Tracie Eckstein Jones, ACTAR, CFEI
Transportation Practice Leader
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Expert QuestionS & AnswerS
Your background as police officer for 20 years gives you a distinctive lens — how does that prior experience shape your approach to transportation investigation today?
As a crash reconstructionist on the police force, I responded to hundreds of serious and fatal collisions — processing scenes, collecting and preserving evidence, interviewing witnesses and operators, and preparing full reconstruction reports for review by the State’s Attorney’s Office. Ultimately, my law enforcement career gave me something that can’t be taught in a classroom: the instinct to look beyond the obvious, to question assumptions, and to let the physical evidence tell the story.
As someone who trains others in your discipline, what’s the most common mistake you see less experienced investigators make in transportation?
The most common mistake I see with less experienced investigators is rushing to a conclusion before fully understanding the physical evidence. The second mistake is underutilizing available data. At the end of the day, what I try to instill in every person I train is this: slow down, trust the evidence, and use every tool at your disposal. The best reconstruction is the one that can withstand the toughest cross-examination — and that only comes from discipline and thoroughness.
What’s something about transportation that would surprise most people outside the field?
Most people think of crash reconstruction as skid marks and measuring debris fields, and yes, that’s still part of it. But the reality is that modern vehicles are sophisticated data recorders. Your car is capturing information about your speed, braking, throttle input, steering angle, and more. Onboard systems can store GPS history, connected device information, and application usage. It’s not just what the vehicle was doing — it’s increasingly what the driver was doing inside the vehicle.
Background
Ms. Tracie Jones holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and Psychology and served as a police officer for 20 years, where she investigated hundreds of serious and fatal vehicle collisions for the Baltimore County Police Department involving motor vehicles, commercial vehicles, motorcycles, and pedestrians. Ms. Jones is also a certified Child Seat Safety Technician, which gives her special knowledge in the inspection of child safety seats.
Her knowledge and training of human behavior have assisted in her analysis of perception-reaction time and nighttime visibility dynamics in collisions.
Ms. Jones’ areas of expertise include motor vehicle crash reconstruction, motorcycle crash reconstruction, pedestrian/bicycle versus vehicle crash reconstruction, commercial vehicle crash reconstruction, Event Data Recorder analysis for passenger vehicles and heavy truck engines, seatbelt analysis, and rollover crash reconstruction. Ms. Jones has extensive training in crash scene mapping using a total station and a 3D laser mapping system. Ms. Jones is an avid motorcycle rider, which gives her unique knowledge in the investigation of motorcycle collisions and operator actions/reactions.
Ms. Jones also performs investigations for failure analysis, including piping and plumbing failures, vehicle component failures, appliance failures, and machinery failures. Ms. Jones is a certified fire investigator where she investigates the causes of fires as well as the failures of fire suppression systems.
Ms. Jones is an Adjunct Instructor for the Institute of Police Technology and Management (IPTM) at the University of North Florida, where she teaches courses in the area of crash reconstruction, including Event Data Recorder Use in Traffic Crash Reconstruction and Investigation of Motorcycle Crashes.
Finally, Ms. Jones is a certified FAA drone pilot. She has completed aerial inspections and photographs of crash scenes, crush damage profiles of vehicles, commercial properties, and residential properties where an engineer cannot safely inspect.
Education and Certifications
- Mechanical Engineering, B.S.: University of Maryland, Baltimore County
- Psychology, B.S.: Towson University
- Traffic Accident Reconstructionist: Accreditation Commission for Traffic Accident Reconstruction, ACTAR #1850
- Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator (CFEI)
- Maryland Police Training Commission
- Child Safety Seat Technician
- Bosch Certified Crash Data Retrieval Technician and Analyst
- LIDAR, RADAR, Speed Chronograph Certifications
- Certified Traffic Control Flagger
- Certified Vehicle Systems Forensic Examiner
- Certified Vehicle Systems Forensic Technician
- FAA Certified Remote Pilot
- Memberships: Tau Beta Pi, Engineering Honors Society; Society of Automotive Engineers; Society of Women Engineers
Publications
- “Motorcycle Modifications and Its Effect on Reconstruction,” Special Problems in Crash Reconstruction, IPTM (presentation), May 2013
- “Motorcycle Modifications and Its Effect on Reconstruction,” Pennsylvania State Police Crash Reconstruction Seminar (presentation), September 2013
- “Post-Crash Forensic Inspections of Child Safety Seats,” Special Problems in Crash Reconstruction, IPTM (presentation), April 2014
- “Using Smart Phone Applications in Crash Reconstruction,” Pennsylvania State Police Crash Reconstruction Seminar (presentation), September 2014
- “The Use of 3D Laser Scanners in Crash Reconstruction,” Hexagon International Conference, Hexagon Global Network (presentation), June 2015
- “Perception/Reaction Time under Distractions,” WREX 2016 (presentation), May 2016
- “Vehicle Occupant Kinematics,” Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems, February 2021.