Services
Document a loss
Support a claim
For carriers and employers
Service areas
Middle Tennessee
- Nashville
- Clarksville
- Murfreesboro
- Franklin
- Hendersonville
- Smyrna
- Spring Hill
- Gallatin
- Lebanon
- Columbia
- Brentwood
- Mount Juliet
- La Vergne
- Cookeville
East Tennessee
West Tennessee
Motorcycle Collision Reconstruction Support in Tennessee
Detailed field documentation of motorcycle crashes for riders, insurers and attorneys. Personnel with accident reconstruction experience record slide and gouge marks, rest positions of rider and machine, lean-related scrapes and gear condition for use in later technical analysis.
- Coverage
- 95 of 95 counties
- Dispatch
- 24 / 7 / 365
- Metro response
- Under 60 min avg.
- Statewide
- 4-hour guarantee
What this service covers
A motorcycle crash rarely leaves the long, dark tire marks that a car does. The evidence is finer: a narrow rear-tire skid, a scrape where a footpeg touched down, a gouge where the machine fell, a scatter of plastic from a fairing. The rider and the motorcycle usually separate and stop in different places. Recording this correctly takes someone who knows what each mark is and photographs it before traffic polishes it away.
Delator Claims Division documents both the scene and the motorcycle. Field personnel are licensed Tennessee private investigators with accident reconstruction experience. The assignment is neutral: they record the marks, positions and equipment condition and deliver them to the requesting party. They do not offer an opinion on the rider's speed, on whether the other driver could have seen the motorcycle, or on who was at fault.
Where motorcycle-specific documentation helps
- A driver turned left across the rider's path and each side gives a different account of the motorcycle's approach.
- The motorcycle went down before any contact and the question is whether it struck the other vehicle at all.
- A single-vehicle crash on a curve raises a question about gravel, a pavement edge or a surface defect.
- The motorcycle is about to be released from storage and its scrape pattern has not been photographed on both sides.
- The helmet and riding gear are still available and their damage has not yet been recorded by anyone.
Marks, positions and equipment recorded
- Slide marks on the pavement
- Scrape paths left by the sliding motorcycle, measured for length and direction from the first scratch to the point where the machine stopped.
- Gouges at the point of fall
- Deep cuts made by pegs, engine cases, bar ends or the stand when the motorcycle went down, located by measurement to fixed features.
- Rest positions of rider and machine
- Where the motorcycle stopped and where the rider stopped, recorded separately from marks, fluid, responder paint or witness indication when either has been moved.
- Lean-related scrapes
- Abrasion on footpegs, exhaust, levers, bar ends and fairing edges, with direction of scratches noted to separate cornering contact from sliding on the side.
- Helmet and gear condition
- Abrasion and impact marks on the helmet shell and visor, jacket, gloves and boots, photographed with scale and without cleaning or disassembly.
- Controls, tires and lights
- Gear selector position, lever and pedal damage, tire wear and flat-spotting, and headlamp and signal condition as found on the machine.
From request to delivered record
- RequestCall dispatch or submit the request form with the location, loss type and urgency.
- DeployDispatch assigns the nearest available licensed field investigator through the statewide network.
- DocumentPhotographs, video, measurements and factual notes are captured once the scene is safe to work.
- PreserveFiles are timestamped, organized and kept in their original form with a record of who captured them.
- ReportThe package is delivered securely to the requesting party, typically the same day.
Reading the path from first mark to final rest
The sequence in a motorcycle crash is usually braking, falling or impact, sliding, and rest. Each stage leaves a different mark. A thin straight skid suggests rear-wheel lockup. A gouge marks where a hard part of the machine first hit the pavement. The slide path that follows gives an analyst a distance over which the motorcycle lost speed on its side. Measured carefully, these distances and the surface type are what a later speed analysis is built on.
The rider's path is separate. A rider thrown from the machine travels and slides differently from the motorcycle, and the distance between the two rest positions is itself informative. Scuffs from clothing, a helmet scrape or fabric transfer on a vehicle panel can show where the rider made contact. On the other vehicle, the height and shape of the damage show whether the motorcycle was upright or already down. Delator records these features and leaves the interpretation to the analyst.
Why the machine and gear matter as much as the road
Scrapes on the motorcycle show which side it slid on and whether it changed sides. Directional scratches on a footpeg or exhaust can distinguish contact made while leaning through a curve from damage made after the fall. Headlamp and signal components are photographed as found because they are sometimes examined later on the question of whether a light was operating. Tire condition and the position of the controls are recorded for the same reason: they are facts that can be checked.
Helmets and gear are often discarded, returned to the rider or cut away during medical care, and motorcycles are frequently declared total losses and sold. Once that happens the only record is whatever was photographed. Delator documents gear in the condition it is presented, notes who had possession of it, and does not offer any opinion about injury. Sightline and conspicuity questions can be addressed with separate photographs from the other driver's approach at the reported time of day.
Delator personnel have accident reconstruction experience. The work product is physical evidence and technical findings; it does not determine legal fault, which remains with the parties, the court or a jury.
Delator Claims Division is not an engineering firm. Whether any analysis is accepted in a proceeding is decided by the court.
Common questions about this service
The motorcycle has already been picked up. Is there anything left to document?
Usually. Gouges in asphalt and heavier scrape marks often remain after the machine is removed, and the roadway geometry does not change. The motorcycle can be documented separately wherever it is stored. The notes record the visit date and what was no longer present.
Can you tell how fast the rider was going?
Delator does not calculate or state speeds. Field personnel measure the skid, slide and separation distances and record the surface, which are the inputs an analyst uses. Any speed estimate is the work of the analyst retained by the requesting party, and legal fault is not determined by Delator.
Do you need the rider's helmet and jacket?
They are helpful if available. Field personnel photograph them with scale in the condition presented and return them; nothing is kept, cleaned or taken apart. If gear has been cut or discarded, the notes say so. Delator does not give medical opinions based on gear damage.
Can a rider request this without an attorney?
Yes. Individuals can request neutral documentation directly. Delator records the physical evidence and delivers it to the person who asked. It does not advise on the claim, deadlines or strategy, does not negotiate with an insurer, and is not a law firm.
Available statewide, including
Every Tennessee county is covered. See the deployment map for typical response tiers by county.
Request documentation anywhere in Tennessee
Dispatch is staffed around the clock. For time-sensitive scenes, calling is fastest; the request form works for routine and scheduled assignments.