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PASSENGER & PEDESTRIAN ACCIDENT EXPERT
WITNESS
Carl
Berkowitz, PE, Ph.D., AICP is a transportation, traffic engineering and
accident expert and has served as a litigation consultant since 1997. Dr.
Berkowitz has over 49 years of expertise and he is frequently consulted at the
initial stages of a potential accident litigation.
Carl
Berkowitz has the educational background and experience to explain complex
technical issues in layman terms, suggest strategies, investigate and uncover
facts, perform literature reviews and research, prepare reports and safety
evaluations.
Practice Areas:
- Pedestrians, passengers and workers safety for all modes
of transportation.
- ADA compliance, accessibility, slip, misstep, trip, fall,
sudden stops and starts, level-ADA compliance, accessibility, slip, misstep,
trip, fall, sudden stops and starts, level-of-way trespass,
perception-reaction, and operator error.
- Safe walking for pedestrians and passengers (terminals,
stations, bus stops, sidewalks, intersections, railroad crossings, parking
facilities, escalators, elevators, ramps, people-movers and pathways.
- Geometric design, sight distance, speed-distance, safety
and security, enforcement, collision avoidance,
train-vehicle/train-pedestrian collisions, and control devices.
- Operator mistakes, fatigue, human input/output and
control, environment, distractions, and perception-reaction.
- Training (rules, regulations, and standard operating
procedures), best practices, national standards and guidelines.
- Visibility, conspicuity, information, control devices,
pavement markings. and Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices
- Hazard analysis, system safety, cause-consequence, and
safety assessment.
- FELA and OSHA workplace safety and security.
Services Provided
- Comprehensive litigation support
- Incident investigation, hazard and causation analysis,
error and safety analysis, and risk based inspection programs; evaluation
and study report
- Industry and government rules, regulations, guidelines,
controls, policies, procedures and standards
- Pedestrian/passenger injuries and fatalities
- Americans with Disabilities Act, OSHA and FELA
- Employee training and supervision
- Organization design, management failures and management
system audits
- Accessibility and safety for people with special needs
- Subway, commuter rail, Amtrak, light rail and bus
accident investigations and analysis
- Platform falls, platform crowding, platform gaps, door
incidents, train/bus jerk falls, on train/bus falls, between train falls and
off train falls
- Vehicle (train, light rail, bus, motor vehicle,
commercial vehicle) investigation.
- Terminals - intermodal, multimodal, freight, warehouse,
distribution, container, truck stops, depot, passenger, rail freight and
marine
- Railroad-highway grade crossings, railroad-pedestrian
grade crossings and pedestrian-roadway crossings
- Railroad right of way
- Slips, trips, missteps, scuffs and falls
- Same level falls. Abrupt changes in walkway, holes and
depressions in walking surface
- Falls from heights
- Stair design
- Human factors in pedestrian and vehicle interactions
- Vehicle operator/driver hiring practices, training, human
errors, ergonomics, performance, reaction-response time, attention, fatigue,
accident causations, compliance, environmental issues and reasonable conduct
- Lighting, visibility, line of sight and conspicuity
- Bus accidents
- Bus stops, bus shelters, bus terminals, bus access
- Student safety
- Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (latest
edition)
- Geometric design, level of service, and capacity factors
of highways and streets (designing to standards)
- Information technology, signage, communication systems
and wayfinding
- Work zone and workplace safety
- Parking facilities
- Safety, security and reliability
- Walking and traction audit
- Traffic regulations and controls
- Research applicable codes, guidelines and standards
Professional Affiliations
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American Institute of Certified Planners
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American Planning Association
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American Society of Civil Engineers (Fellow,
Transportation Education and Safety Committees)
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Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals
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Institute of Transportation Engineers, American Society
of Safety Engineers
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National Association of Railroad Safety Consultants and
Investigators
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American Society of Transportation and Logistics
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American Railway Engineering and Maintenance of Way
Association (Committees 11 and 12, Facilities and Structures
Subcommittee)
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American National Standards Institute
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ASTM International (Committee F13 - Pedestrian/Walkway
Safety)
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American Public Transportation Association
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Human Factors and Ergonomics Society
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The Charter Institute of Logistics and Transport (UK).
Education
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Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering
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Master’s Degree in Business Administration from The City
College of New York
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Master’s Degree in Transportation Planning
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Ph.D. in Transportation Planning and Engineering from
Polytechnic University (NYU-Poly).
Publications
Click
here to access the following articles written by Dr. Berlowtiz.
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Mind the Gap
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Track Walking
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Young Drivers
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Safety by Design
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Low-level Platforms
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Rail Platform Overcrowding
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Passenger Platform Level of Service
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Rail Station Pedestrian Crossover
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Through the Eyes of the Train Operator (In Progress)
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Walking Safely to School Bus Stops
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Walking on Ice
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Bus Occupant Safety
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Danger on the Tracks
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Platform Safety
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Railroad Fatalities
Sample cases
and
published cases are also available online.
CALL FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Call (631) 878-7419
Carl Berkowitz Ph.D., PE, AICP
Passenger & Pedestrian
Accident Expert Witness
Address:
239 Lands End Court
Moriches, NY 11955
Email: cmberkowitz@hotmail.com
Please see our
website for a complete
list of educational and professional qualifications.
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