Which type of tire mark is primarily utilized for estimating vehicle speed?

Yaw marks are tire marks that are critical for estimating vehicle speed during a cornering maneuver. These marks are created when a vehicle turns while its tires lose traction, resulting in a sliding motion that causes the tires to scuff the road surface at an angle to the direction of travel. This type of mark is particularly useful for accident reconstruction because the angle and characteristics of the yaw marks can provide valuable information regarding the dynamics of the vehicle at the time of the incident.

The length and curvature of the yaw marks can be analyzed to calculate the speed of the vehicle when the mark was made. This is due to the relationship between speed, radius of the turn, and friction. By using this information, investigators can make more informed estimations of how fast the vehicle was traveling, which is crucial for understanding the circumstances of a crash.

In contrast, scrub marks are typically associated with hard braking before a stop, scuff marks are often evidence of tire tread being scraped across the surface while still maintaining some traction, and gap skids occur when long intervals of skidding are noted with no markings in between. These types of marks are less reliable for speed estimation compared to yaw marks.