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Accident Investigation Interview Technique PDF

The document outlines best practices for conducting accident witness interviews, including: conducting interviews as soon as possible at the scene of the accident to allow witnesses to recall details clearly; interviewing witnesses individually to avoid influencing accounts; using open-ended questions and active listening; explaining the purpose is to understand the cause and prevent future accidents; and summarizing and verifying the witness's statement before concluding the interview.

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Mark Strife
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161 views1 page

Accident Investigation Interview Technique PDF

The document outlines best practices for conducting accident witness interviews, including: conducting interviews as soon as possible at the scene of the accident to allow witnesses to recall details clearly; interviewing witnesses individually to avoid influencing accounts; using open-ended questions and active listening; explaining the purpose is to understand the cause and prevent future accidents; and summarizing and verifying the witness's statement before concluding the interview.

Uploaded by

Mark Strife
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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July 2006 Unit A Q2 – 10 marks

Keywords :­ outline, good practice, interview technique, best quality

• Time
The interview should be held as soon as possible after the accident event so that the details are 
fresh in the witness's mind.
• Place
If possible the interview should include a visit to the scene of the accident event so that the 
visual prompts of the surroundings help the witness to clearly state what they saw. It may not be 
possible to conduct the entire interview in the scene of the accident, e.g. in a noisy machine 
shop if the machines are still running.
• No Groups
Witnesses should be interviewed one at a time, although you can offer the witness to be 
accompanied to help put them at ease. This is especially important where the witness is 
vulnerable e.g. a child (accompanying parent), or traumatised (a nurse, a doctor, a friend)
• Language
Avoid using jargon and legal language, talk in a way that matches the expected level of language 
as the witness, but don't try and emulate their accent. If you are unsure what a witness means by 
a word (perhaps local vernacular) then ask what they mean.
• Explanation of purpose and need to record interviews
The witness should be put at ease regarding the purpose of the interview, to find out what 
caused an accident and figure out what can be done to prevent a similar accident happening 
again. The need to take notes should be explained and this should not be done surrupticiously, 
but openly... personally I hand my notes to the witness and invite them to read them at the end 
of the interview.
• Questions
Ask open questions, who, what, where, when, how... be very careful about asking “why” 
because this is most likely an assumption on the part of the witness... we want to deal with facts 
not assumptions. 
• Listening
Listen attentively to the witnesses whole answer without interruption. Clarify answers which 
may include deductions e.g. “did you actually see him slip off the ladder ?” “did you actually 
see the object hitting him ?”
• Notes
Take notes of what was said so that you are not relying on your memory
• Summarise
After the witness has answered your questions, read back your notes and allow the witness to 
correct any mistakes, and provide extra information.
• Thank
Thank the witness for their time and for their assistance.

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