Dusty Arrington

Dusty Arrington was Adamson Engineering, LLC’s first employee when the firm was founded in 2001. He was hired as an Assistant Accident Reconstructionist while pursuing his bachelor’s degree at Texas A&M University.  In 2013, Dusty completed his Master of Science degree at Texas A&M University and has built a wealth of knowledge through his experience as a lead designer, researcher, and project manager in Roadside Safety and Physical Security at Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI).

As an Associate Transportation Researcher in TTI’s Crashworthy Structures Program, he was actively involved in over 190 full-scale crash tests.  Additionally, he has evaluated numerous physical security and highway safety features since 2006.

During his tenure with TTI, Dusty worked closely with manufacturers as well as state and federal entities in the development of improved products to protect citizens worldwide. Examples include sign support structures, cable/concrete barriers, barrier gates, barrier end treatments, work-zone safety devices, and other roadside safety infrastructures. Many of these projects involved the application of Finite Element Analysis, specifically LSDYNA.

The events of September 11, 2011, increased awareness of terrorist vulnerability in many facilities in the U.S. and abroad. Dusty served as the investigator/designer on numerous projects for the private sector, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of Navy, and Sandia National Laboratories. He assisted public and private sponsors throughout the design, full-scale crash testing, and implementation phases associated with anti-ram perimeter barriers, fences, and gates. He personally witnessed and performed multiple tests according to the new ASTM F2656-07 “Standard Test Method for Vehicle Crash Testing of Perimeter Barriers.”

Dusty was also the lead researcher at Central and Western Field Test Center where he conducted calibrations on E274 Friction measurement systems, per E2793.  He was a trained system operator of the center’s reference E274 vehicle.  He helped maintain and rewrite calibration procedures through interactions with the ASTM E17 subcommittee and subcommittee workshops.

During his tenure at TTI, Dusty authored/co-authored over 30 peer-reviewed papers and research reports.  Additionally, Dusty authored/co-authored many more confidential peer-reviewed research reports for private/public entities. Dusty has authored/co-authored multiple impact, durability, and safety standards used to evaluate roadside and physical security products.  Additionally, Dusty has presented research findings at national conferences including Transportation Research Board (TRB), AASHTO Task Force 13 (TF13), American Society of Testing and Materials International (ASTM International), and American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA).

Since 2001 Dusty has developed a wealth of knowledge in the field of accident reconstruction. This knowledge includes training and experience in gathering and analyzing forensic evidence with the intended purpose of reconstructing vehicular accidents that involve commercial vehicles, passenger vehicles, motorcycles, pedestrians, agricultural equipment, construction equipment, and trains. Dusty has extensive experience in the inspection, testing, and crash testing of all types of equipment, vehicles, roadway features, and roadside safety devices. This inspection experience includes the imaging of and analyzing recorded data from various sources including commercial vehicle engine control modules (ECMs), airbag control modules (ACMs), global positioning systems (GPS), electronic driver logs, accident mitigation systems (i.e., radar and video-based systems), as well as surveillance and dash camera systems.

With the widespread availability of onboard event data recordings (EDRs), reconstruction is becoming less about what the subject vehicles were doing at impact and is becoming more about what led up to the collision and how it could have been avoided. Dusty has extensive training and experience in the field of human factors which allows him to address this important and growing field of accident reconstruction. This includes the simulation and prediction of expected driver performance values such as perception-response time based on peer-reviewed research. Additionally, he has extensive experience and training in performance and evaluation of recognition of objects in both daytime and nighttime environments. This experience and training assist Dusty in the evaluation of avoidance scenarios.

Photographs and video recordings of vehicle crashes and accident sites are becoming more prevalent and common place. These image recordings of collision events and evidence may come from dash mounted cameras, surveillance footage, and personal cell phones. Many times, the data contained in these recordings is the only data available and therefore is critical to understanding how crashes occurred. Dusty has extensive experience and training in the field of forensic image analysis. This is the field of accident reconstruction that allows for the measurement of physical evidence based on imagery. Through training and his own development, Dusty has developed the ability to track moving objects/cameras in video. In many cases, this tracking ability allows the subject vehicles’ positions, speeds, and accelerations to be measured directly from the videos. Additionally, through the application of classic technology of camera matching and photogrammetry, physical evidence can be measured and evaluated. He recently was selected to be involved in the Consensus Head Acceleration Measurement Practices (CHAMP) committee on video analysis. As part of the committee, he helped develop and present a list of recommended guidelines on video analysis. His training and experience allow him to apply classic time tested and peer-reviewed techniques to this new era of image analysis.

Dusty’s combined education, research, and work experience make him a great asset to Adamson Engineering, L.L.C.