Citation

Scurlock B. Accid. Reconstr. J. 2011; 21(3): 19-24.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, Accident Reconstruction Journal)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

ROOT is a free data analysis software package that is commonly used in particle physics, but can also be used in data mining, accident reconstruction and medical sciences. This article describes ROOT and presents simple examples that show how ROOT can be used in accident reconstruction analysis. The simple examples highlight the use of ROOT for showing braking distance, vehicle crush damage and pedestrian impact speed versus throw distances. ROOT is more powerful than many commonly used data analysis tools. ROOT provides the means for quickly making program calculations and simulations within custom subroutines, and then graphically presenting the results. The subroutines can be reused and combined as the needs of users evolve. Although the examples highlight the use of ROOT in Monte Carlo studies, it can also be used when uncertainties are estimated through finite differences or closed-form expressions.