Craig Wilkinson is a senior engineer in MEA Forensic’s Collision Reconstruction group in the firm’s Toronto office. Craig has investigated a wide variety of issues in over 2,500 collisions involving commercial vehicles, passenger cars, bicycles, motorcycles, pedestrians, and golf carts. “We help our clients to understand the technical answers to their questions,” Craig says. “They can expect an honest answer from us – the right answer.”
Craig has a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering Physics from the University of British Columbia and is a registered professional engineer. He regularly presents his conclusions in court as an expert witness. When facts such as the speed of a car, or the severity of a crash will help resolve legal issues, Craig aims to present the results of his unbiased analysis as clearly as possible. “The court may be asked to make decision about highly technical analyses,” Craig notes. “As experts, our role is to help the Court understand what the science says about the evidence.”
New cars record information about speed and driver behavior in the event of a crash or extreme driving. Since his early years at MEA, Craig has studied the reliability and accuracy of “black box” data. “Ten published papers later, MEA is still leading research in this area,” he says. “We’ve quantified its accuracy, found errors in how programs are interpreting the data and described how forensic engineers can use it properly.”
Craig continues to be motivated by technical questions: “I am still excited about the physics.” But he also enjoys working with his MEA colleagues. “A lot of what inspires me,” Craig says, “is getting to work with a group of smart young people who are evolving and defining their own careers.”