. Other symbols use drawing sizes. Evidence links, labels, and reference-point distances remain unchanged. The diagram remains NOT TO SCALE. Save the editable report file to retain sizes; the PDF uses the resized objects and omits editing handles.

Share evidence between diagrams

Enter the item in Evidence and choose Add evidence to save it. Each diagram automatically lists saved items under Evidence from this report, directly above the drawing. Drag an item onto the drawing, or choose Add to diagram and move the new marker into place. Its inventory link is set automatically. Items already placed show Select on diagram, which selects the existing marker without adding a duplicate. To link a symbol you already drew, select it, set its measurement type to Collectible evidence, and choose the record under Link to Evidence inventory. The shared ID and description appear in both measurement grids and PDF keys. Corrections made in Evidence update both diagrams, including ID changes. Use the marker description for diagram-specific notes; it does not replace the inventory description.

The Evidence section lists each linked item’s Diagram cross-references. A diagram’s Item 1 label is a local measurement-row label, not an automatic link to another diagram’s Item 1. References, positions, rotations, notes, and distances remain separate. Removing a marker or unlinking it leaves the Evidence record intact. Removing the Evidence record leaves a visible missing-link warning on its markers; Undo restores the record. Save the .rms.json report file to retain these connections.

Write and review

Describe the sequence using consistent V1 / Driver 1 and V2 / Driver 2 references. Separate observations, statements, and conclusions. Reference witnesses, photographs, physical evidence, other damaged property, and actions taken where your scenario provides them. Explain gaps or uncertainty. The completion reminders check for missing information; they do not verify the accuracy of a reconstruction.

Save and submit

Save report for later downloads the editable .rms.json report file, including linked records, vehicle positions, rotations, the impact marker, all measured markers, and the reference-point grid. Incomplete measurements and unfinished inputs can be saved and resumed. Keep it in your folder or on a jump drive. Use Continue saved report to reopen it on a computer.

Download PDF to submit includes the front sheet and entered sections. An untouched crash section and an unused Vehicle 2 are omitted. The crash text fields are fillable; the diagram is an image of the positions you saved. To move the vehicles again, reopen the editable report file on the website and create a new PDF. The traffic crash PDF and full report PDF include the marker key, reference descriptions, and recorded-distance table when Include the diagram and measurement grid in the PDF is selected. Tables identify incomplete work and repeat headings on continuation pages. An unused measurement grid adds no pages. Long entries continue onto additional pages.

Missouri reference

Field selection and diagram guidance were checked against the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Missouri Uniform Crash Report Preparation Manual, revised January 1, 2026, especially Section 6 (printed pages 65–66) and the vehicle / driver pairing in Section 7 (page 67). These explain how to document a supported diagram and identify the paired records. The simplified exercise includes only selected training concepts from the manual.

The MSHP manuals page provides the agency’s published reporting materials. Follow your instructor’s assignment and consult the official form and manual for a full reporting exercise.

Lock finished diagram objects

Select V1, V2, the impact location, or any measurement marker, then check Lock selected object position and size. A padlock identifies it on screen. It stays selectable, but moving, rotating, resizing, and removing it require clearing the lock first. Written notes, evidence links, and field measurements remain editable. Unlock before marking a locked impact location unknown. Lock/unlock supports Undo and Redo, and saves in the editable report file. Padlocks do not print in the report.